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—— ■ BETWEEN RACES * ox* ore HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 23. — As coronation day in England nears, more than one statistician has made a survey of the relationship of English royalty, including the crowned heads, to thoroughbred racing and the figures, to put it mildly, are impressive. With few few excentions. exceptions, the the kings kings and and queens queens —— ■ few few excentions. exceptions, the the kings kings and and queens queens have been intensely interested in the sport, and most have, owned horses and in the main that ownership has been more than taken. It has been remarked on more than one occasion that perhaps the next big step in American turf public relations will be making it a matter of prestige and even custom for American political leaders to see, and be seen, at some of our great classic events. Some progress is being made, of course, but there still is a long way to go. In any event, our friends to the north in British Columbia have decided upon a rather unusual step in celebration of the coronation on June 2, specifically, the carding of a special race program at Lansdowne Park even though the regular meeting does not open until June 13. An advance sale of tickets has been described as "tremendous" and while the racing will be, of necessity, on the "short" side, with five and a half furlongers predominating, there is no question but that the card will fill if only for the reason that horsemen feel it is an honor to be represented on such a program. - AAA British Columbia is now almost self sufficient in the matter of production to fill its racing needs, but there has been an almost dramatic switch from quantity to quality in the last two years, one of the most significant breeding developments on the continent of recent date. The freeing of the Canadian dollar made purchases of American bloodstock easy, and while it was far from being impossible before, there was so much red tape in- Day of Racing Coronation Tribute in B. C. Northwest Stock Is Improving in Quality Variance in Calif. Racing Rules Baffling Dual Races-Workouts for Stakes Analyzed volved that only the most rugged and determined persisted in efforts to acquire stock from the United States. Recognizing this trend, Lansdowne will offer greater opportunities in its purse distribution for horses bred "anywhere" and of its five major stakes, only one, the B. C. Futurity, is a closed race, this stake being limited to Canadian-breds. However, in order that breeders may get a more accurate "line" on their stock, Lansdowne is offering a race called the Juvenile Championship, which is open, nine days after the Futurity running. Incidentally, while in New York, we heard much talk that perhaps the most logical way for tracks there to solve their expansion to accommodate the metropolitan public with ample facilities would be for the state to kickback, say one per cent, of its revenue into a fund earmarked for construction improvements. There is precedent for this in Maryland, of course, but there is one of even greater antiquity in British Columbia, where the provincial government donates one per cent of its take to purses. That the money is earmarked for purses instead of buildings is beside the point, for the need to upgrade the purses has been greater than that for plant improvements, the latter having been accomplished by managements. AAA In past years, this writer has on occasion commented on the strange situation prevailing in California where each track, more or less, runs under its own set of rules even though the laws of the state apply equally to all tracks. We have noted, from time to time, that the differences in racing are as great as between say New England and Maryland. At the moment, horsemen are a little annoyed over the situation which m «kes it allowable to workout a horse after a race in Northern California, but not at Hollywood Park or Santa Anita. So far as we can learn, Santa Anita and Hollywood are the only major tracks in the "nation which prohibit this practice. Such noted names as W. J. "Buddy" Hirsch tells us: "Last winter at Santa Anita, I had a horse called Mac, and the management there was quite hopeful that I would start him in the Maturity, which had a small field. In fact, I was told that it would be appreciated if I started him. Yet I was refused the privilege of working him out after a race which would have enabled him to be in better condition to offer his top race in the Maturity than otherwise. AAA "To my surprise, when I was dt Tanforan this spring, I watched Indian Hemp in the six-furlong San Jose Handicap, which he won in l:10y5, a fifth of a second faster than the old track record held by Bolero, then work on out seven furlongs in 1:23% and a mile in 1:36%, a workout which dockers described as brilliant. I asked the officials how come? And was told that I was in Northern California, and that what the rules were down south didnt necessarily apply there." It obviously is unfair to all concerned to have one system prevail in one part of the state, and one in another. And, if there is any "right or wrong" in the matter, the South cant be right and the North wrong, or vice versa. Personally, we see nothing wrong in permitting a horse to workout after a race, especially if a big stake is in the offing. Indeed, it might be argued that failure to workout, if the horse needed such tactics would be against the interests of form and the public. At the Blue Grass Stakes, about Continued on Page Thirty-Three I , , , ; , BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty half the field, including the winner, worked on out for a spell, and we have yet to hear a rumble that this fact altered the results of the Blue Grass in any way. It was a great race in its own right, one of the finest ever seen in recent years at historic Keeneland. We feel that the point should be clarified for the best interests of all concerned, including the public. AAA Some leeway in what in the baseball world would be termed ground rules are necessary, but it seems to us that the question of allowing a horse to workout is a fundamental one of racing and hence is beyond the scope of the individual stewards and/or managements. But it would seem to us that such a difference of opinion as exists anent the Daily Double is quite within the province of management. The three San Francisco tracks and Del Mar offer their patrons Daily Double excitement, but Santa Anita and Hollywood Park refuse to have anything to do with the Double on the principle that it is artificial wagering" whatever that may mean. From our observations, the Double has not affected the dignity of such places as Belmont or Garden State Parks. If managements here do not wish Double wagering, well and good, but as we say. a vital rule of racing is something else again and should not be subject to local interpretation. A trainer is presumed to be familiar with the rules of racing, and ignorance of them is no defense in case of trouble, but without standard rules in a single sovereign state, we can only feel sympathy for some people who find themselves involved in technical rules violations.
