view raw text
BETWEEN RACES * oscar om HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 28. — Horses and People: R. E. "Lanny" Leighninger, state steward for Colorado, is said to have been first to popularize the term "Triple Crown" as applied to the the great American spring three-year-old races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Preakness and and Belmont. Belmont. He He bor- Preakness Preakness and and Belmont. Belmont. He He bor- borrowed it from England, and the public quickly adopted his designation. Leighninger did this in 1924 when he was a turf writer in New York. A bit belatedly, we may report that not only were the new sterling silver julep cups, introduced at Churchill Downs this season, a success, but their sale far exceeded the dreams of presi--dent Bill Corum. The cups, each individual and memo-ralizing the victory of a Kentucky Derby winner, were triumphs of the silversmiths art, and although they cost 9 per copy, one citizen, J. J. Amiel, of New York, ordered 12 gross, all, it might be added, of the Count Turf style... In addition, the glass julep cups of Harry M. Stevens set a record sale for any year in history save the jubilee renewal... F. Norman Phelps, of Oakland, who was honored by being appointed a colonel in Kentucky this spring, gave away some 200 as souvenirs at a barbecue for turf friends at his Phelps farm, in the San Fernando Valley, yesterday. And, as a souvenir, they rated tops, even in California. AAA There is an old adage in racing that top flight jockeys seldom make good trainers, but the records are replete with statistics showing that bad riders often become good trainers. Such a case in point is Willie Dennis, who always needed about 10 pounds and the best horse to win. But since becoming a trainer,, Dennis, despite hav- Triple Crown Races Designated by Lanny-Amiel Supply of Derby Julep Cups Ample Sattler Active Backstretch Commissioner Mill sap Readies Centennial for Inaugural ingr only a few* horses in his barn, has, percentage wise, become one of the leading trainers, not only of the West Coast, but of the nation as well. . .One of the most mediocre, jockeys who ever rode, and when we say mediocre, we are being charitable, is Harry Trotsek, but, as /a trainer, Trotsek rates with the 10 tops of America... Some say that a good jockey must have fire, whereas a good trainer must have patience, and maybe the two qualities do not combine, except in rare instances. . .John Sattler, the new California racing commissioner, roams the barn area most every morning and listens to the tales of woes with restrained dignity. He is one of the few, if not the only commissioner in America, who is on the backstretch consistently, and early. Sattler is retired, is a man of means, and is a former owner, knows and understands problems, hence finds milling around with the railbirds a pleasant pastime. Although only on the commission a short time, he bids fair to become one of the most active, and at the same time, one of the best informed racing commissioners California has ever had. AAA Al Wesson, good will man for Hollywood Park, has become a traffic expert in addition to his many regular duties at Hollywood Park. The management asked him to plot routes to the track for Wednesday, Memorial Day, which would by-pass direct routes to the vast Inglewood Cemetery, which usually draws as many , people on this particular day as the beach - does in the summertime. Wesson worked out a system in the intricate street system wherebyi if a motorist followed his recommendations, he would not wind up at the cemetery, and folks bent.on remembering the deceased would not wind up in front of a two dollar "tote" window at Hollywood Park. About 40 per cent of Hollywoods patrons usually drive by the cemetery in their normal great circle route to the track, and, for the information of eastern reads, about 99 per cent of the tracks patronage arrives in private automobiles. . .Bill Leiser, sports editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, is reported on the ailing list at Stanford Hospital in that city. Everyone on the turf is wishing him a speedy recovery for, although Leiser visited a racetrack about once a year, he maintained his columns with an editorial fairness toward racing which have seldom been equaled in this country. A A A Colonel Marvin M. Millsap has returned to Denver following an extended tour of eastern racing centers, to take over active supervision of pre-inaugural activities at Centennial Park. Millsaps chief task was to check the track rehabilitation program, which saw the oval dug up to the dept of two feet, screened, and replaced. In itself, this item might not be worthy of mention, as many tracks screen their top surface, but insofar as Centennial is concerned, it is newsworthy that the track has solved a subsurface problem, and trainers now on the grounds, including such fastidious observers as Al Gomez, of California, and Herb Perry, former track superintendent at Phoenix Sportsmans Park, tab it now as one of the finest strips in the nation. . .Women trainers are no longer a novelty on the turf, but it is rather », Continued on Page Fourteen BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four unusual for a teenager to qualify for a license. Caliente!s board of stewards have ■granted papers to Miss Janie Stevens, 18, daughter of trainer Fred Stevens, and she has taken three thoroughbreds under her care, Leatrice Max, Last Battle and Poly-type. AA Ponder, who was a bit on the sour side last fall, is getting over the effects 6f a blister, but will get another late this week. He will return to the races at the Washington cPark. meeting, then go after some weight for age events in New York . . . Some parts of the West are still "wild and woolly." Col. F. W. Koester, inspecting and culling horses for the California Breeders Sale, came upon a farm that wanted to consign 11 yearlings. Said yearlings were so wild and untamed, the hired help could not catch them for the colonels appraisal. Result, the whole consignment was "scratched" . . .The Hipodromo de Las Americas in Mexico City is officially scheduled to close on Sunday, June 3, but public demand may keep the season going through July 1 . . . Last winter we reported that horsemen and management were bickering up in British Columbia. They still are, at last report. . .Trainer R. H. McDaniel, who has one of the largest public stables in the nation, has 56 horses in 55 stalls here two stable ponies are bunking together. This menage is so big that the management told him he would have to curtail his halter activities because they had no more stall room. If he loses a horse he can replace him, of course, but it appears that his number of campaigners will remain constant the remainder of the meeting. McDaniel wasnt too happy about the whole affair, but says he isnt going to fight the matter. He has about 18 different patrons, all of them of the claiming type, although some will purchase, and if given free reign, the public stable might be built up into perhaps 100 horses, which would amount to about 8 per cent of the competitive stock on the grounds.
