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JUDGES STAND *y charles hatton PIMLICO, Baltimore. Md., May 8. — Cary Boshamer, Lou Pondfield and others of the new Pimlico organization are very much interested also in the development of Cleveland racing in general, and that of Cranwood and Thistle Down in particular. There are extensive plans for the resumption of the sport at Thistle Down, on a scale which should result in an improved quality ofTacing at both there and at Saul Silbermans renovated Randall, which is literally within "a stones throw" of the reconstructed Cleveland course. For horsemen will be assured a long season of valuable stakes and purses, making it well worthwhile forfeiting stalls elsewhere for a campaign in the Buckeye State. Randall is to operate 44 days, beginning July 18, Thistle Down for a similar period, beginning September 11 and extending through October 31. Not improbably, some of the strings now active at Pimlico, and which will participate in Delaware Park competition, will journey to Cleveland. As you may know, Thistle Downs stand was razed by fire in 44. It now has been replaced by a stadium having seven levels, escalators, elevators, and other ultra-modern conveniences. AAA Pondfield has been a commuter to Cleveland for many weeks, supervising the construction of the stand rising phoenixlike out of the ashes of the old Thistle Down. There also is going on a great deal of work in the stable area, where several new barns have been erected, and others have been placed in repair. The mile racing surface is shipshape, and has been utilized for training for several years. The Ohio Derby, revived at the halfer Cranwood last summer, is the piece de resistance of the Thistle Down program, with an added value of 5,000. The magic of the name "Derby" was no better illustrated than at Cranwood in 52, when so many Clevelanders turned Pimlico Heads Develop Cleveland Sport Ohio Derby Will Be Run at Thistle Down Many Unconvinced Dark Star Can Repeat Samples Pimlico Surface in Prep Event out for this event it was necessary to close the gates in the interest of public safety. Thanks to the introduction of the "tote," and the progressive policies of Boshamer, Silberman and Pondfield, racing is enjoying a tremendous vogue where once it virtually expired for want of patronage. AAA Still a little incredulous of the order of finish in the Kentucky Derby, people are assuring one another that Dark Star will not repeat in the Preakness here. They reason that in this second of the "Triple Crown" events Native Dancer will follow the pace more closely, and that his move will be more effective. Perhaps Guerin will try to have him closer to the pace than he was at Louisville, especially since the Preakness is a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby. But then it was not by choice the Louisianan and his mount were six or seven lengths out of it the first quarter at the Downs. They were outrun at that stage, and we believe, with trainer Bill Winfrey, that is where Native Dancer was defeated. Nor can we find any commission or track rule to the effect it is compulsory that Dark Star set all the pace in the Preakness. After all, he came from behind in the Derby Trial, in which there was a lively pace and Moreno rated him off it to the stretch. Moreno had not intended making the Derby running. But his mount was very keen coming out of the gate, where he had drawn comparatively far from the rail, and the Chicagoan permitted him to angle to the rail in front under a wrap. Actually, Correspondent was supposed to play this role, which illustrates the futility of attempting to guess how a race is going to be run. It does not seem to us very prudent to dismiss Dark Star lightly as a candidate for the Preakness. Certainly the few who took him seriously at the Downs found it rewarding. And this observer is not inclined to underestimate any colt capable of winning the Hialer.h Juvenile at three furlongs in March as a two-year-old, then going on to make every pole a winning one in the Kentucky Derby. Battlefield and a rare few others have combined speed and stamina in such a remarkable degree. AAA The Pimlico racing surface has more topsoil, and more sand in it than has the Derby course. How this will effect the form of the Preakness colts is a question only racing can answer at all conclusively. We should guess Native Dancer will find it somewhat more like the New York tracks than the Downs going, and that Correspondent will run well over it, since it is not greatly different from Keeneland. He was beaten here at two, but has improved considerably as a three-year-old. Very probaby the faster Pimlico is Preakness Day, the better Dark Star will like it. He did not seem to much care for the Gulf stream strip Florida Derby Day, tiring in rather deep surface. It was dry, but the mud runner, Money Broker, won the race. Some notion of how Harry Guggenheims colt will perform on the Hilltop may be formed when he appears in the Preakness Trial. And Bill Winfrey plans to work The Dancer" here to acquaint him with the track. AAA Turf ana: Harry Guggenheim may be represented by Wings o Morn, who encountered some foul racing luck in the Kentucky Oaks, in the Blackeyed Susan here. . . . Money Broker is a Peabody Memorial prospect. . . . The Continued on Page Forty-Four I JUDGES STAND By CHARLES HATTON Continued from Page Forty-Eight Downs Stanley Hugenberg was amazed Derby Day when a chap wearing a 0 suit wagered 0,000 on the classic, then walked out into the crowd of some 100,000 with the tickets protruding from his coat pocket. ... It was long after the Derby it occurred to Guggenheim to say, "May I ask a sordid question? How much is this worth to me financially?" . . . The Kentucky Oaks winner, Bubbley, is coming from the Downs to complete her Blackeyed Susan prep on the grounds. . . . Downs racing will be less banal this fall, with the Clark Handicap added to the roster which includes also the KJC Stakes and Falls City Handicap. In the past the Clark has been renewed at the spring meets . . . Edward Goemans, who ran Curragh King in the Ketnucky Derby, is to be represented by the colt Fortune in the Epsom Derby this season. Had a prep race at The Curragh the other day.
