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Continue Strike at Sportsmans Park Pimlico s Next on Hill Gails Itinerary Board Meets Today On Purse Dispute DisputeEntry Entry Box Again Shunned as Both Sides Refuse to Alter Stand Lincoln Given Notice NoticeBy By J SWEENEY GRANT GRANTStaff Staff Correspondent SPORTSMANS PARK Cicero 111 May 5 There was no racing at Sportsmans Park today and the entry box at the strike ¬ bound track was shunned today just as it was Saturday and Sunday The members of the Horsemens Benevolent and Protec ¬ tive Association and the management of the local track have been unable to reach an agreement on purse distribution and as a result the horsemen refused to enter their horses over the weekend for todays program and likewise failed to make any entries for tomorrows card cardWilliam William H Johnston president of Sports ¬ mans Park and Joseph G Kohout spokes ¬ man for the HBPA reserved further comment while awaiting tomorrow morn ¬ ings meeting with the Illinois Racing Board The meeting which is scheduled for 10 a m will be held at the boards offices at 160 North LaSalle Street In at ¬ tendance will be Johnston Kohout Ray Bennigsen secretary of the National Jockey Club Dr Harry Lindy vicepresident of the Michigan Division of the HBPA Robert O Read national president of the horsemens organization and several of the executive committeemen of the HBPA The session will be presided over by Stuyvesant Peabody Jr chairman of the Illinois Rac ¬ ing Board and commissioners Frank R Warton and William S Miller MillerTo To File Suit Against Responsible Owners OwnersIn In his latest action Saturday Johnston advised horsemen that after they failed to enter their horses Saturday morning for Mondays program that the National Jockey Club would bring suit against the responsible horse owners for damages sus ¬ tained by reason of such action including all profits the track would otherwise have made if the race meeting continued to and including Saturday May 10 Johnston sub ¬ mitted as evidence for the suit statements signed by the horsemen previous to the opening of Sportsmans Park that they would race at this meeting for purses total ¬ ing 16800 daily with a minimum purse of 2000 Johnston and his attorneys stated that the signed statements should have been binding and they are seeking legal action against the horsemen for their fail ¬ ure to maintain their part of the agree ¬ ment In his petition to the Illinois Racing Board Johnston requested that the gov ¬ erning board take disciplinary measures against the horsemen in accord with regu reguContinued Continued on Page TwentyNine Sportsmans Park Idle In Dispute on Purses PursesBoth Both Sides Remain Adamant as Entry Box is Shunned Again AgainContinued Continued from Page One Onelation lation 18 in the racing laws of the State of Illinois IllinoisWhen When contacted Peabody stated that the board would be glad to serve as medi ¬ ator between the horsemen and the man ¬ agement of Sportsmans Park should both sides so agree Speaking only for himself and not for the board Peabody said that should the board find Johnstons petition legal that the track owner could take his case to a civil court for further action The powers of the board in reference to purse distribution are very limited The main gist of regulation 18 is that the board has the power to suspend or fine anyone proved to be detrimental to the best inter ¬ ests of racing Peabody could not say at this time whether the current situation was revelant revelantBenjamin Benjamin F Lindheimer executive di ¬ rector of Arlington and Washington Parks arrived from California Saturday and met with Johnston Robert Carey president of Hawthorne and Peter J ODonnell gen ¬ eral manager of Lincoln Fields Lind ¬ heimer pointed out that each of Chicagos tracks has its own problems and was non commital in regard to the Sportsmans Park situation He said that he did not arrive here specifically for any strike con ¬ tingency but that he probably would have a statement for the press tomorrow It was understood that all of the track heads are behind Johnston and Sportsmans Park Lindheimer will not be in attend ¬ ance at tomorrows meeting with the board but he will remain in the Chicago area until after the close of the Washington Park meeting meetingKohout Kohout in a bulletin issued Sunday to members of the HBPA advised horsemen that they have been assured by Read and national attorney Morman Frost that the organization has not violated any agree ¬ ment by their actions as set forth by Johnston Should the situation resolve it j self into legal action in any court of law1 the HBPA will be duly represented by its legal counsel Kohout said Since the issuance of Johnstons suit the horsemen have met with the track head but neither side would relent Kohout in a statement today said that the HBPA again would be glad to meet with Johnston in the hope that the strike could be settled in an amicable manner Kohout and his com ¬ mittee remain firm in their stand for a daily distribution calculated on 50 per cent of the tracks share of the mutuel liandle and breakage breakageJohnston Johnston reiterated that since the open ¬ ing of the meeting that he has authorized three purses increases which at this time brings the distribution to more than 20 000 per day He refused to further increase the amount amountJoseph Joseph Broderick secretary of the board informed reporters early Monday that he would issue a statement later in the day In the afternoon he stated that any comment would be withheld until Tuesdays meeting meetingMeantime Meantime horsemen not only remained determined not to enter their horses but eased their training schedules consider ¬ ably A total of 13 thoroughbreds worked out over the local strip Sunday and 14 others were sent through their paces Mon ¬ day This is in contrast to the approxi ¬ mately 60 to 80 horses that usually are seen on the track when the track is fast and the situation normal normalHorsemen Horsemen interviewed had little to say except that they were in accordance with Kohout and members of the committee They will continue to refuse to enter their horses until an amicable agreement has been concluded so they state stateHarold Harold C Hoffman secretary of the HBPA made known that the executive committee of the organization several days ago presented the Lincoln Fields Racing Association with the required sevenday notice that the horsemen would also take drastic action during that forthcoming meeting unless a working agreement shall be made with general manager ODonnell and other officials of the track before the opening of the meeting next Monday May 12 The Lincoln Fields session will be held this year at Hawthorne due to a fire which recently razed the grandstand at the newly remodeled plant near Crete HI ODonnell was not available for comment commentSUFFOLK SUFFOLK DOWNS East Boston Mass May 5 Irving Gushen vicepresident of the New England division of the HBPA sent a telegram to Robert Read national president of the horsemens group support ¬ ing the strike of horsemen at Sportsmans Park The text of the telegram read The membership of the New England division of the HBPA are sic solidly behind you in your efforts to secure an equitable purse distribution We trust that your efforts will be crowned with success and again assuring you of our full cooperation
