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BETWEEN RACES * ax** ore PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 16. — It is no secret that the Preakness, as well as the Belmont later on, will be televised "live" to points as far west as Omaha, but it may come as a matter of news that Craig Smith, of the Gillette Razor Company, which sponsors the television and radiocasts of of the the "Triple "Triple Crown" Crown" races, races, is is of of the the of of the the "Triple "Triple Crown" Crown" races, races, is is of of the the opinion that the live showing of the three great American spring three-year-old classics will, perhaps in a comparatively short period of time, be a great service to racing. Smith ays the world series of baseball at present is the greatest of sport shows, but one reason for this is that the "Triple Crown" races in their entirety have never been televised on the spot. Churchill Downs to date has insisted that its Derby television show be held up for hours after the running. However, Bill Corum told us in Kentucky that at least one live show would be tried on an experimental basis in the not too distant future, which we inferred to mean perhaps next spring. While the West Coast will not get live television of the Preakness, the telecast over the most populous area of America will provide a good line on the effect of this new medium of public approach and its relationship to racing. Television reaches into the home and vividly portrays the excitement, drama and color attending the running of a race like the Preakness. And, as the poll last week in New Jersey indicated, the more people know about racing, the greater its public acceptance. The poll showed that it was mostly those who were ignorant of racing who were against it. The "Triple Crown" races are naturals to present to the public nationally. The Gillette Telecasting of Classics a Public Service Palmdaum Clarifies Plate Situation Analysis Made of Sires Who Won Crown Geldings Belong/ Says Maryland Breeder people are entitled to a "well done" for their pioneering in radio and television on the "Triple Crown" events. Aside from the advertising value, the company is doing something worth while as a service to American sports fans. AAA Baltimores Edward R. Palmdaum, secretary of the Victory Racing Plate Company, advises that the shoe situation is not as bad as we noted in a column some days ago. Here, according to Palmdaum, are the current facts: "There will be enough aluminum shoes to service the thoroughbred world, the race track and on the farm, if there is no hoarding," he says. "Panic-buying of plates would only serve to create a shortage, and there is no shortage at present. As to the amount of aluminum going into plates, you mentioned 200 tons a year as the average, and also say that this is a mere drop in the bucket compared with the total aluminum production in the United States. A 50-ton-per-year figure would be more accurate, and 50 tons is not a drop in the bucket; it is a drop in the ocean. Last years production was well over 800,000 tons, and this year, by reason of new plants, that figure will be greatly increased. There is no cause for alarm on the part of horsemen for at least another year, and by then we expect to have material problems solved. If, by the greatest of chances it is not solved, there are alternatives open to the few American manufacturers of horse shoes, and we will face the problem when it confronts us. Normal purchasing of racing plates is the best way to avoid shortage." AAA Only eight thoroughbreds have won the "Triple Crown," Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault and Citation, making up perhaps the most exclusive thoroughbred "club" in America. All the winners entered the stud with the exception of Citation, who is at Hollywood Park pursuing an elusive million dollars, but he will set up court at Calumet next spring with a blue ribbon book. Assault was not a pronounced success at stud, and Omaha, now in Nebraska, was not an outstanding success as a stallion, but is doing stud duty for state breeding interests in the Cornhusker State. Two of the winners have attained great success as sires, War Admiral and Count Fleet. The latter has been very much in the public eye in recent weeks, one of his sons, Count Turf, having won the Kentucky Derby, and last Saturday County Delight annexing the Gallant Fox Handicap at Jamaica. AAA The Preakness, unlike the Belmont, permits geldings to compete, but the admission of geldings has little, if any effect upon the status of the race as one of the most coveted in America to be won by a breeder, or a potential stud prospect. The modern day glory of the Preakness as a breeders event may be dated, perhaps, from 1920, when Man o War defeated Upset and Wildair. Every Preakness winner since that time has entered the Continued on Page Thirty-Four BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four stud, with the exception, as noted above, of Citation and Hill Prince. The latter is still racing, but his eventual retirement in Virginia has stirred considerable enthusiasm in the Old Dominion State. We also except the filly, Nellie Morse, who won in 1924, beating a colt whose name later became a byword as a mudline sire, Transmute. Checking over those "in the money" we find that almost all went into the stud, and most of them had better-than-average success as sires. Some people here in Maryland hold the quaint idea that a true breeders race must include all horses, and that means geldings. "If a great gelding comes along, and you beat him," says one breeder, "it enhances the value of your sire prospect. Geldings, usually more dependable as racers than entire horses, often serve to provide a truer rating of the quality of your horses. A lot of traditions in England are passe here. If a gelding beats and thus devalues your horse as a sire prospect, it is just as well to find it out at once." AAA Ten years ago at Garden State, less than 5 per cent of the stalls allotted were to New Jersey owners. At the current meeting, more than one-third of the stalls are given to Jersey owners, with representation from every county in the state, ranging from Cape May in the South to Sussex in the North. Interest in ownership has grown in a direct ratio to the popularity of the sport and it is a healthy thing for American racing in general, as well as Jersey.
