Management at Pimlico New but Familiar with Preakness: Boshamer, Cohen Brothers, Pondfield and Lesnick Have Been Seeing Race for Years, Daily Racing Form, 1953-05-23

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■ --..■ - "»h .■„ CARY C. BOSHAMER — President of Maryland Jockey Club and an avid patron of the Preakness for several years. ► j 1 Management at Pimlico New But Familiar With Preakness 1 I j , , , . , , Boshamer, Cohen Brothers, | Pondfield and Lesnick Have Been Seeing Race for Years PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 22.— Although they are new in the management of the Pimlico racecourse and this is their first meeting since taking over control of the track last December, most of the officers and officials of the Maryland Jockey Club are familiar with the Preakness Stakes. Cary C. Boshamer, president; Herman Cohen, vice president; Ben Cohen, secretary; Louis Pondfield, treasurer and executive director, and M. B. Lesnick, assistant secretary and treasurer, have been Preakness patrons in the past. Of this quintet, all except Lesnick have been watching Preaknesses since the 1920s. Lesnick began attending Marylands big race in 1938 when he moved to Baltimore. Boshamers presence at the Preakness of the past is readily understandable for he has been an owner and breeder of horses for many years. Like hundreds of such owners, he manages to be on hand whenever an event of the importance of the Preakness is run. The Cohen brothers, although their primary interest is the construction business, are like thousands of Baltimoreans and made it a practice to be at Pimlico for the big day of the racing year, whether they get a chance to see the sport at any other time or not. Pondfield Associated With Ohio Tracks Pondfield has been interested in racing for many years, has been associated in the management of tracks in Ohio and has been a close follower of the sport even when not connected with the track. Lesnick, since his arrival in Maryland, has been a "regular" at the states courses. John D. Jackson, general manager of the plant, will be seeing his first Preakness this spring but his failure to witness one earlier was due to no lack of interest. He was usually busy getting ready for the Arlington-Washington Park meetings at the time the Preakness was run. Jacksons association with Pimlico began last August. This also will be the first Preakness at which E. I. Jim Langford will be in charge of the mutuel department. For years Mort Mahony was Pimlicos manager. He was succeeded by his son Riggs and last year Robert Sloan held the post. Langford has been highly complimented on his rearrangement of Pimlicos new mutuel layout this year and he anticipates no trouble handling the play tomorrow. J. Fred Colwill, racing secretary, is familiar with the Preakness routine although this is his first year in this post. He has been associated with the sport in Mary- land for many years, first as a rider and later as an official. Fred Burton, director of racing, has been a spectator at few Preaknesses as his work kept him at other scenes. In the publicity and public relations department, John OTSeefe is serving his first year in the direction of Preakness propaganda, but Don Reed has been viewing the race since 1934 either as a newspaperman or a member of the Pimlico staff. The new management, mindful of the traditions of Pimlico and the Preakness, plans to retain all the regular features which have made the race so colorful in the past. In addition, the new group has endeavored to provide additional seating and wagering facilities for the public. There are new faces in some of Pimlicos important managerial spots but the Preakness will remain the same, with the Maryland Jockey Club band playing, a blanket of black-eyed susans for the victor, the Woodlawn Vase for the winning owner and a champagne celebration at the barn of the victorious horse after the race.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1953052301/drf1953052301_6_4
Local Identifier: drf1953052301_6_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800