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I j Story of One Count Is One of Faith, Jeffords States in Accepting Painting ■ Presented Annual Horse of ♦ Year Award by Daily Racing Form at Belmont Luncheon BELMONT PARK, Elmont. L. I. N. Y., May 15;— Walter M: Jeffords, who described himself as pinch -hitting for Mrs. Jeffords, was today presented with a painting of the fine colt One Count at a luncheon given by Daily Racing Form and The Morning Telegraph in the Turf and Field Club. The painting of One Count, executed by Richard Stone Reeves, was the sixth such award by these newspapers to the owner of the thoroughbred voted Horse of the Year in the annual poll conducted by these newspapers. In introducing Jeffords, J. Samuel Perl-man, publisher, commented on the remarkable intelligence shown by the horses in their choice of the annual guest of honor at these luncheons, as the horse actually determines by his or her performances who shall receive the award. One Count is the seventeenth thoroughbred to be voted Horse of the Year and Perlman pointed out that all but two of them have been raced by their breeders, while all 17 of the owners have been men who made the greatest con- tributions to racing and breeding, from William Woodward and Samuel D. Riddle, through the great years of Calumet Farms Continued on Pag« Fir* Story of One Count Is One of Faith, Jeffords States in Accepting Painting Presented Annual Horse of Year Award by Daily Racing Form at Belmont Luncheon Continued from Page One supremacy to John Hay Whitney, C. V. Whitney and Jeffords in the past three years. Perlman remarked the people attending todays luncheon were those who had themselves given their lives to racing, citing Mr. and Mrs. John D. Hertz, who bred and raced Count Fleet, the Horse of the Year in 1943 and sire of the last two winners of that award. He then referred to Jeffords profound contribution to the thoroughbred sport through the years, starting with his debut as an owner in 1916, his membership in The Jockey Club in 1925 and its continuance, "entirely on the sporting side" to the present day. In closing, the publisher mentioned that Jeffords had been one of the founders of the Grayson Foundation in 1940, an organization devoted to the study of equine diseases, but which will eventually be of great benefit to humanity as well as to the horse. In his brief acceptance speech, Jeffords said that the story of One Count was one of faith. Recalling that Mrs. Jeffords had purchased a filly named Flying Flower, by The Manager, back in the war years of 1918, he said that filly had been a winner and had gone on to be the progenitor of Flying Hour, Furlough and Ace Card, the latter the dam of One Count, Post Card and Yildiz. "Faith," Jeffords said, "is just as vital an element in this business as in any other ► thing in life, just as I have faith in my • trainer and my jockey." Flanking Jeffords and Perlman at the , guest of honors table, were George D. Widener, E. P. Taylor, recently elected j Canadian member of The Jockey Club, Ashley T. Cole, chairman of the New York State Racing Commission, and Nelson Dun-stan, president of the New York Turf Writers Association, who acted as master ; of ceremonies; John A. Morris, president, TRA, and Reeves. Oscar White and Dave Gorman, trainer and rider of One Count in his major triumphs last year, were presented with full-color reproductions of Reeves painting of the champion. Among those present were : Gerald Brady, , general manager, Tropical Park; Edward J. . Brennan, general manager, Monmouth Park; James Butler, president. Empire City Racing Association; John B. Campbell, racing • secretary at New York tracks; Fred [ Capossela, official announcer at New York tracks; Marshall Cassidy, executive secretary, ■ The Jockey Club; John C. Clark, president, ■ Hialeah Park; Charles Cohen, owner • of Crafty Admiral, handicap champion, 1952; John E. Cooper, racing secretary, , National Steeplechase and Hunt Association. . Also John I. Day, Thoroughbred Racing Associations; James E. Dooley, president, , Narragansett Park; Francis P. Dunne, , steward, Belmont Park; Helen Eden, secretary, • Turf and Field Club; Earl H. Ellis; Humphrey Finney, Fasig-Tipton Co., Inc.; ; George M. Francis, vice-president, Belmont ; Park; Dave Gorman, One Counts rider; ; Maurice Gross, Lloyds of London; Harry F. . Guggenheim, owner Dark Star, Kentucky • , j ; , . • [ ■ ■ • , . , , • ; ; ; . Derby winner, 1953; Irving Gushen, vice-president, Horsemens Benevolent and Pro- tective Association. Also Carr Hatch, Woodbine Park; John D. Hertz, thoroughbred breeder and owner of Count Fleet; Mrs. John D. Hertz, Max Hirsch, president, American Trainers As- sociation; Philip Iselin, vice-president, Monmouth Park; Hirsch Jacobs, HBP A; Cyrus S. Jullien, president, Aqueduct; Dr. Alexander Kaye, Jockey Club Foundation Home, Inc.; Robert Kelley, executive director, New York racing associations service bureau; Edward L. Kilroe, general manager, Aqueduct; Frank E. Kilroe, rac-; ing secretary, Arlington-Washington. Also Dr. Leon Levy, vice-president, Atlantic City; W. Goadby Loew, Philip F. MacGuire, vice-president, Empire City; Vincent G. McCarty, asst. secretary-treas-i urer, Belmont Park; Harold C. McCollom, Jockey Club Foundation Home, Inc.: Harry Millar, secretary, New .York State Racing Commission; Eugene Mori, president, Gar-: den State Park; Jerry OGrady, vice-presi- dent, Tropical Park; Fred H. Parks, steward, National Steeplechase and Hunt Association. Also Alex M. Robb, secretary-treasurer, Belmont Park; E. J. Rousuck, director, National Museum of Racing; Sol Rutchick, vice-president, HBPA; Frank Stevens, Harry M. Stevens, Inc.; Joe Stevens, Harry M. Stevens, Inc.; Alfred G. Vanderbilt, past president, TRA; Skiddy von Stade, presi-; dent, Saratoga; Harold Vosburgh, steward, Belmont Park; Lou Walger, Jr., manager of mutuels. New York tracks; Oscar White, One Counts trainer; Chris Wood, United Hunts, and Sterling Young, executive sec-i retary, Jockeys Guild.
