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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 29. One of racings greatest days, Memorial, is at hand, and coming as it does on a Friday, western tracks are making preparations for tremendous crowds, and are offering stakes worthy in every way. Here at Hollywood Park, the first 0,000 addedstakeof the meeting will be decided, the mile and one-sixteenth Argonaut, and, on Saturday, the track will be turned over to the distaff with the- running of Milady Handicap, for fillies and mares, a new stake on the Hollywood Park roster, and the Cinderella, for two-year-old fillies. The Argonaut was to have been a natural in that it was thought it would bring together Miche and Intent, the two so recently and vividly involved in the Santa Anita Handicap, and Lights Up, nose winner over Intent in the Golden Gate Handicap. However, at the last moment Intent came down with a slight cough an epidemic seems to have struck the juveniles and a few older horses here as well as in New York and trainer Hack Ross decided to keep Lights Up in the barn so as not to over-race him before the 00,000 Hollywood Gold Cup. Ross twice sent Bull Reigh to the post for Hollywoods richest classic and twice that horse came in second. Hack admits that hes out to win this renewal with Lights Up and would prefer to give the son of Eight Thirty a small refresher although he is at the top of his form. The Argonauts pre race headlines are reserved for Miche, who equaled the seven-furlong track record of 1:21 last Saturday and looked like he loved the track doing it. Trainer Don Cameron tells us that Mrs. John Payson Adams handsome gray is a one-run horse, and that he does not fancy running on the pace. A change of tactics enabled him to have the looks of a champion in his seven-furlonger and he may just take on that hue again tomorrow. AAA The Saturday program is ho less enticing, for two of the fastest fillies in recent years will meet in the Cinderella. They are So Regards, undefeated at Santa Anita, and King Ranchs Haunted, winner of her only three starts. Haunted set a track record at Golden Gate Fields, going four and one-half furlongs in :52 flat, but a fifth of a second removed from the American mark as established by Saggy at Havre de Grace in 1947. The Cinderella, at five furlongs, will insure that whoever wins it will have to sustain her speed, and while we are not hinting that five furlongs is a Expect Vast Track Crowds Today Hollywood Park Features Sparkle Black Zida Toast of Portland Caliente Begins Summer Season test of stamina, it is of sufficient distance to prove pretty well if these flashy youngsters have any sort of a future. You may recall that Baloma was about as fast in New Orleans last winter, but "blew up" when stretched to the Headley Course at Keeneland. Actually, on a fractional time basis, So Regards ran faster than did Baloma last winter, although Baloma was only going a quarter of a mile and So Regards three furlongs. Fans also are hopeful that Two Lea, a mighty popular mare hereabouts, will see fit to keep her engagement in the Milady. AAA " The Decoration Day week-end is also expected to be big at Portland Meadows, where the meeting is nearing a close. The ,500 Memorial Day Handicap is on tap tomorrow at a mile and one-sixteenth, and the ,000 Mioland Handicap at six furlongs will be determined on Saturday. Both days will see afternoon programs instead of the prevailing night racing. Oregonians will ge their moneys worth if Black Zida starts in either of these races, and we understand she will make a selection. This daughter of Black Legion Be Zida, by Bistouri, was racing in claimers for as low as ,000 here last summer, disappeared into the Northwest as horses have a habit of doing on the Coast, was sold privately for ,000 to Johnny Ruff, of Walla Walla, who entered her on May 6 in an allowance event. She won by 10 lengths in new track record time of 1:10, was stretched to a mile in another allowance event, won by five in .1:38 flat, and then was sent into handicap company, the Speedy and won that over the hard-hitting Irenes Angel-by a nose, also in new track record time of 1:04 for the five and one-half furlongs. Several columns ago; we noted that change of climate in the West was often listed by trainers as the prime reason, for improvement in certain horses, and this apparently was the case of Black Zida. In any event, her exploits have touched off some real enthusiasm in Portland. AAA To the south, Caliente races on Sunday, the third and last day of the three-day holiday. The Sunday following Memorial Day officially starts the summer for the border course and, while Caliente races 50 of the 52 Sundays in each year, its seasons are well defined. There, too, fans are intrigued by thoroughbred competition at its keenest, in this instance, the renewal of a bitter feud between Go . Charm and Miss Cross S. in the Zephyr Handicap at six furlongs. It is possible that this pair, who have been beating one another by noses, will face the rapidly improving Foreign Loan, a colt who was conceived in England, but who was imported to the United States in utero. Caliente has done a rather remarkable job for horse racing in proving the point, if proof be needed, that basically the appeal of the sport lies with keen 6om-petition rather than with so-called "name" horses. Horses who get "too good" there literally race themselves out of competition and head for California. Therefore, Walter C. Marty insists that the average races be conditioned as to provide for the keen competition cited, and the track has a way of developing its own equine heroes, whose public popularity often rests on consistency of performance rather than on records broken. AAA Memorial Day crowds across the. continent have in the past been, used as an index to the "state of the turf" and as a forecast of things to come for the remainder of the year. This will no doubt hold true tomorrow, too, and the chances aire that all three tracks mentioned will play host to capacity audiences. In the case of Hollywood Park, it wont be quite a fair test, because 60,000 people are about all who can be accommodated. It is true that 72,186 attended the races on Memorial Day in 1948 for anall-time Inglewood record. But, since 1948, the per capita of people in cars has gone steadily downward to an average of less than three per car, hence a crowd of more than 70,000 would call for about 25,000 cars in the parking lot and in adjacent areas. Incidentally, the infield of of the training track, 16 acres, has been paved and will be pressed into service as a parking lot tomorrow. A temporary roadway will be built across the track and a crew of workmen will remove it tomorrow night so that training gallops will prevail as usual Saturday morning. And a drive-in theatre across Century Boulevard from the stable area has been engaged for the afternoon, which will accommodate even more patrons. It is our personal opinion that, if Hollywood Park could handle the crowd, it would become the first track in America, other than Churchill Downs, to annually have more than 100,000 people on hand on a racing day in this instance, Decoration Day. However, Hollywood does not feel that the beauty of its infield should be marred just in expectations that maybe 100,000 would show up one day in the year, and there is no way Hollywood could take care of such a crowd without I utilizing its infield.
