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Connors Corner By "CHUCK" CONNORS Chief of Chart Correspondents BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., June 20. — Track superintendent Dick Strickland has about completed an im- provement provement at at Jamaica Jamaica provement provement at at Jamaica Jamaica that will be welcomed by horsemen. A new drainage system to carry the rains from the racing strip will be ready when the scene moves from Aqueduct for the Empire-at-Ja-maica and the Saratoga at Jamaica - - sessions. The old ditch that ringed the track on on the the inside inside was was filled filled on on the the inside inside was was filled filled in and a graduated slope or ramp some six of seven feet wide was installed. The new ramp levels off for a few feet and then moves upward, forming a vee. The new ditch, in the opinion of Strickland, will be able to carry the heaviest showers that fall on the track. Heretofore, the track, under a heavy rain was flooded ankle deep and the water drained off into the centerfield, forming a miniature lake. [ Pumps were pressed into action to empty the ditch and this water was poured into an area back of the tote board. The excessive saturation seeped deep into the track proper and as a result a much longer time was needed for the surface to dry properly. Jamaica has on two occasions suffered from a cave-in near the top of the stretch, that is where the city water mains cross under the track. The cave-in was due to a leak in the main, but the condition was aggravated by the rains when the waters seeping- through the soil could not find channels in which to escape. In addition to quick drying, valuable top soil can be saved, for the dirt washed into the vee-shaped duct can Continued on Page Forty-Four Connors Corner i Continued from Page Five easily be recovered and spread back on the racing strip. Steeplechasers can school over the Aqueduct course every afternoon following the running of the field event . . . Recent additions to the barred list are Second Look, Tops All, Fighting Gus and Sphinx. . Tom Bragg left for La Jolla, Calif., for an extended holiday, but plans to take in a few days of the latter part of the Saratoga meeting . . A fashion show will be staged tomorrow starting at 12:30 in the Turf and Field clubhouse . . Trained Johnn Zoeller will ship Pur Sang and other horses he has here for Rueben Kowall to Detroit on Saturday. Pur Sang will be turned out for a rest and to permit nature to heal the injury to the colts leg... Jockey Hedley Woodhouse will ride Why Not Now, owned by the Brookmeade Stable, in the Queens County Handicap at Aqueduct on Saturday . . .Frankie Coltiletti, the old jockey, was among the recent arrivals. He checked in from New England . Jockey Nick Com-best will be up on Piet, owned by Pete Markey, in the week-end feature at Aqueduct. . Trainer Harris Brown sent Mesl, owned by Mrs. T. Christopher to a Long Island farm for a let up. Harry F. Guggenheim, master of Cain Hoy Stable, reported that his three-year-old Battle Morn had been turned out for the remainder of the summer. The colt, after cooling out following his Belmont engagement, showed a recurrence of the trouble that sidelined him earlier in the year . . . Stake nomination books for the Monmouth Park meeting were distributed here today . . Trainer Preston Burch made a hurried trip to the Brookmeade Farm down in Virginia. He reported, upon his return, that all was well . . . Trainer Oleg Dubassoff returned the Lazy F Farms Out Point from Suffolk Downs . . While "Indian Johnny" Nerud was watching his charge, Larry A., breeze on the training track this morning, he commented on a lad riding by on a big bay colt. "Man thinks hes going to make a jock out of that kid," Nerud said, "but hell never make it." Asked who the boy was, Nerud said, "Dont know his name, but hes combing his hair all the time. Kid who combs his hair all the time cant ever make a rider. By the way, what happened to Joe Culmone?" W. G. "Deacon" Jones came on from Delaware Park and plans to remain for several days. He has horses stabled here and at the Stanton plant . . . Frank Christmas was a one-day visitor. He came over from Delaware . . Ed Christmas, who has a half-dozen horses here for Mrs. W. L. Brann, reported that Gallorette had been bred to Mahmoud this spring. The mare was barren to Discovery last year. Mrs. Brann plans to sell her yearlings at Saratoga Springs this summer . . Steeplechasing over the big jumps will be resumed at Aqueduct Horatio Luro is seeking permission to have the fencer, Skin Tonic, who was barred, restored to good standing. The outlander has a habit of leaving the course or piling into wings and pylons at the least provocation . Dolly Byers plans to van The Pimpernel, owned by William Goadby Loew, to Delaware Park for several days before the running of the Dover Stakes. Jockey Warren Mehrtens will have the mount . . . According to the trans-Atlantic commuter, Joe Donahue, trainer Jimmy Smith is prepping for a tevee career as a gag man. Joe says his stuff is as old as some of the patter dispensed by the alleged comics . . . Harry M. Stevens, II., of the catering clan, will celebrate his natal day on Saturday. Racing secretary Jimmie Kilroe, at Arlington Park, has named a race in honor of the young man. He styled the offering the Mosley, which is his middle moniker . . Sol Rutchick reported that Jack Amiels Count Turf would be a Dwyer starter. The selections are: LOYAL WORKER in the fourth, PROSPECT in the sixth and FLEETING BY in the eighth.
