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R E F L E C T I O N S B* NELS0N dunstan LEXINGTON, Ky., June 23. — Prominent breeders in the Kentucky area are again giving thought to the lack of stall space at many of the summer and winter tracks. Recently. Arthur B. Hancock, Jr., and Leslie Combs, n., were discussing the matter with this writer at lunch and it was very obvious they were concerned with the manner in which some buyers of yearlings have told them that one of the big difficulties is obtaining stall space after they have made their purchases. For a quite some time Combs has been mulling over the possibility of having two huge training centers, one in Kentucky and the other in the New York or New Jersey areas, where yearlings could be broken and trained and then if not shipped to the winter courses, remain north until such time as they were sent to the race tracks for actual competition. In recent years this writer has had many track officials tell him that their biggest headache is the allotment of stalls. At Belmont Park where they have continually added to their backstretch quarters, the stall problem is still a serious one. Belmont houses the majority of horses who race on Long Island. "Bull" Hancock of Claiborne Farm, and a Kentucky racing commissioner, has been asked to speak for the breeders at the racing forum which will be held in New York some time around July 1. If he attends the forum, he told us, he plans to point out that the shortage of stalls is just as acute as it was five years ago. • AAA Gray horses have been .fairly popular in this country since the year when Mahmouds first crop were eagerly snapped up by yearling buyers. With each increasing year they have become sought by bidders when in the salesring. The career of Native Dancer has driven home to those in racing that a gray horse is not inferior to Lack of Ample Stalls Worries Breeders Gray Yearlings Hove Buyer Appeal Combs; Metz to Offer Attractive Babes Michigan Mile Attracts Older Stars those of -other coloring on the race course. There was a i-. • A 1 — 4-1, n. luman- TTT/- llM VlOTTO Yf TTlClVt. time m mis couuuy wucu mc wujwo-nu — * — of gray horses, but it would not surprise if they were eagerly bid on at Keeneland and Saratoga this season. There will be only six grays offered at the Keeneland sales and although we have seen only three, they have both impressed us as fine racing prospects. In his quality consignment, Leslie Combs, n., has two, one being by Mah-moud, out of Gallawood, and the other by Ace Admiral, out of Amiga. The Mahmoud colt is one of the finest of this coloring that this writer has seen in many a year and it would not surprise us if he were among the most eagerly sought of the colts and fillies to be offered at Keeneland. The Mahmoud colts are of practically the same coloring as Native Dancer. Out at the farm of Joe Metz, who is in partnership with Ira Drymon, there is another gray colt by Ambiorix, out of Entertainer, and although he is the only Ambiorix colt in the July sale, we go on record here as saying that in both pedigree and appearance he leaves nothing to be desired. He is a horse of fine bone, an impressive shoulder and with a head that bespeaks his alertness and intelligence. Other grays to be sold but which we have not seen, one by Revoked, out of Koubis, in the consignment of the Forest Retreat Farm of Dr. Eslie Asbury; one by Coastal Traffic, out of War Party, consigned by Mrs. J. D. Hurst, and a gray filly by War Admiral, out of Betsy Ross.n., in the highly attractive consignment from the estate of-fiamuel D. Riddle. Although races at one and a quarter miles are considered standard for the top horses of the country, one mile events are becoming increasingly popular. This Saturday they will run the Equipoise Mile at Arlington Park and in the weeks to come there will be the Salvator at Monmouth Park, the Wilson at Saratoga, the Sheridan at Washington Park, and then the classic of the Northwest, the Longacres Mile. Some two years ago, Ben Lindheimer, executive director of the two Chicago tracks, decided to - olds to one mile. It was run at this distance for the first time in 1952, when the Calumet Farms Mark-Ye-Well, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, was the winner over Armageddon and Sub Fleet. In this event Mark-Ye-Well earned 05,-375. The race met with such success that Lindheimer decided to retain it as a one-mile event and this year it could be another chapter in the duels between Native Dancer and Jamie K. It is expected that the Classic will gross around 55,000 this year, and if that proves to be the case, it will be the largest gross sum of any sophomore event to date. While the duel between Native Dancer and Jamie K. might keep many owners and trainers from entering their horses, there are quite a few in the Midwest who have yet to try conclusions with the pair who fought it out in the Preakness and the Belmont. AAA Word has been received in the Blue Grass that the Detroit management is delighted with the many high-class horses that have been named for the first running of the Michigan Mile at the Motor City course on July 25. With an added value of-0,000, this race has drawn the cream of the handicap division in this country. It has been strategically placed on the July schedule, for while the 0,000 Saranac at the Saratoga meeting in New York is run on the same day, it-seems safe to say that Continued on Page Thirty-Nine ~~ REFtECTiONS"""] By NELSON DUNSTAN* Continued from Page Forty-Eight many of the stars will-be shipped to Detroit for this inaugural running of. the race at one mile. Among those nominated are Hill Gail, Tom Fool, Crafty Admiral, Royal Vale, Sickles Image, Oil Capitol, and ever so many other of the prominent older horses. The Brooklyn Handicap, with 0,-000 added, is due to be run at Adequect on July 11 and that will give quite a few owners ample opportunity to ship to Detroit and then on to Arlington Park and Chicago for the 5,000 Arlington Handicap on August 1. It would be mere guesswork on our part to attempt to guess as to which of the top horses will go to Detroit, but it is our impression that a representative field will go after the long end of the purse of what will be the richest race even run in Michigan. AAA Near Dallas, Texas, some 250 Boy Scouts are now at Camp Constantin, ancLuntil the fall this haven for youngsters will be buzzing with chatter. This is the camp that Eugene Constantin, of Dallas, and owner of Royal Bay Gem, presented to the Boy Scouts of America and which was dedicated to the memory of Constantins son, who died on active service. Recently, some 0,-000 was spent in new improvements and all of this has been made possible by the generosity of the Dallas owner, who has played a big part in aiding the boys of his city and they have such camp activities as swimming, hiking, boating, fishing, archery, nature study and marksmanship. Bud Bur-mester, well known to all racing people, writes us that this is one of the finest-camps now being operated in the United States. He tells us that the kitchen is better furnished than many hotels and that the dining hall can seat around 300. This camp is located on .385 acres at what is known as "possum kingdom," and it will be greatly increased as time goes on. A staff of some 20 men are employed to operate the camp and the owner of Royal Bay Gem has not hesitated to finance this wonderful place for youngsters to spend 4he kind of summer all boys dream about.
