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R E F L E C T I O N S by nelson dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., June 7.— Three Dot Shorts: Don Meade has the license application filled out... Hollywood and Broadway stars will be at Belmont Park June 30 to help the citizens of seven Nassau County towns raise funds for a much needed general hospital at Valley Stream. . . Pat Kelly, formerly of the Jockeys Guild, writes, I have settled here in Phoenix, Ariz., and I love the place". . .Major Ednyfed Williams, former chairman of the Illinois Racing Board, writes from Belr gium, "Celebrated my birthday here." He did not say what birthday. . .Tyson Gilpin, president of the~Fasig-Tipton Company, wants every one to know that Kent-mere Farm is not going to sell the filly out of Never Again H., saying "If we Gilpins are going to stay in the breeding business we have to keep some fillies." Gilpin has just purchased a full sister to The Pimpernel and will offer her at Saratoga in August. . .Herman Delman has one of the largest collections of racing films, the latest being of his filly, How, winning the Coaching Club American Oaks last Saturday. Delman operates his own projector at home. . .Breeders are willing to bet the yearling market will be up 15 per cent. . .Ben Lindheimer will be back in Chicago for the opening of Arlington Park on June 18 . .Fasig-Tipton Company will conduct the yearling sales in Ontario, Canada, this year. . .Give a lift to the Belmont ball at Belmont on June 15, the proceeds of which go to cancer funds. Today, there is no more worthy cause. AAA . The statistics in the "Trend of Racing" table published weekly in this paper show surprising gains in the sport. From January 1 to June 2, 27 tracks had been in Racing Shows Sharp Gains in Mutuel Handle Attendance Increases at Majority of Tracks Fans Still Complain About Belmont Double Some New York Rules Should Be Revised operation and in only one Instance was there a drop in the daily average mutuel handle from last year. That was at Santa Anita and the decrease was only 2 per cent. The increases this year at many of the tracks have been pronounced. At Bay Meadows, in California, the handle increased 44 per cent, and at Detroit, it is up 45 per cent. Lincoln Downs, in Rhode Island, had an increase of 44 per cent. At some of the tracks there was a decrease in attendance, Santa Anita and Keeneland having the largest drop, 7 per cent. At the great majority of tracks, however, the attendance increased, with Detroit in the lead at 52 per cent. Racing is proving a greater magnet than all other sports in this country, and gives every evidence of holding its pace- throughout the sumnier. Last year, the attendance at many of the tracks increased greatly in the fall. As there is every reason to believe this will hold true this season, it appears as if the sport will have a very successful year. AAA This"writer has received messages, telephone calls and letters from fans who were interested in the Belmont Daily Double last Saturday. Several had hooked up Betsy Marie in the first race, at a pay-off of 3.50, with Rub-Adub-Dub in the second. Some threatened to turn their case over to their lawyers, while others are planning to write the Wicks Committee, which is now investigating racing in. New York State. As unfair as some of these New York rules are to the player, the situation becomes ironic when we consider the facts. For many years, The Jockey Club refused to budge when other states saw the light and changed rules to give the player an even break when similar developments occurred. There are some rules in New York which are both unfair and ridiculous. When Marshall Cassidy, representing The Jockey Club, addressed the National Association of State Racing Commissioners on the disqualification rules, he held that they should be continued although many in the room, including the writer, were of the opinion that the entire rule book was in need of drastic changes. The JNew York Racing Commission, when it took over the rules of racing from The Jockey Club, sent out a new booklet which was little more than a reprint of the rules as they have been standing in the Empire State for many, many years. The members of the Wicks Committee have little knowledge of racing, but possibly they will devote much more thought to the rules of racing in New York. State and recommend changes in some of them, at least. They certainly are in need of revision. AAA For many years the disqualification rule in New York State has been protested by the fans. In this state, a man goes to the track and wagers on a horse that interferes with one other horse in a race. These two horses may have been far in front and their actions in no way interfered with the others. In New York, which in many instances does uphold the sporting side of the game, the stewards disqualify the offender and place him last. It has been this writers contention, along with thousands of others, that if two horses were far out in front, the offender should be placed no farther back than second. BBut The Jockey Club would not have it that way, and Continued on Page Thirty-Three REFLECTIONS By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page Forty to date the New York State Racing Commission holds the same view. Many fans seem determined to ask the Wicks Committee to take the necessary steps to correct this condition which so obviously demands correction. AAA For many years, this writers was a staunch defender of The Jockey Club, although common sense told us that in some instances they were far off the beam. There was an occasion at Saratoga two years, ago when we had a very definite change of opinion. On that particular day, William Ziegler, Jr., sent two horses to the post as an entry. The names of those horses do not matter, but one was. a good horse and the other was not so good. Indeed he did not belong in the race. Had he run alone, he would have been 50 to 1, possibly 100 to 1. The horse he was coupled with was a legitimate and outstanding choice. On the way to the post, the good horse was hurt, with the result that the mediocre stablemate automatically became the short-priced favorite when he should have been at any. price the player would ask. It was astonishing that the stewards » would allow the 50 to 1 shot to start as the favorite, and it was natural that the fans who bet on the entry stormed around vociferously venting their feelings. If ever a group was entitled to scream, it was one.
