view raw text
California Racing Board Closes Puente Hearings HearingsTakes Takes Matter Under Advisement Orders Counsels to File Briefs BriefsLOS LOS ANGELES Calif June 4 The California Horse Racing Board yesterday concluded its public hearing on the appli ¬ cation of the Southern California Jockey Club Inc to erect a race track at Puente and took the matter under advisement with the probability that a decision will not be forthcoming for about 90 days daysA A tthe conclusion of testimony intro ¬ duced by proponents and opponents of the venture the board decided to dispense with oral arguments and ordered counsel for both sides to submit briefs within 30 days of the time that they are furnished with transcripts of the hearing hearingThe The main witnesses to appear at the final session were Carleton F Burke thoroughbred breeder and director of rac ¬ ing at Santa Anita and Maury Diggs architect and designer of race tracks who made the plans for Hollywood Park Bay Meadows and Golden Gate Fields FieldsBurke Burke expressed his opinion that a re ¬ duction in the number of racing days at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park in order to make room for a new track could not help but result hi a reduction of the total distribution to horsemen with a conse ¬ quent decline in the market for yearlings and a discouragement of those now en ¬ gaged in breeding for the market He scoffed at the idea that a new track with a meeting limited to 34 days could offer daily minimum purses of 4000 and saw only disadvantage to breeders horsemen and the general public in the addition of any new track to the present setup setupArchitect Architect Diggs revealed that the Puente promoters envisaged a plant costing 2153729 exclusive of land with another 197500 for contingencies such asad vancing costs of material or labor There would be 400 mutuel windows he stated and the plans were such that the proposed plant would be capable of handling all the money that a crowd of 80000 to 90000 would care to wager He said that his prin ¬ cipals had instructed him to design the best racing plant in California regardless of cost and that the proposed site lent it ¬ self to a type of construction that would result in maximum public convenience and utility utilityIn In response to an inquiry by chairman Loyd Wright regarding the financing of the venture attorney Athearn stated that there would be no public offering of stock but that the money would be raised through what he termed a negotiating permit and that he already had practical assurances that from 3000000 to 5000 000 would be available should the permit be granted grantedThe The board refused to allow the introduc ¬ tion in evidence of resolutions both favor ¬ ing and opposing the permit among them one from the County Board of Supervisors asking that the permit be denied deniedChairman Chairman Wright explained that the board needed and desired the assistance of all interested citizens in making such an important decision but that it had de ¬ cided no written resolutions would be re ¬ ceived unless the signers were there in per ¬ son to give the board the benefit of their reasoning He said that a study of the transcript at the board of supervisors meeting at which the opposing resolution was adopted indicated that some of the county supervisors based their votes on a mistaken idea that erection of another track would automatically increase the number of racing days in the county
