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► — — —————— —————— | Monmouth Memos By FRED GALIANI Monmouth Park Lures Vacationers Daily Average Crowds, Handle Up Top Aussie Trainer Visiting Here MONMOUTH PARK, Oceanport, N. J., June 20. — There was a time when the period of activity at the Shore resorts was strictly confined to the period between the Fourth of July and Labor Day, and everything outside of those dates was con-sidered dead. But all that is changed. Early this morning the highways bound for the Shore from the Metropolitan area were overburdened, traffic was jammed and. snarled j for miles. Not all were going to the races, but it is not unconceivable to think that since the track has been in operation here from 1946, not a little increase in the early activities on the Shore are due to its presence. It brings plenty of race track people in the area, causing many restaurants, inns and hotels to open early, which, in turn are available to vacationers who want to avoid the mad rush. At one time, running here in early June was tantamount to just keeping the head above the water, waiting until the season opened. Not so these days. The first six days of the meeting show that racing is. well established in the area, even at this time of the year. The total six-day attendance is 77,702, as compared with 73,382 last year, and the average handle is 030,466 per day, surpassing the 58,955 of the corresponding period of 1952. All these figures are new records and by the time August rolls around, ■ Monmouth may shatter last years top of an attendance of 40,793 and a play of over three million dollars. In connection with this, it is interesting to note that almost every track in the nation is showing gains in the attendance_and Tiandle department, but Belmont Park, which lives up to its slogan and presents Americas greatest racing, was down on both counts. The only gains showed in Gotham in recent years was in 1952, when the mutuel tax was- reduced, giving the horse players a ray of hope. Only the other day a visiting New York sports writer who was making his first trip here, was amazed to find so many New York regulars at the Jersey track. And theyll be growing in number each day. T. J. Smith, Australias leading trainer, is to be a visitor here Monday on an inspection tour of American tracks and breeding farms. He will be accompanied by George McGann, of the Australian Consolidated Press. . . . Even on an even-money bet, Im wrong. An eight pound boy was born yesterday to United Press turf writer Tim Moriarty and the Mrs. I wagered Tim it would be a girl, so while Ill get a cigar, he wins a drink. . . . Trainer J. W. Doyle has taken over two horses, owned by Mrs. Marie A. Moore of High Hope Farm, at The Plains, Va. They are Mile. Lorette, a daughter of Lovely Night, out of the crack mare, Gallorette, and Sea Puss, by Coastal Traffic — Snooze. Mrs. Moore bought Gallorette for 50,000 some years ago. .She has a weanling filly_by Citation from Gallorette and a yearling filly by Mah-moud from the same mare. Trainer Glenn Felkner arrived from Suffolk Downs with four horses in his charge and will race through the meeting. . . . Lyle Phillips took two horses. to Delaware for the afternoon yesterday and his daughter, Lila, saddled the racers here at Monmouth. . . . Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Mori were out to watch Garstara run in the third race. Mori, president of Garden State Park, has joined the owners ranks and campaigns under the name of East Acres. Garstara, making her first start, finished fifth in the field of 10. . . . Because the Mon-■ mouth meet ends August 10 and Robert : Simisky wants to celebrate his twenty-first ; birthday anniversary here, plans have been made to advance his natal day for the pur-! pose of throwing a party. Simisky, who is [ employed as a groom by Randy Sechrest, will be feted at barn 29 on August 1, which Continued on Page Forty-Three Monmouth Memos *By FRED GALIANI Continued from Page Six is 13 days before he actually turns 21. ... Mr. and Mrs. Guy Needy, of Bel Air, Md., were up to see their colors in action. Jack Melrose, the Washington, D. C, hotel concessionaire who is also interested in Rosecroft Raceway, came up for the day. . . . Ralph Trost, sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle, and his wife made their first visit to Monmouth, combining a bit of business with pleasure. Unusual occurrences yesterday was the scratching of a horse from each end of the Daily Double races at the gate. Wicked Susan was injured in the gate in the first race and Can Nedron tossed Johnny Covalli and ran off in the second, causing his withdrawal. Thasian Hero, who now looms an outstanding prospect for the Longfellow Handicap on the turf this Wednesday, is another of those "rags to riches" horses. Bred by the Helis Stock Farm, the son of Attention was so lightly regarded that he was sold to J. Bowes Bond for ,000, the money to be paid out of the horses winnings. During three years with Bond, Thasian Hero won 13 races, producing enough money to make him a bargain of the highest order and then J. L. McKnight claimed him for 0,000 at the recent Garden State session, so, in three years, his value had increased 10-fold. But Thasian Heros tale isnt finished yet. Since racing for the brown and pink of McKnight, he already has won three races, and he might even step into the stakes winners class if hei runs back to yesterdays race. |
