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ill f On the T tot I L By MORRIE KURLANSKY I 0,000 Invitational Trot Tonight Two Newcomers in Classy Field Riley Compiles Amazing Mark SPORTSMANS PARK, Cicero, 111., Aug. 21. -Two newcomers to the local racing i scene will be among the entrants for Sat-! urday nights 0,000 Invitational Trot-, namely Beck Hanover and Malcolm. While the latter started last year at May wood Park during the Aurora Downs meeting, the five-year-old Beck Hanover has never before raced in this part of the country. The son of Nibble Hanover is owned by the S. A. I Camp Farms, Inc., of Shafter, Calif., and ; has lifetime earnings of over 0,000. His i mile track record is 2:02, made at Lex-; ingtno, Ky., last fall. With Joe OBrien, the famous Grand Circuit driver from Canada, who also makes his debut at Sportsmans ! Park he raced only once before in Chicago and -that was last year in the match race 1 at May wood Park between Helen Flynn and Dinner Date, won by the first named with Everett Osborn driving, Beck Hanover trotted his way in the free-for-all class, winning from coast to coast. Beck Hanover made his 1953 debut at Bay Meadows to win his fifth consecutive race, since he had won his last four I starts in 1952 at the Lexington Grand Circuit meeting. After the stable shipped . f east, Beck Hanover won at Roosevelt f Raceway and Vernon Downs. In his latest engagements at Goshen, N. Y., and Springfield, 111., the gelding met stiff free-for-all competition and was, unplaced in four tries. " Malcolm is a Chicago-owned trotter by Darnley Flower with lifetime earnings of , 2,581 and a record of 2:00 made at Lexington last year. The six-year-old stallion was a winner this year at Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceway in New York. His regular driver, Harry Fitzpatrick, will be in the sulky to give the race an added touch of the Grand Circuit. It is not often that an amateur overshadows the professionals, but that is exactly what has happened here in recent , weeks. The man who turned the trick is James C. Riley, a lawyer from the southern" Ohio town of Ironton. . Bitten by the harness racing bug when still a teenager, Jim drove his first race in 1937 and from then, until he entered the service during the war, he became a fixture at many of the 80-odd Ohio county fairs and was quite successful at his hobby, too. Together with his father, who is the senior partner in their Ironton law firm, he assembled a small band of broodmares and started breeding operations on a modest scale. In 1945, shortly before he was discharged, a fire destroyed their barns and 17 of the Riley horses died in the conflagration. The only horse that could be saved was the good race mare, Bertha B. 2:05, who later on produced True B., one of the three horses Riley races currently in Chicago. In the last few years the Rileys bought four more broodmares and, including these, now have 17 horses at their farms, 13 of which are either weanlings, yearlings" or two-year-olds. As a professional man outside of harness racing, Jim cannot devote too much time to his favorite pastime, but this spring decided to try his luck on the Chicago circuit. He came late in the May-wood Park meeting, when he started the four-year-old trotting colt, Clyde, in a schooling race and also his other two horses, True B. and Direct Zone, were first seen in one of tfhe non-betting events before they were entered in the regular races. Rileys showing" at Sportsmans Park is amazing to say the least. True B., his home-bred pacing filly, by True Chief, won all of .her three starts and paced to a record of 2:09. Clyde, who was acquired last year because his former owner believed he had curbs, although the Calumet Crusader, colt is only sickle-hocked and a sturdy individual, also has a perfect in-the-money record, having won five out of nine starts, being second three times and one third. The third, member of the stable, Direct Zone, a four-year-old pacing gelding by Direct Brewer, started eight times, won three races, was second three times and third twice. Altogether, the Riley horses have .earned over ,000 during the meeting, being in the money each and every time they started. In addition to . being an astute trainer and race driver, Riley shows profound knowledge of pedigrees, which is reflected in the partners chosen for his mares. This spring he sent his quintet to Scottish Prince, Ensign Hanover and Algiers, notwithstanding the high fees asked for these rising young sires and outstanding race horses of yesteryear. It is Rileys ambition not only to have, in coming years, a starter in the Hambletonian and Little Brown Jug, but win one or both of these most important harness racing classics with his home-breds. The younger - Riley is 35 years old, married, has two children, and the family enjoys the excursion to Chicago immensely, while Riley, Sr., who incidentally drove his first race last year at the age of 63 somewhere in Ohio, takes care of the law practice and gets lot of pleasure out of the young folks adventure in harness racing:, that turned out so successfully for then.
