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REFLECTIONS by nelson dunstan SARATOGA, Saratoga Springs, N. Y., Aug. 17. Two new records were created on the week end with 28,260 attending Saratoga and 31,378 at Atlantic City. Although many people contend that "name horses" do not attract crowds, we believe that the presence of Native Dancer had much to do with the new record. The .moment the Vanderbilt gray stepped out on the track there was a handclaping that extended down the grandstand as he went to the post. In his last two starts the gray horse shows that he must have resented his trainers remark of some weeks back when he said, "This colt will do no more than he has to do." And, of course, he was referring to the close finishes in the Preakness and the. Belmont. In the Arlington Classic, Native Dancer suddenly decided that he did not think much of the company and went off by himself to win by nine lengths. In the Travers, he let loose with that stride, which, in itself, has become famous, to win by five and a half lengths. He now moves on to Chicago for the American Derby and when the dust has rolled away we look for him to make his eighteenth victory in 19 starts. A A A Through the years many horses have been said to accomplish only what they had to in winning a race. That remark was often made about Exterminator and time and again it was reported that "Old Bones" would allow a horse to come up within a head or a neck and still could not pass him. It is true that in many of his races he would win by a head and he did that very thing in the Pimlico Spring Handicap in 1922. in his next four starts he won all of them bya length and a half and then went on to take the Brooklyn Handicap by a head, but a check of his famous records reveals that on many Native Dancer Disagrees Vith His Trainer Now Does More Than Necessary to Win Turn-to, Porterhouse May Meet on Week End Jockeys Welfare Fund Does Much Good occasions he won by anywhere from five to as many as 12 lengths. The will of the jockey, in our opinion, often determined the margin of victory, and in his last two starts Guerin elected to open a lot of daylight between Native Dancer and his competitors. There were occasions where Man o War won by a length, but it was in the Lawrence Realization of 1920 that he won by 100 lengths. Count Fleet won three races in a row by a neck, but in his last start of 1942 he won the Walden Stakes by 30 lengths. Citation won many of his races by a length, but in the Belmont he was eight lengths, in front and in The Jockey Club Gold Cup, seven lengths ahead of the next horse, the four-year-old Phalanx. AAA It was unfortunate that the Saratoga Special, one of the most sporting events of the American turf, ended in a disqualification on the week end. Llangollen Farms Porterhouse, ridden by Eric Guerin, came to the inside of Turn-to at the head of the stretch and, in using his whip, it is claimed by many that he included Turn-o along with his own mount. After a review of the picture the stewards disqualified the Llangollen youngster and placed him last, with Turn-to taking the long end of the purse. There was some discussion as to whether Guerins mount was disqualified for his use of the whip or whether Porterhouse was bearing out sufficient to bother Turn-to. It is safe to say that the stewards, saw enough in reviewing the picture to order the horse dis qualified, for, in our opinion, the New York stewards as a body are among the finest in this country. Turn-to is a bay colt by Royal Charger and was bred in Ireland. Harry Guggenheim of the Cain Hoy Stable purchased him from Arthur B. Hancock, Jr., of Claiborne Farm. Royal Charger will come to this country in a few weeks to stand at the Spendthrift Farm "of Leslie Combs II. Royal Serenade, winner of this years Hollywood Gold Cup, is another of his sons making good in this country. AAA Saratogas first two weeks ended with a happy note on Saturday when the attendance was the greatest in the history of the mellowed track here in the Adirondack foothills. To date, the quality of sport has not been up to the standards df former years, but there should be considerable improvement in the remaining days of the meeting. Tomorrows Sanford for two-year-olds will be followed by the Diana on Wednesday, the Beverwyck Steeplechase on Thursday, the Spinaway for two-year-old fillies on Friday, and then, on the week end, the Saratoga Handicap, is co-featured with the Grand Union Hotel Stakes. The Grand Union Hotel Stakes now shapes up as a mighty interesting event, for both Porterhouse and Turn-to, who caused such a discussion after the Saratoga Special running, are likely to be starters. Then again, Tom Fool has been declared out of the Saratoga Handicap and that will encourage many owners to send their horses out for the long end of the 5,000 added. Green-tree has One Hitter to substitute for the son o Menow and it is likely that Alerted will be among those to oppose him. From a competitive standpoint, the racing of this week end should be much keener than the two previous Continued on Page Forty-Three REFLECTIONS By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from SPage Fifty-Two Saturdays when Tom Fool and Native Dancer dominated the feature events. AAA One of the finest things in American racing is the. "Jockeys Guild Day," which this year will be on Thursday, August 20. On that day all members of the Guild will donate their riding fees to the welfare fund and in so doing the organization collects the funds to take care of medical or financial needs of members. The riders at 18 different tracks donate their fees and some of the racing associations equal the amount that is collected at their particular course. We have known quite a few instances where boys who have been incapacitated for one reason or another have been helped through until such times as they can again accept mounts. Some of the cases have run into considerable sums of money, but the jockeys have never hesitated to advance the funds regardless of the length of time that a member is on the ground. The Jockeys Guild has improved conditions for their members as in the old days a rider was often without the necessary funds when beset by illness or an injury. Some owners would go to the aid of a boy in the olden days, but with the welfare fund every rider who is a Guild member is assured of the best of care and one of the men deserving of a world of credit for his work is Dr. Alexander Kaye, who has long been medical advisor to that organization.
