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BETWEEN RACES oscar om ARCADIA, Calif., June 9.— Saturdays running of the 5,000 Vanity Stakes will provide Honeymoon, without question Californias best daughter of modern times, with an opportunity to enrich both her earnings and prestige. Honeymoon, proving her fitness by winning her last outing, the Druid, will, no doubt, be established a solid choice in the Vanity at a mile and ■one-sixteenth. A victory in the stake also would add no little to the immense popularity already enjoyed by the L. B. Mayer bloodlines. Last Saturday, for instance, June Bride scored by six open lengths in a race known as the Hollywood Oaks. It was the fourth running of that stake, the outstanding summer event in the West for three-year-old fillies. It marked the third time a Louis B. Mayer-bred had won the stake and the fourth straight score for the sire, Beau Pere. Previous winners had been this same Honeymoon in 1946, Rex Ellsworths fleet U-Time in 45 and last year the surprise package, Flying Rythm. While the Mayer blood has no such strangle hold on the older Vanity, the record is still impressive. Painted Veil won in his silks in 1941, and she then went on to become one of the foundation Mayer mares. The movie mans Kentucky acquisition, Busher, won rather cleverly in 1945. Busher, of course, is now one of the best known broodmares at Spendthrift, and while the array of stallions and mares at Spendthrift is of the caliber that Honeymoon Looms Choice for Vanity Cap Beau Pere Blood in Clean Sweep of Oaks Industrial Clubs Enjoy Caliente Outings Dogs Prove Desirability of Easy Vision leaves a first-time visitor a bit breathless, Leslie Combs n. advises that almost without exception tourists ask to see Busher after first getting a glimpse of Alibhai, Shannon n., Bernborough and Jet Pilot. Spendthrift sightseers must of necessity see the stallions first, inasmuch as they are "parked" in spacious paddocks adjacent to the road leading from the Iron Works Pike to the Spendthrift mansion. AAA The saga of success of the Mayer silks and bloodlines in the Vanity was continued in 1946 when Be Faithful toted his colors to victory over Lasting Peace and Double F F. Honeymoon won in 1947. The mare currently is 13th on the list of leading American money-winning horses. Honeymoon will have additional opportunities later in the season here to advance on the golden roster. She is eligible, among other races, for the 00,000 Gold Cup, in which she has been nicely spotted at 113 pounds. Honeymoons ability to hold her own with the colts is well known. Some westerners insist Honeymoons best effort of her entire career came in the 1946 renewal of the Cup, in which she was beaten but a neck by Triplicate in the sensational time of 2:00% at the traditional mile and a quarter. She was sandwiched between horses in the stretch run in that stake, and many thought she was unlucky to lose. Speaking of the Mayer bloodlines, it might be mentioned that plans are pretty well set to hold the final step in the break-up of the once vast Mayer empire, the vendue of current yearlings, just about the time Santa Anita opens late next December. The Santa Anita inaugural is expected to draw its usual quota of eastern "big names" and, as has been demonstrated before, a sale of the magnitude such as one offered by L. B. Mayer brings its own market to the site. AAA Business is booming down at Caliente, just across the line from San Diego in old Mexico. Just why the border course continues to attract large crowds and a heavy volume of play is a moot question, in view of the sharp decline experienced by many American courses. But the facts speak for themselves. The management goes out of its way to offer services not generally available on most American courses. For instance, we learn that a growing number of "employe clubs" of large Los Angeles industrial concerns are making week-end trips to the border course, and are provided with special reservations in the grandstand. These clubs charter a bus or two, limiting the Continued on Page Thirty-Two I BETWEEN RACES I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty transportation to their own group, are able to enjoy the races in their own special section at the track, and return in the congenial company of friends. One bakery, for instance, has a club which makes the trip every week-in this fashion, with the tacit blessings of company management. The personnel chief at said bakery takes the view that such outings are refreshing for the hired help and result in greater weekday production. Some people, for instance, like to fish in their spare time. Others play golf or go to the ball games. Still others like to go to the races. The company quite correctly takes the view that the racing is just as much a recreation as any other sport and provides space on the employes bulletin board, where those who wish to sign up for the trip may do so. AAA Caliente at the moment has an appearance quite unlike any other on the continent. The dog races operate five nights a week in addition to the Sunday afternoon thoroughbred sport. Last season the dogs had their own track in the infield, but it lacked spectator appeal to a degree because the stretch was so far removed from the grandstand. This dilemma was solved rather neatly by Tijuanas Johnny Alessio, who proposed a "portable track" which could be wheeled up to near view of the fans. A. permanent stretch was built along the outer rail of the track, a permanent backstretch and semi-turns. Two portable units were built to fit into the missing "links," i. e., that portion of the track which would cross the regular stretch. After the last race on Sunday afternoon, winches and cables haul the dog track sections, mounted on airplane tires, into position. Within 45 minutes after the last race, the dogs are ready for action. When the dog races are over of an evening, the arc sections are quickly hauled back into the infield, harrows work the track, and the strip is ready for thoroughbred training operations at daybreak the next "morning. AAA The portable dog track has been mentioned at some detail for the very good reason that events have proven there is a close relationship between volume of play and the extent of the patrons being able to see the actual running of the races at close range. American race course operators, who have tracks where the horses all but disappear from view to fans except those armed with fine binoculars, might well be interested in the Caliente experiment. The experience, summed up, seems to be that there is a direct ratio of per capita play to the all-over visibility of a given race. While it may be that in England the fans turn out in droves to the races where most get but a glimpse of the actual running of the race, the same does not hold true in America.
