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JUDGES STAND By Charles Hatton— Kin of Blue Man, Valor in Sales Pimlico Pacing Commercial Tracks Leads in Ratio of Purses to Play Calumet Aids Sports Relations LEXINGTON, Ky., June 5. Racing men everywhere are becoming profoundly interested in the summer yearling sales. Indications are that Lexington once again will be the highest point of specific gravity the last four days in July, when the Breeders Sales Company auctions some 400 colts and fillies. The announcement, several days ago, that Walter Salmon will offer no yearlings in 52, has been followed by another from the sales company. Bill Evans today said that the high quality of the summer auctions will be maintained, and that none of the colts and fillies rejected by the committee before the withdrawal of the Mereworth consignment will be catalogued to fill the void. He noted also that owners and trainers will be offered the nearest of kin of many distinguished stakes performers. For example, horsemen will find, when the catalogue is released, there are brothers to Blue Man, Ace Admiral, I Will and Eternal Moon, and sisters to Lextown, Fleet Rings, Blue Kay and Symposium. Not to mention half-brothers to Jet Pilot, Hampden, The Diver, Bernwood, Hannibal and Fort Salonga, and half-sisters to Pintor, Level Best, Yellmantown, Black George, Your Host, Columbiana, Alquest, Roman Miss and Crownlet. The brother to Blue Man naturally will be the cynocure of all eyes, for Blue Man won the Preakness and now appears the-one-to-beat for Saturdays Belmont Stakes. Pintor is one of the better milers among the 1952 three-year-olds. So buyers once again may attend the Keeneland sales in the comfortable knowledge they will have an opportunity of purchasing top quality colts and fillies. It is conjectured Blue Mans brother may be the years highest-priced colt, the sister to Spartan Valor that Henry Knight offers at the Spa its highest-priced filly. Also that the Spendthrift consignment here and Almahurts at Saratoga will bring unheard of averages. The trend in bloodstock is up, along with the trend in play and distribution, and the local sales company has Increased its minimum selling fee from 0 to 0, which provides an arbitrary ,000 "floor of the market." Several columns ago we devoted a paragraph to some statistics on tracks distribution in relation to their commission from the "tote" play. Harry Sheer, of the Arlington-Washington staff, writes that, "Such statistics are vital to horsemen, the public and, indeed, every echelon in the racing industry," and taking his cue from the figures quoted, he has thrown in several other equations and has arrived at a somewhat more definitive tabulation. His figures are based on 15 major tracks, exclusive of the nonprofit associations, and the actual net distribution for 51 against the "tote" commission, gate and breakage. Pimlico is the leader, with 40.11 per cent, followed by Arlington, 38.66 per cent; Washington, 38.06 per cent; Belmont, 36.06 per cent; Hialeah, 32.37 per cent; Gulfstream, 32.10 per cent; Sportsmans, 31.77 per cent; Santa Anita, 31.38 per cent; Monmouth, 31.27 per cent; Atlantic City, 31.18 per cent; Lincoln Fields, 30.36 per cent; Hawthorne, 29.86 per cent; Garden State, 28.45 per cent; Jamaica, 29.36 per cent, and Hollywood Park, 27.64 per cent. Pimlico leads the field, also on purse distribution vs. commission, followed by Belmont, Arlington, Washington and Jamaica. It is our thinking, such statistics are of academic interest. But also that it should be stressed they do not give the complete picture, because of the differences in operating expenses, maintainence, tax methods and so on at tracks about the country. For example, the admission sales at Chicago meetings are considerably less than at -some of the coastal tracks. On the other hand, Chicago tracks retain 8 per cent of the pools, New York, for example, 6 per cent. Because of the basic differences in operation, we do not see how possibly the same ratio of distribution would be either fair or practicable nationally. Competition for the horses of the sort that attract the public never was more intense. Distribution reached record proportions in 51, and seems certain to set a new mark in 52._ Calumets Paul Ebelhardt showed us about the 1,038 acres of horse paradise this morning. One of the points of interest is a three-month-old brother to Hill Gail, who took the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbys with ruffles and a flourish. His dam, Jane Gail, orphaned him Decoration Day, and he has been provided with a red roan draft mare as a foster mother. She was a little reluctant to adopt him, but has become quite hospitable. The colt is on the tall side, with perhaps a straighter hind leg than his famous brother. In the main broodmare barn a galaxy of mares, including Twilight Tear, Mar-Kell, Twosy, Rosary n., Penicuik n., Miss Rushin, Little Risk and Easy Lass, shared swankly box stalls of varnished oak and polished brass fixtures with their foals. We must say we never saw mares and foals in better condition. And how very much we admired Twilight Tear. "Makes you. wish you could paint," as Ebelhardt put it. "Her daughter, A Gleam, is running well again, too." Blue Delight, who has sent up three stakes winners in All Blue, Real Delight and Bubbley, is running around with the barren mares this year, but she surely deserves a rest. There was the usual steady stream of visitors, and the farm invites them daily, except Sundays. In this way it helps the sports public relations. We think it a conservative guess 200,000 tourists inspect Calumet annually. Most of them this spring have asked first to see Citation. He has r been often compared with past champions, but comparing him with himself, he certainly -is more impressive in appearence than he was in training. Gallorette and several others of his mates have been pronounced in foal to him. Turfana: Arizonahas adopted the time-out rule for injured apprentices. . . . Illinois board has adopted a regulation that any jockey who touches a person or thing other than his own equipment between dismounting and weighing in may be fined or suspended and his mount disqualified. . . . Lincolns film patrol is said to have been speeded up appreciably. There was a delay of about 20 minutes back at Sportsmans. . . . Reynolds Bell is reported to have negotiated the sale of Hartland to Texas J. R. Abercrombie. . . . Starting Time marks another stakes-producing daughter of Equipoise. The Great Southwestern Handicap winner is out of Equip. . . . The Thoroughbred Record is going in for "face lifting," with an interesting new cover design. This weeks is the work of artist William P. Welsh. . . . Twilight Tear has been bred to Count Fleet.
