Connors Corner: Summer Doldrums in Sports Noted Vacationers Hie Away to Resorts Arnold Hanger, Daily Racing Form, 1953-06-26

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Connors Corner By "CHUCK" CONNORS Summer Doldrums in Sports Noted Vacationers Hie Away to Resorts Arnold Hanger Aqueduct Visitor AQUEDUCT, L. I., N. Y., June 25.— The . statistical boys are at work and came up with some figures that show a drop in attendance and play. The . .. i " same boys are offering „ "*j± a million and one an- HPWMBl swers why conditions ®M£ ;Jl are so, but the most siw v m important one is over- w J "at mt looked in the big an- fPf swers. Summer is here Li", officially, the schools %J|f ~mtS are closed, the seashore y!mand IP/L and mountain resorts ! mk are the magnets for the tHW-m family and business in H|B H general has reached the summer doldrums in the retail and wholesale fields. The continued talk of peace in Korea has the war defense plants in a dither, and the economy ax is being wielded with, vigorous strides, and as a result heads are falling with monotonous regularity. If you want proof on the last statement, well the parkways, they are the arteries leading to and from these sprawling plants on Long Island, are less crowded at rush hours when the working shifts are changed. New York in the sumertime is said to be the greatest tourist town in the uni- • verse. The railroads, travel bureaus, hotels and others that deal in the transportation commodity are authorities for the statement. However, the New York tracks, and that includes Belmont, have been somewhat eschewed by the visitors, who evidently prefer to visit Grants Tomb or the Empire State Building and get a glimpse of the surrounding area from the cloud-scratching roof of that edifice Well thats neither here nor there. Sports in general in the East, especially in the heavily populated industrial areas, are taking a beating at the turnstiles. Evidently the lush days, that prevailed a year or so ago, have slipped around the corner and cannot be lured back by propaganda of any sort. Racing associations today are in the highest competitive field and the quest of horses, the top rankers preferred, brings on some interesting proposals to the owner or trainer. These latter cannot be blamed should they decide to pass up the Aqueduct meeting for other fields, they are not duty bound to race here, for in their opinion if distant fields are more greener, well thats their business. The same reasoning, no doubt can be applied to the tourist to our fair city. The recent convention of Kiwanians staged here, or is it still in session, revealed but a few visitors, who wore the lapel tag of that organization, which prompted the president emeritus of the paddock gang to remark, maybe they got lost. Jockey Albert Schmidl is back galloping horses and he hopes to swing back to riding chores in another week. Schmidl suffered an ankle fracture in May at Belmont Park and the cast was removed the other day... The annual meeting of the Turf Benevolent Association will be held on Friday evening, June 26, at the Statler Hotel, New York. This organization is the oldest of its type in the country and some special business is on the agenda Jack Skinner shipped the fencer Ben Bow to the farm for a short respite and will bring him here to start in the Hitchcock Steeplechase. Arnold Hanger, who dabbles in construction work while not busy with his horses and breeding farm, showed up yesterday for his first visit of the year. He came onirom Las Vegas, Nevada, where he erected a few buildings for Uncle Sams atomic commission and later witnessed a couple of the atom bomb discharges. "They are tough," he said. "As a matter of fact, tougher than trying to make a three-horse parlay stand up." He also reported that he ran across turfdoms favorite comedian, Joe .E. Lewis, and that he would be at Saratoga Springs for a vacation. "Joe has reformed," continued Hanger. "Maybe the atom bomb explosions tossed a scare into him". . .Mrs. John Shipman Payson, who with her brother, John Hay Whitney, race under the nom de course of the Greentree Stable, returned from England, where she witnessed the Coronation and the Epsom Derby. John Partridge reported that Jamie K. will be accompanied on his foray to Arlington Park by a quartet of horses, including two two-year-olds that have stake Continued on Page Forty-Eight • Connors Corner By C. J. CONNORS Continued from Page Five engagements at that track. Jamie K. will be returned to New York following the running of the Classic. . .Trainer Johnny Theall reported he will ship Eugenia, Sweetest Music and Cajun Belle to New England to Bill Hinphy for racing in that area. The trio is at present at Monmouth Park. . .Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Kleberg flew in to witness the running of the Gazelle, in which he was represented by Script. Sol Rutchick returned from Delaware and Monmouth Parks where he spent the past several days...E. P. Taylor, whose Cana-diana finished second in the Gazelle, re- t turned to his Toronto, Ont., home following the running of the race. . .Trainer Jim Conway will prepare Grecian Queen, the Mrs. B. F. Whitaker-owned miss, for the New Castle Handicap at Delaware Park. . . Fred Lansberg, owner of Freddie Fish and • others, showed up yesterday from Monmouth Park to refute the report that he jumped out of the window of his hotel. "Ridiculous," he said. "If I did it how can I be here." Anyway he traveled back to the Jersey "track. . .Track superintendent Neil Boyle at Belmont Park is busy supervising the installation of sprinkler systems in the stable. A dozen buildings- will be so equipped before the racing wars return to that track in September. Jack Campbell is arranging the stake and overnight handicap events for the Saratoga-at-Saratoga Springs meeting, which he predicts will be a banner one this year. ..Lone Eagle, owned bythc Washingtonian, Gustave Ring, will, according to the steeplechase set, be a welcome addition to that branch of racing. The seven-year-old was schooled publicly with Pintor the other afternoon and impressed the gallery. . .Eatontown will be shipped here for his engagement in the Carter Handicap and jockey Benny Green will ride the Mrs. Alfred Roberts-owned sprinter. . .The Elmendorf horses will be shipped to Arlington Park over the week end.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1953062601/drf1953062601_5_4
Local Identifier: drf1953062601_5_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800