view raw text
i . i i . BETWEEN RACES * oxu or/s BELMONT PARK. Elmont, L. I„ N. Y., May 16. — This years three-year-old racing to date has been exciting to American racing fans and we dare say interest will be intensified in the months ahead. Racing interest next will swing south to Pimlico for the Preakness renewal Saturday, U»y, which Willi;*! will Will go gu a a iuue long way »» */ toward wviaiu U»y, which Willi;*! Will go gu a a iuue long way »» */ wviaiu clearing up many points which remain "moot." As most racing fans are aware, the race in Baltimore this spring will be the same Preakness as ever, but with different personnel staging the show. The old track, still held together by the glue of tradition, looks pretty much the same, although improvements have been made to gloss over some of the worst points. Modernists insist that nothing will do until the present stand is razed, and replaced by a shiny structure of steel, concrete, with, maybe, escalators. Nobody, however, argues about leaving the old clubhouse, refurbished to a degree, as is. We can state that the new owners of Pimlico are faced with the same old problems which beset the old owners, problems which" are not easy of solution. It strikes most observers that the basic troubles of Pimlico, lack of space and lacking of parking, will perhaps never be fully solved without the expenditure of huge sums of money, far over and above the funds which have accrued through the so-called "tax reimbursement building fund." AAA The Preakness story is being broadcast this year by a man who finally has achieved a race worthy of his talents. We refer to John OKeeffe, who has, as the saying goes in the Far West, bushwhacked it for many years on the smaller tracks of the country, notably those of Ohio. OKeeffe is an indefatigable letter writer, and his letters are most welcome to turf columnists everywhere on those dull days when stories simply do not materialize, for they Preakness Centers Turf Interest of Week OKeeffe Gets Publicity Mans Dream Race A Setback for Turf Evident in California Note Passing of Bad Post Actors From Turf are always good for a paragraph or two. By jotting down pertinent facts on almost any turf subject under the sun, which are many, OKeeffe has not only gotten them into print, but the name of the track he represents as well. We do not exaggerate when we say that while in California, for instance, we often heard from him, and by dating his opinions from Ohio, many Golden Staters became vaguely aware that there was racing in Ohio, and while this did the Ohio gate no immediate good, it did help build up a backlog of "institutional" good will which helped lift Ohio racing by its own bootstraps, to coin a phrase. In any event, this eager beaver, OKeeffe, has been turned loose on one ol the worlds great racej., and he is making the most of the opportunity. There is no doubt that the best known race in America is the Kentucky Derby, a race, as we have pointed out, which is built on publicity. We see no reason why the Preakness cannot grow in national stature until it at least approaches, if not equals, the Derby in public appeal, although with horse folks, all three corners of the "Triple Crown" are equal in importance for their impact on breeding in particular. AAA Eugene Mori, president of Garden State Park and Tanforan, tells us that while the recent Tanf oran meeting was successful, it failed to show the zip expected and that, regardless of the right or wrong of the so-called purse situation in California, he believes the sport there has received a setback from which it will take years to re cover. If, in the future, disputes between California tracks and the horsemen receive such unfavorable reports in the press, it will be in for legislative rough going, and perhaps a loss of the favorable public relations it has enjoyed. There must be some way of working out disputes with less rancor. We understand that some close friends of Dwight Murphy, chairman of the California board, are expressing to him dim views of the sport. We cant blame people if they get the idea that everybody in racing is getting fat and rich, at public expense. Such is not the case, but voters often are influenced by what they think is so, not by what actually are the facts. AAA Down at Garden State the other day, we chatted with starter George Palmer, who pointed out that the modern electrical starting gate had virtually eliminated the schooling list and the suspension of jockeys by the starter. Such rulings by a starter, once commonplace, are now a rarity. Indeed, few patrons realize any more that a starter has, with the stewards, the power to suspend a jockey. At Garden State, when we left, there were only two horses on the schooling list. "About all a starter has to worry about now is the horse who wont break, or who wheels after the break," says Palmer. "Nowadays, with the emphasis on public interest, a wheeler or slow breaker usually gets only a second chance, no more. These horses quickly eliminate themselves, at least from the major race tracks." Palmer also surprised us when he remarked that many of the best riders now prefer to be loaded in the gate first instead of last. "By getting in first, and getting their mounts to relax," he explains, "they watch the other boys, and, when the last horse is in, they are ready. You seldom see an experienced rider away in any but the first flight, and while generally the field breaks Continued on Pag* Thirty-Five BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four as one horse, they have less trouble tying themselves on after the break and getting the position they want." AAA Horses and People: Bill McNamara, of New York, formerly with the FBI and U. S. Treasury, has joined the staff of Spencer J. Drayton and the TRPB . . . Maurice R. Gross, who handles jockeys insurance, will make an extended swing of the nation this summer . . Maryland money is helping bankroll the new track in Las Vegas, scheduled to open on the Labor Day week-end. Vegas stock, incidentally, is the most active in the country in over-the-counter markets, where most track stock available is sold . .The TRA board of directors will go west to Hollywood Park for its annual mid-summer meeting this year. . .RCA tested an "inside television" circuit at Garden State last week-end, setting up screens in the offices of Eugene Mori and Walter Donovan. This TV set-up was similar to that used in industry, and, as reported last year, no doubt has some sort of future in race track usage, but whether it has reached a stage of development acceptable to all concerned remains to be seen.
