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$ •r *and$ BETWEEN RACES * osca* ore HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 29. — Hollywood enters its period of lush stake racing tomorrow with the running of the 0,000 added Westerner, mile and a quarter mid-summer sophomore classic of the Far West. On Wednesday, the Fourth of July, the 0,000 American can Handicap Handicap is is on on tap, tap, an an event event can Handicap Handicap is is on on tap, tap, an an event event which will serve as a prevue for the 00,000 guaranteed Gold Cup of July 14, the latter race climaxing the season. The Westerner, once known as tile Hollywood Derby, makes no claim to having a bearing on national rankings of three-year-olds, Al Wesson, track beilringer, modestly saying that the race will decide championship honors of this meeting only. It promises, however, to be a great horse race, and one that will be important to California breeding if only for the reason that home-breds dominate the contention. In the past 10 runnings, California-breds have won four, Honeymoon, Yankee Valor, Solidarity and Pedigree. In 1947, the Yankee Valor year, homebreds ran one -two-three, On Trust being second and Stepfather third. On four occasions, it has been annexed by horses deemed really good, namely, Busher, Honeymoon, Yankee Valor and Solidarity. For Busher, it was her last victory of an illustrious career. Her "Derby" win crowned a series of successes that earned her the accolade of Daily Racing Form experts as Horse of the Year. Honeymoon made the Derby her fifth straight stakes win at the meeting, a record still unequalled in the annals of the track. Yankee Valors victory, 2:01%, was so sensational that many Californians say to this day that he is the best homebred of modern times. Some 12 days after his score, he died of an acute colic. Major Hollywood Park Stakes in Offing Westerner to Decide Coast Summer Title Frank Porter Miller Yearlings Attractive Doctor Explains His Theory of Rotation The Westerner has not as yet attained stature as a true breeders race because its early winners either lacked class, or were geldings, and time is too recent to permit offspring of either Busher or Honeymoon, to name the fillies, to get to the races. Yankee Valor is dead, and Solidarity only entered stud this last spring. Solidarity is the only three -year-old ever to go from a Westerner score to also annex the Gold Cup, which he did the next year at four, a full second faster than the time he negotiated the mile and a quarter of the Westerner at three. Judging by any standard you care to mention, the Gold Cup is a far more important race to the breeder. However, the Westerner is gradually gaining in stature, and should some of the contenders go to Chicago or to New York for fall racing and prove themselves against competition the other side of the Rockies, the race would gain additional prestige rather rapidly- Adding the new two-year-old stakes to the already heavy schedule of stakes, it is apparent that Hollywood fans are in for an interesting three weeks before the meeting closes on July 21 with the running of the mile and five furlongs 0,000 added Sunset Handicap. AAA It was our good fortune last week-end to visit the Riverside farm of Dr. Frank Porter Miller, breeder of the Kentucky Derby winner Count Turf, and inspect his yearling crop and farm operational practice. The doctor plans to sell 18 yearlings this summer, eight California-breds being consigned to the breeders sale at Santa Anita in mid-July, the other 10 being earmarked for the Saratoga vendue in August. "A great deal has been written since Count Turfs Kentucky Derby win about my breeding procedures," says Dr. Miller. "Actually, they are not very complicated. My rotation plan between Kentucky and California is based upon procedures proven in other parts of the world and is not at all revolutionary. The best selection of bloodlines in the United States is available in Kentucky, but I figure that our Riverside Ranch has about 90 more days of sunshine, or outdoor growing time, than prevails in Kentucky. The benefits of change of climate, altitude and weather for a horse have been demonstrated by Count Tesio in Italy, and by observation of the migrating habits of wild horses in our own West. I havent made any experiments with horses in the matter, but medical research indicates pretty clearly that when humans change environment, going from one locale to another where there is a radical difference in either climate or altitude, certain physiological changes occur in the blood. The temporary effect may be to lower the accomplishment factor, but this is replaced by increased vigor after a period of time, a period depending somewhat upon the individual. AAA "My Saratoga yearlings represent the best crop I have ever sent to New York," continued Dr. Miller. "Our leader will be a colt by Eternal Bull from the mare Del-marie, a half-brother to Count Turf. It would be superfluous to elaborate upon his credentials. Other sires Continued on Page Forty-Three 1 , ! ! , i ! j I : I 1 1 1 I | ! 1 1 i i I : | ; ! 1 1 1 i 1 BETWEEN RACES 1 By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Fifty-Two representing us at Saratoga are Alsab. Pavot, Count Speed, Unbreakable, Basileus II., Hierocles, Priam and Adaris. Our California offerings include offspring of Mafosta, Niccolo, dArezzo, Khaled, Bull Root first crop, Heelfly and Cant Wait. We havent a mare on the farm, either here or in Kentucky that is not well cre-dentialed, and a third of them are either stakes winners or stakes producers. The Alsab — Reigh Grey colt is one of our best. Reigh Grey has had four previous foals, all fillies. Reigh Grey, you know, is a full sister to Count Fleet. Some people have asked me if the extensive shipping of the foals bred in Kentucky, raised in Cali-! forma, and sold at Saratoga, has shown any ill effects. Quite the contrary. The ability to ship well can often be an important factor in the winning of races, especially stakes. We endeavor to educate our yearlings to become accustomed to travel and so far we have never produced a poor or nervous shipper." It might be explained that Dr. Millers Saratoga consignment undergoes a complicated travel schedule. The horses are vanned from the farm to San Bernardino, where they are put on an express car and hooked to a fast Santa Fe mail train. There is nothing faster on wheels between Los Angeles and Chicago. From Chicago, the car goes to Albany, is transferred there to the Delaware and Hudson to the upstate spa. We mention the fast mail because some believe that thoroughbreds do better on slow trains than on limiteds, and while there is some logic behind this idea, Miller feels that the experience gained, careful care, and time saved, more than outweigh any disadvantages. Dr. Miller, incidentally, was the first Californian to experiment on rotation of horses between California and Kentucky, and is the first breeder to raise his stock here and sell on the Atlantic seaboard. This practice was common, however, some 50 years ago, and among the leading exponents of "sending the horses to the market.- instead of bringing the buyers to the farm was James Ben Ali Haggin. The man once sent horses to New York by the trainload. When John D. Hertz established his California farm, Amarillo, he also arrived at the conclusion that in some instances, rotation would be beneficial both to mares and yearlings, and it is a now common Hertz practice to send many late foals or slow developers from Stoner Creek to Amarillo for the same reason that Dr. Miller sends his yearlings west, namely, more outdoor weather and longer periods of sunshine. It is natural that Dr. Miller should pay particular attention to sunshine inasmuch as the rays have oft proved beneficial to his human patients. The doctor specializes in diseases of the chest and the respiratory tract.
