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, ■••■■ ■■■■■■ -i ■"•!■$ ■■" LJ™-" BETWEEN RACES *a~ ». HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif.,f t June 11. — One of Americas great trainers, Harry Daniels, is all set to take a vacation, , his his first first in in 11 11 years, years, his his first first in in 11 11 years, years, following the Bill Goetz dispersal sale in the Hollywood Park paddock on the afternoon of the 30th. Harry I Daniels, with compar- atively few horses un- 1 der his care, has hung up a record for both percentage of winners j sent to the post for t number of starters and in in number number of of stakes stakes ■■" LJ™-" in in number number of of stakes stakes wins. Daniels, a former show horse man, ] entered racing with his own stable of t horses at the Sonoma County Fair at Santa Rosa, and with six horses purchased for 00, became the leading trainer at the ] meeting in his initial venture. The horse- men there gleefully presented him with a j frying pan as a trophy for the accom- plishment. His first stakes winner came l with Gay Allset in the Lassie at Bay s Meadows, was followed rapidly by Show- c andsee at Golden Gate Fields, and he first gained true national attention with Bail t Bond, beaten but three noses to be fourth l in the 00,000 Santa Anita Handicap. 3 Daniels, of course, was responsible for both 1 the acquisition of Your Host by Bill Goetz, g and his subsequent training. "I liked Your e Host for three reasons," recalls Daniels, s He was well bred, everything out of his dam having been able to run, he had per- feet legs and feet that set right, and he was t on the small side and promised to be shifty, and there was nothing wrong with him except that he held his head crooked. But 1 I didnt figure that would be a drawback £ for he did every other thing a horse should s do in a normal manner. * * * "I believe the best race Your Host ever i ran was in the Thanksgiving Day Handi- cap here at Hollywood Park when they ran i the split season," adds Daniels, "for in that race, he beat the Horse of the Year, Hill Prince, and other good ones in as game a t fashion as horses run." Incidentally, last 2 year, Daniels trained the three horses voted "Best of the Year in the West" by r local turf writers, the three-year-old colt 1 Grantor, the three-year-old filly Be Happy, t and the two-year-old stakes winning That- c away. "It is unfortunate for racing that s Mr. Goetz was forced for business reasons c to retire from stable ownership," comments i Daniels. "The turf needs more owners and s sportsmen like Goetz, and I can say I have t never known a finer sportsman in all my i t I 1 j t ] t ] j l s c t l 3 1 g e s t 1 £ s i i t 2 r 1 t c s c i s t i Daniels Holds Training Record 4 Development of Your Host Feat Northwest Racing Outlook Bright Longacres Boosts Stakes Values life." After his vacation, Daniels will accept one of the several offers to take over horses which have been tendered him. AAA My Northwest observer, Pete Pedersen, phones to fill us in on the current situation in the Evergreen Empire, and finds it encouraging. "While Portland was nothing flashy, being up about 10 per cent," says Pedersen, "it looks like Longacres is out of the alfalfa and stepping into the blue grass class. The place really looks stunning, Joe Gottstein having gone overboard in all departments physically, the plant is more beautiful than ever, with new boxes, 15 acres of new grass parking lot, new flower beds in the infield. Gottstein has given a healthy boost to the purses and his new stakes book bears out the national trend of better purses for the better horses, which should act as a stimulant to higher type racing. The stakes and handicap outlay has been increased 5,000 over last year, and the total such distribution has now reached 02,000. A policy of giving a graded handicap of not less than ,000 each Saturday is being inaugurated in addition to the stakes roster, which will be offered mainly on Sundays and Wednesdays. Additions to the handicap slate are the Ruth Parton, honoring Washingtons premier horsewoman, for two-year-old Washington-bred fillies at five and one-half furlongs, and the Rhododendron our state flower on Wednesday, August 20, at six furlongs for Washington-bred three-year-olds. Homebreds also have the Breeders, Fashion, Stallion, Hilltop and Washington Futurity to shoot at. The Derby, to be run at a mile and a furlong, has been increased from ,000 to ,500 added, AAA "The use of the photo patrol is growing," adds Pedersen, "and I imagine that Long-acres will be the smallest track in the world, pari-mutuelly speaking, to use this method of race supervision. Gottstein had added something new in this respect by building developing and projection rooms on the top of the grandstand, within a few steps of the stewards perch. Thus, the officials can step right into any inquiries instead of taking the long and time consuming trek which is normal at some race tracks. Incidentally, two items worthy of interest developed at Portland Meadows. A ►quarter horse named Tacoma Dink Echols, owned and trained by M. A. Martin, of Tacoma, finished first two nights in a row and was disqualified both times. Jockey Joe Baze launched his successful comeback. You may recall he was the apprentice sensation of the Northwest, then passed up a chance at the big time of Santa Anita to finish his high school education. Then, after a fall at Longacres, he lost a kidney. Hes one of the best percentage riders up this way, looks better every time out and he seems to be getting his old time con- fidence back." AAA This writer is not surprised to learn that Gottstein has gone "all out" to make Long-acres better than ever for the coming summer, his meeting opening on the 20th of this month and continuing through Labor Day. Actually, the man has never received the national recognition which has been his due for what he has accomplished in Washington in particular and the nation in general for thoroughbred racing. For instance, he helped organize the TRA and through the years, as a member of the board of directors, has often used Long- acres as a pilot plant for small race tracks everywhere to try out the adaption of big -track methods at smaller ovals in an effort to upgrade the sport. Of course, Longacres is a full mile track, and when we say small, we mean that its volume of pari-mutuel play is not of the Belmont Park variety. In addition, Gottstein has been the most lib- eral race track operator in America in ear- marking track revenues for the benefit of Washington State breeding as well as offer- ing the highest percentage of stakes for homebreds, eight out of 21, to be exact, of any track in the nation. This has been re- fleeted in an astonishing growth of Wash- ington State breeding, a growth in both numbers of producing thoroughbreds and in quality. The latter is proved by the in- creasing price buyers are willing to pay for Washington-bred yearlings and two-year- olds. Ironically enough, his contributions to the improvement of the breed are hailed everywhere in America but in Washington, where, while admitted, a few people are inclined to look upon this fundamental fi- nancing as their due by some sort of divine right. Gottstein is a philosopher in this matter, however, but he must wonder at times on the perversity of human nature. The date for the big race of the season, the 0,000 Longacres Mile, has been set for Sunday, August 24. The Mile is to the Northwest what the Kentucky Derby is to the nation, the most coveted race of the year for Northwest owners. : . : ; : | ; 1 • | . , j | ; • j . ; ; ; 1 . ; | , j : j | , , j j | ; | , , |
