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BETWEEN RACES * «c« ore GARDEN STATE PARK, Camden. N. J., May 6. — Garden States richest spring stake for three-year-olds, the 0,000 mile and a furlong Jersey Stakes, is down for decision on Saturday and is newsworthy in more ways than one. It is not billed or advertised as a "prep" for anything, will have no bearing on eventual Horse of the Year honors, but rather might be termed a stakes of foundered hopes. When Gene Mori first carded the Jersey, he had the notion that the stake, spotted between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, might eventually work its way into classic status, hopes which were lifted by the appearance and victory of Citation in 1947. But the timing was wrong to get the best three-year-olds every year, and no amount of added money, it seemed, could compete with the prestige which accrued to the ■* winner of any one of the three classics which comprise the "Triple Crown." Mori wisely did not push an impossible ambition, but continued the Jersey as a worthwhile stake for the best three-year-olds available at this particular time of the year and turned to a greener pasture for a prestige offering, i.e., the 50,000 gross Garden State for two-year-olds in the fall of the year. This particular year, because of the three-week spread between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the Jersey might be attractive to a few Preakness eligibles, hence will be a stakes of more than passing interest. AAA In Kentucky, they will tell you flatly that publicity built the Kentucky Derby into the great classic that it is today, and one of the reasons of the selection of Bill Corum to replace the late Col. Matt J. Winn as president of Churchill Downs was his broad understanding of people in general, meaning the public, and of the press in particular. Here at Garden State, the management has Jersey on Tap for Garden State Fans Late Entry Closing Concern of Sport Letter to Horsemen Explains Problem Interesting Note on Dancers Ears been somewhat concerned over a spell of "late closing of entries," and, while this situation will right itself, the management did take the trouble to make its thinking clear on the subject. Gone are the days when racing was a private, rather clubby and chummy affair, the days in New York, for instance, when nobody cared when the entries came out, when jockeys were not posted until 1 p. m. the afternoon of the race, and when added starters were permitted in stakes. Racing, which has been in a state of transition from this closely knit, subsidized sport the subsidy from the owners of the track, to a big public sport, indeed, now the number one sport in the nation, has been rapid and is almost complete. And, if racing is to maintain that growth and public confidence, entries must be closed within a reasonable time. Many horsemen are not aware of the change, even though they fully realize that now they race for purses instead of for winning bets. This is why the so-called "purse problem" has become paramount in some areas. In turn, the purses cant be paid without the public attending and wagering at the pari-mutuel wickets. This attendance is fostered by racings basic public relations approach, publication of entries and results or charts. AAA Garden State outlined its thoughts in an open letter to horsemen, and among the points made were these: "We believe that between us a common interest to do all that we can, separately and together, to promote racing in our area as a sport and to do all that lies within our power to sell more people to come to racing. Therein, we believe, lies the stability and economic success of racings future. The Garden State Racing Association can and is making the necessary capital investment to improve and expand the plant to help promote more patronage. However, the quality and character of the show we put on, which plays an important part in this expansion, depends upon the cooperation we receive from you. . . . In closing our entries early we will thus gain the promotional advantage that come from our entries being carried , in all editions of the press." There are two reasons advanced for the temporary slowness of the entries closing, one, the large number of horses on the grounds a bit tired out from long Florida campaigns, two, the fact that many horses freshened up for the winter have not been quite ready. So perhaps nobody is to blame, but the situation of last week did evoke this clear statement of racings objectives from Garden State and which we feel is worthy of bringing to the attention of horsemen and tracks everywhere. AAA Horace Wade has returned from Kentucky with a pocketful of notes and a head full of ideas as to how he can improve upon his "spectacle" presentation of the Florida Derby next year. He was particularly impressed, as was this writer, with one new idea introduced at the Downs and which is a good one for public relations, namely, the placard placed on each pony accompanying a starter to the paddock giving the program number of the horse. Tens of thousands of fans could thus identify the starters as they slowly walked to the paddock on the main track. The placards were carried on the saddle horns of the pony, and were clearly visible to most everybody. In this pre-parade walk, only two horses could be easily identified by the casual spectator, the gray, Native Dancer, and the black, Royal Bay Gem. Wade plans to Continued on Page Thirty -Four i BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four have his Derby starters decked out in colors bearing the name of the horse, a plan which was used in Laurels "D. C. International* with especially favorable reception by TV viewers. AAA Horses and People: Native Dancer has one variation from the norm of the thoroughbred breed. When he is doing his best, he pins his ears, but pricks them when justa loafing along. . . . Jockey Eric Guerin, who rode him in the Derby, spotted the different way Native Dancer carried his ears in the pix taken of the Derby, and, if these be a reliable guide, Native Dancer""was doing his utmost only during the last sixteenth of his heartbreaking mile and a quarter at Churchill Downs. ... A new general manager for Bowie will be appointed early next month if the current talk on the East Coast is authentic, which it probably is. . . . We have it direct from Governor Shivers of Texas that talk of "reviving the sport in the Lone Star State is premature. "There is a great deal of sentiment in favor of. racing in Texas," explained Shrivers, "but there is more pressure against than for." . . . Before sailing for Europe and the coronation, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Guiberson purchased two Nas-rullah yearlings from Stoner Creek. . . . It is well along in May now, but only recently did a California track offer a stakes for two-year-olds, which is one reason horses of quality are hard to prove up, in California, although the situation is changing for the better. ... Hollywood Park is expanding its stakes program to a great degree this summer, and Del Mar is toying with the thought of relying almost exclusively upon two-year-olds for its appeal to the public, and by appeal, we mean "stakes leaders."
