Between Races: Paley Envisions New Del Mar; To Develop Spa as Resort Area; Schenck No Stranger to Racing; Served as Builder of Caliente, Daily Racing Form, 1948-06-16

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BETWEEN RACES 1 By Oscar Otis i iPaley Paley Envisions New Del Mar To Develop Spa as Resort Area Schenck No Stranger to Racing Served as Builder of Caliente CalienteHOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD PARK Inglewood Calif June 15 Perhaps the outstanding bit of news of recent seasons in the West was the announcement that Joseph M Schenck motion picture mon ¬ arch and Jay Paley retired from the radio world to enjoy the racing of a formidable stable of horses had purchased the Del Mai race course If past performances count Del Mar will be devel ¬ oped into one of the outstanding race courses in America Jay Paley told the writer that it was his wish that Del Mar in the not too distant future would be able to offer purses comparable to both Santa Anita and Hollywood Park that its calibre of horses would match that of most any summer track in America He indicated that the turf club would be mod ¬ ernized and enlarged and that if need be a hotel might be built to provide necessary accommodations of the type desired The present Hotel Del Mar is so filled each summer that a host of potential customers must be turned away Paley incidentally took up racing upon his retirement from business joined with Schenck in the pur ¬ chase of Del Mar to keep busy and in the swim of the things on the turf He has some very definite ideas about a model track and these will be put into effect as soon as it is possible A A ADel Del Mar is the most wonderful place in the West to summer vacation says Paley The beach is ideal the races are run late in the afternoon to afford the visitor every opportunity to enjoy a vacation as well as take in the races I fully believe that we can attract the finest type of stables and horses to Del Mar and increase the attend ¬ ance greatly by seeing that accommoda ¬ tions are available for summer visitors and offering them the type of racing they might expect at Saratoga Of course the forthcoming meeting is but a few weeks away and everything can not be accom ¬ plished overnight but by next year the little band box by the breakers may take on an importance in the California picture that will be little short of amazing A A AThe The early story of Joseph M Schenck in racing has never been told It is one of the most interesting the writer has ever known Back in 1932 the motion picture executive and known as a genius in his field received a request from Abelardo Rodriguez then president of Mexico to take over the presi ¬ dency and direction of the Caliente Jockey Club just across the border from San Diego in our friendly republic to the south Schenck in the interest of international good will consented He appointed his executive aide the late Lou Anger as man ¬ ager Schenck then called a council ad ¬ mitted he knew little to nothing about racing but opined as he did know some ¬ thing about the public and it was his con ¬ sidered opinion that by offering the public an outstanding roster of officials fine horses and a clean commodious plant the desired results could be obtained Who is the top American racing official who also looks the part asked Schenck Various names were mentioned and finally the choice simmered down to Christopher J Fitzgerald Get him said Schenck 5 5A A phone call to FitzGerald in New York elicited the information that he FitzGer ¬ ald would consent to come only if he were given a free and unhampered hand in the conduct of the races Schenck replied he would have just that excepting in one in ¬ stance The starter he informed FitzGerald already had been hired This was Harry Morrissey beloved by all who knew him not only as one of the starting greats of all time but a fine and kindly man along with his phenomenal natural ability Come out and talk it over said Schenck Fitz ¬ Gerald did and accepted the post His staff that year was quite something He brought in Martin Nathanson as associate steward hired William Shelley from the Kentucky Jockey Club as his racing sec ¬ retary and whose assistants were Charlie Henry now at Detroit and Charlie Ken ney now at Coldstream Farm in Kentucky The younger Jack Cavanaugh of New York was clerk of scales Billy Koch familiar in the ring days of New York came along to supervise the books and Shaun Gilmartin was appointed manager of parimutuels Gilmartin was assisted by Soup Franks who later was to head the tote department on New York tracks Willie Doyle now active in the JerseyMaryland sector was among the patrol judges judgesA A A A AThe The ornate Caliente clubhouse was re ¬ decorated and comfort was installed wherevel possible As might be expected the prestige of the officials plus the huge purse program offered attracted the horses owners and jockeys with a national prestige And as might be expected the meeting was a sensational success Even two disasters failed to materially harm the track i e the national bank holiday in the United States and the Long Beach earthquake albeit the latter forced a short cancella ¬ tion because of destruction to highways leading to San Diego and the track ifcelf The meetings continued on a grand scale until a new president of Mexico closed the adjacent casino and the track closed with it later to be revived with its Sunday only programs now in vogue Walter Marty present president served under Lou Anger in those days and has continued the high standards as established by Schenck no doubt one reason that Caliente today con ¬ tinues to prosper and flourish Schenck did much to popularize racing among the motion picture people and for many years maintained the Caliente head offices in a corner of the studio at Twentieth Century Fox Schenck came within an inch of owning Santa Anita After the third day of racing there when the track was in the doldrums he was offered the plant for 285000 He was advised against it by a turfman who will remain nameless


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800