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Between Races By OSCAR OTIS Tells Prospects of Del Mar Sales Building Towards Brighter Future Purse Increases Are Making News DEL MAR, Calif., Aug. 26 George Buck-nam, president of the Del Mar Sales Company, tells us with commendable frankness that he expects the second annual seaside vendue, to be presented in the paddock the evenings of September 8 and 9, to be on the unsensational side, with emphasis upon good horses that are expected to sell dollar for dollar, and, if the results of the inaugural sale last summer may be taken as a cri- terion, the vendue will be one replete with bargains. "In some way, the sale is disappointing in that we do not have enough top quality horses to make the affair really outstanding, but the stock is intrinsically sound and this sale will provide us with a firmer foundation upon which to build in future summers. Im just as convinced that Del Mar has a real future as a sales center, because of Jts great natural advantages, comparable in many ways to those of Saratoga, as I was that Del Mar itself would be a success when it was founded despite the then prevailing expert opinion to the contrary. "We already are making plans to bring yearlings from Kentucky, Europe, and the Antipodes, for our 1954 sale, and we have some hopes that Frank Bishop of Laguna Seca Farm will offer his first major crop of California yearlings from his Henry Knight acquired mares at our arena. We already have eight Australian yearlings, bred to American Time, consigned. This sale coming up will be a good one, even though we expect no record-shattering prices. We are in this business for the long pull, and are willing to lose a good deal of money to establish Del Mar as a major sales center." Bucknam is insisting that even while by bidding is legal in California, it will not be countenanced at this years vendue, or in any other future Del Mar sale, and all offerings will be .sold. To insure the sale keeps on a high professional standard, Doc Bond is flying out from Kentucky to hammer the affair. As a matter of fact, it wouldnt be quite true to say that there are no top quality yearlings in the sale, for there are, but we imagine the bulk of the offerings will appeal to the "middle man" in racing looking for honest prospects whose earning horizons have been so enlarged in the West in recent months by purse hikes most everywhere and the entrance into the racing picture of Las Vegas. The consignors of the sale represent some of the Wests most substantial breeders, among them being George Brent, Andrew J. Campbell, Casitas Ran-cho, John E. Carroll, Conejo Ranch, Estate of Myra A. De Veau, Mary E. Grey, W. R. Johnston, Henry H. Knight, L. E. Krage, SebeMusgrove, Betty Rehers, Dale A. Seitz, Thelma M. Sneed, Robert E. Tobiasson, Wilton Woods," and Ann McD. Woods. The sales, incidentally, will be held in Del Mars Spanish-type patio paddock, in many ways an ideal setting for an auction. Speaking of purse increases, they have been so frequent of late that they almost no longer are news. Late last week, Del Mar made the headlines by lifting its minimum purse from ,200 to ,000. Alfred Hart, president of Del Mar, told me that at the moment, Del Mar was concerned about getting its minimums up and fattening its premium overnight purses than in increasing its originally announced lavish stakes program, but that perhaps the next big move in purses, in a year or so, would be the establishment of a truly balanced stakes program with more three -year-old and older stakes to supplement the Del Mar "sales leaders," i.e., the pair of two-year-old classics, the Debutante, down for decision on Saturday, and the 0,000 gross Futurity of September 5. Yesterday, Walter C. Marty, general manager of Caliente, increased his basic purse to ,400 with the announcement there would be a weekly feature of ,000 in value and a supporting race of ,800. Considering that less than a year ago the minimum purse at Caliente was ,000, the upgrading is little short of sensational. The increases will see Cali- Continued on Page Thirty-Nine JP By OSCAR OTIS W Continued from fage Three - enie offering three-quarters of a million dollars a year in purses. Martys action . was entirely -voluntary and motivated through the knowledge that it is sound racing policy to share better business with the horsemen. - Hart came up with a nugget of common sense and wisdom yesterday when, in discussing the . Del Mar increases with this writer, he said, "Del Mar is my first venture into the sports-entertainment field, and Im learning a lot. But basically, the recipe for a successful operation seems "fairly simple. Keep the horsemen as happy as possible, and the public as happyas pos- j -sible. Keeping that in mind, no matter "how the details are worked out, paves the way for progress." Actually, the Del Mar " "purse raises were somewhat anticipatory and are ahead of, rather than following, a -sharp upward trend in public interest and support. As for the public side of it, readers : may recall last week we interviewed archi- , "tect Art Froelich, one of the worlds great : modern turf designers, as to the ideal track r of the future, among other things. ! r So it was no great surprise to us to see Froelich scampering about the plant yes- terday with camera and drawing board in hand, and we had little or no mental effort in reaching the conclusion that Froelich had been engaged by Del Mar to outline the million dollars worth of improvements coming up, a program which, no doubt, will contain some of the elements of the "ideal track" as outlined by our column. We can state with authority that whatever improvements . are made -will not change the basic pattern of Del - Mar, a pattern which is hard to describe in mere words. About the closest we can . come is by saying "metropolitan-smart mellowed by surfside informality and fun." "We learn that Calumet Farm most definitely will give Las Vegas a measure of support by campaigning a division there, one of the reasons being the emphasis upon two-year-old racing there, including, of course, stakes. It is unfortunate that many of Calumets better known stakes horses are on the shelf, the most recent being the 0,000 Starlet Stakes Hollywood Park winner, Arrogate, who is stepping gingerly t around the tow ring with blistered knees. Real Delight bowed in Chicago, and Hill K Gail and Mark-Ye-Well are not at the moment in grade A form. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Calumet will not figure as prominently in fall stakes racing as in past years on either coast, but this situa-" tion probably will change by next spring when the current crop of yearlings emerge as two-year-olds in competition. Even so, we understand that Calumet has at least three prospects for the 00,000 two-year-old stakes in Vegas come December.
