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VK •"*"■ = BETWEEN RACES * °x** o™ HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 23. — Reports from Seattle are to the effect that Longacres had a highly successful inaugural over the week-end and the meeting, which will prevail through Labor Day, promises to be the best in modern Longacres history. "We are pretty encouraged encouraged by by the the continuous contmuous growth growth encouraged encouraged by by the the continuous contmuous growth growth in Washington State breeding," says Judge Peter D. Pedersen. "There is almost as much public interest in our Washington-bred crop as there is in the California purchases of Seattle sportsmen. Our Washington Futurity has grown in an amazing fashion. It was inaugurated in 1940 with a purse of ,200 added. It now has a value of ,500, second in importance only to the traditional 0,000 Longacres Mile. Three Futurity winners, Campus Fusser, Prince Ira est and Hank H., went on to win the mile. Last years futurity winner, Better Wave, was a good winner on California tracks last season and looks like one of the best sophomore prospects on the grounds. There are 47 homebreds still eligible for the Futurity, which I believe is responsible for much new blood that has come into Washington during the last 12 months. Among the sires attracting state-wide attention are Final Appeal, who formerly stood at the University of California and who is now at Herb Armstrongs Valley Farm in Harrington; Count Dor, winner of the 1939 Stars and Stripes; Student Prince, C. J. Sebastians highly regarded Kentucky purchase who went wrong in training; Porters Mite, given to Washington State College by William Boeing and whose first crop of Washington-breds will reach the races this season; Piccolo, also standing at the college and the sire of Sir Calbenor, who raced six furlongs Longacres Track Enjoys Banner Inaugural Washington-Bred Strength at a New High Walter Litzenberg Back in Home Territory Skunk Upsets Serenity of Hollywood Park in 1:09% at Bay Meadows this spring, plus such old reliables as Black Forest, Campus Fusser, Sidney Carton, Better Bet, Manners Man and Sir Jeffrey. AAA "We are extremely fortunate in having a strong riding colony," continues Pedersen. "Walt Litzenberg, a home town boy from Wapato, is back for the first time since he led the meeting in 1946 as an apprentice under Larry Kidd. Litzenberg had the track on five that year, winning 78 races in 37 days. Joe Baze has turned in his school books and is riding well. You will recall he was a Northwest sensation last year. Ned Merritt, who rode here during the inaugural season of 1933, is trying a comeback and has a call to Lloyd Lawson, trainer of a 22-horse public stable. This should give him an opportunity, as Merritts many friends are rooting for him to make his comeback attempt successful. Ancient Harvey Duncan, the king of the bull rings, wears on forever, seemingly, and always get a high percentage of winners from mounts accepted. Physically, Longacres is at its finest. The new track surface has met with horsemens enthusiastic approval. As you know, we took 7,000 cubic yards of soil from the infield, river loam, free of rocks and gravel, and containing the proper mixture of sand and humus. Horses run fast over it, but you cant hear any clatter. "We also are quite happy over the physical aspects of the plant," concludes Pedersen. "California weather prevailed this spring, with just enough moisture to keep the grounds in good shape. As for natural beauty, with the background of 14,000-foot, always snowclad Mount Rainer, I dont think you can beat it. The new turf club, which you announced a while back in your column, has been an immediate success. The membership was fully subscribed before the season opened and contains many of the most prominent business and social names of the Northwest. Because of size limitations, the membership had to be limited, and we now have a long waiting list asking for consideration at first opportunity. Joe Gott-stein, president of Longacres, anticipated that the track would participate in the national upward trend of attendance and pari-mutuel play, and the first condition book carried substantial increase in purse disbursements. All in all, we are of the opinion that good racing makes good breeding, and vice versa, and that both are on the road to better things, has heartened us to all at once heed well the present and plan for a better future." AAA Speaking of turf clubs, the Hollywood Park management was presented with a rather delicate problem the other day when a member appeared carrying a pet skunk on his shoulder. Startled ushers and gatemen let the man pass, and he promptly marched to the bar where he put said skunk on display. Needless to say, the presence of a real, live skunk, presumably de-odorized, created more than a ripple of interest. The problem of the turf club officials was to decide whether to allow member and skunk to remain, or to ask member and skunk to leave, or simply ask member to take skunk somewhere Continued on Page Thirty-Seven BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Eight else and return minus said skunk. While , pondering this problem, it was noted that j after taking due notice of the furry animal, and making a few wisecracks, the turf club J patrons quickly returned to the business ; at hand, jousting with the "tote" machine. And, as long as no harm was done, it was 1 decided to leave well enough alone, and the k skunk remained for the entire program. AAA Hollywood and Belmont Park are running neck and neck, and may possibly pass ; Jamaica for national daily average attendance . leadership. The last time we looked, only a few hundred persons per day separated the Nassau County oval from the Inglewood course. It is probable, however, that when the final statistics are in, Hollywood will pass Belmont, as its best days are still on tap, namely, the Westerner, Gold Cup and Sunset Handicap, Saturday. Even so, while wagering is up here about t|| 121/2 per cent, attendance is down from 1 last summer by 2 V2 per cent, and the latter r figure is quite perplexing to the Hollywood 1 management. It might be blamed partially 7 on the weather, for most June days along I the coastal shelf here are overcast in the a mornings and rather dreary and depressing. - Not that it rains, mind you, for it seldom, - if ever, rains at this time of the year. . Along in July, however, the morning overcasts - should either vanish, or "burn out," as the saying goes, long before post time e for the first race. The best beach weather r in the Southland is between July 4 and 1 Labor Day. Del Mars dates, last July and i August, and the early fall dates in the San 1 t|| 1 r 1 7 I a - - . - e r 1 i 1 Francisco Bay Area, extending through Indian Summer, are considered ideal rac- ing days in California. While other dates are desirable, they sometimes are slightly tarnished by something like the current morning overcasts. With a marked upswing in public interest, occasioned in part by the high quality of the two-year-old racing, and in consequence, "name" developments, at season end, Hollywood should not be too far under its all time record average, 29,219 daily during the 1947 season. The largest crowd in Hollywood history was on Memorial Day, 1948, when 72,186 paid at the turnstiles. This seasons better than 58,000 was not too bad in comparison.
