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BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 1 As these lines are writ ¬ ten we along with most of the rest of the continent are awaiting the outcome of the eightieth Kentucky Derby and this might be as good a time as any to round up some stray items of Blue Grass interest Little has been said about it in print but Keene land the track where sport for sports sake is predomi ¬ nant has an ambitious project to be launched this summer namely the clasification of the vast files of negatives taken during the long career of pioneer turf photographer C C Cook of New York These files were made available to Keeneland as a gift and at present the negatives are stored in a special room awaiting the sorting and cata ¬ loguing by clerks General manager W T Bishop tells us he has plans for a special building to house this photo ¬ graphic collection and with the publication of a cata ¬ logue to make the pictures available to anyone and everyone who might have a need for some of the historic prints which cover about half a century of top flight American racing Many of the photographs are of such value especially historically that they may be put on exhibition The cataloguing promises to be a monumental task and Bishop has no idea how many negatives there are in box after box of films but a rough estimate would place the number at well over 100000 100000A A A A AJust Just for the records it might be well to mention an unexpected reaction the Elmer Kalensky ruling at Keene ¬ land which saw the man draw a 60day suspension be ¬ cause one of his horses reacted with a positive to a mild stimulant benzedrine Nobody least of all the officials think that Kalensky personally had any knowledge of the stimulation much less had anything to do with it Major Photographic Project for Keeneland Changed Attitude by Turfmen on Drug Rule Hertz Tells Pitfalls of Being OverHorsed Suggest Round Table Forum for California but under the rule which prevails in Kentucky as in most states which holds a trainer responsible for the cpndition of his horse regardless of the acts of third parties the 60day suspension was practically an automatic after math Al Wellman the Detroit owner and trainer summed up what may be deemed a new attitude on the part of the training profession to the rule when he re ¬ marked Most trainers realize that someone has to be responsible for the condition of their horses for if they werent the sport would be wide open to abuse with the trainer pleading innocent and allowing a third person of little consequence to assume the blame It maybe isnt the best solution in the world this rule but its the best we know which can deal effectively with an admittedly tough situation The rule holding a trainer responsible for the condition of his horse regardless of the acts of third parties at first glance would seem to be unconsti ¬ tutional and an invasion of civil rights but such is not the case It has been in effect upheld by refusal to re ¬ view by the United States Supreme Court CourtA A A A AJohn John Hertz of Stoner Creek and Amarillo Ranch the latter in Californias famed San Fernando Valley is en route to New York following his annual spring sojurn in Kentucky and tells us that he is again in the process of cutting down on his broodmare band which currently numbers 46 He is putting everything on the market save a few mares which will be retained for sentimental reasons until he is down to 30 mares which will be about evenly divided between Kentucky and California This cutting down is by no means a culling for as we men ¬ tioned almost every mare at either farm is available Hertz makes this telling observation which might well be heeded by a good many people ie When one gets overhorsed it takes a lot of the fun out of a breeding operation and makes it work The basic purpose of breed ing and its greatest appeal to the sportsman in the genuine pleasure it affords in the pride of production of worthwhile thoroughbreds There can be no limits de ¬ fined as to what constitutes being overhorsed for the number depends a great deal upon the individual But in general when the cares and worries begin to overbalance the pleasures then it is time for a reappraisal It is one of the unfortunate aspects of breeding that many new people have come into the sport with high enthusiasm only to have it dulled in a few years by too much stock with too little quality Some become discouraged and quit altogether This I feel is poor public relations for racing A more limited approach stressing quality rather than quantity would be a great factor toward strength ¬ ening the whole American breeding picture pictureA A A A AThe The discussions at the first round table of the Thoroughbred Club at Keeneland have been withheld from publication because John A Bell m president of TCA felt it would be desirable to wait until after the running of the Kentucky Derby before engendering nationwide reaction But we can say that all participants believe something worthwhile was accomplished at the forum and the minutes of the six and onehalf hour Continued on Page FortySeven BETWEEN RACES RACESBy By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page FiftyTwo FiftyTwosession session will create we understand some ¬ thing of a minor sensation when released One of the topics which was batted around verbally had to do with improving the breed of horsemen What might be termed the morals and ethics of sportsmanship in all over stable operation has been on the steady upgrade for many years and while it may never be humanly possible to ac chieve the ideal no doubt additional progress can be made madeA A A A AOne One observer at the meeting who asked that his name not be used because I dont want to be put publicly in the position of making a suggestion for a state where I am not a resident tells me that a similar round table discussions for California turf interests might be the best thing that could happen to the Golden West The first round table in New York was excellent the man continues and in some ways the one at Keeneland was better as folks can judge for themselves when the transcript is published From this distance it appears to me that a similar discussion in California especially in the southern part of the state could have a beneficial effect As an in ¬ terested observer of the California scene we feel the point is well taken The Coast has a lot of problems peculiar to that area alone but at the same time is coming of age so to speak rather rapidly and is losing its one time isolationist thinking But cer ¬ tainly a California round table could do no harm and might accomplish much good Indeed in summing up the achievements of the TCA Keeneland forum president Bell said I consider it an accomplishment to even have gotten everybody who was at the meeting to sit down at one table and talk freely and frankly
