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BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS BELMONT PARK Elmont I L N Y May 5 While there has been no formal approach as yet there have been some sounding of sentiment prior to making such a formal ap ¬ proach to changing the conditions of the Belmont Stakes to make for a later closing The suggested date would be February 15 the same date as prevails lor tne ± ientucKy ueroy prior to uetermine s win in the Kentucky Derby we understand there was an open discussion by turf leaders as to a suggested stakes approach by major American race tracks and the con ¬ sensus of opinion was that the best interst of racing both from the point of view o the track management the horsemen and the public would be served by the late closing of all major stakes save futurities and a race like Santa Anitas Maturity Then came Determines win in the Kentucky Derby and a quick check of the DAILY RACING FORM disclosed that while a nominee for the Preakness the iron gray son of Alitahai was not eligible for the Belmont This corner checked with Andy Crevolin the California sportsman in the matter and he tells us When we saw that Determine might have a classic potential early in the Santa Anita meeting we de ¬ cided to name him eligible for most everything But when I got to the office of the racing secretary I found out the Belmont had already been closed two weeks I couldnt figure out and still cant why a race that is run six weeks later than the Kentucky Derby should close earlier It is still a good point for future years even though Determine is missing the Preakness this spring But there will be other such horses to come along alongA A A A AIt It might be argued that it is up to a stable with any ideas of intercontinental stakes racing to keep informed Later Closing Date for Belmont Suggested Status of Determine Highlights Thinking Reason for Barring Geldings Said Dubious Schapiro to Make Pitch for Royal Equine as to the closing dates of respective stakes and insofar as the conditions are concerned failure of Determine to race in the Belmont is upon the shoulders of the sta ¬ ble However this lack of knowledge can in turn reflect upon the championship aspects of any race which is most certainly a concern of the race track and the public even though the owner was technically wrong or poorly informed The conditions of the Triple Crown races are not ironclad as has been demonstrated by the Preakness which wisely established a later closing date and pro ¬ tected itself against losing late development threeyear olds by providing a stiff supplemental provision And as we reported in this column from Louisville the Derby does not consider itself above change for this year the traditional trainers awards were abandoned in deference to TRA principles in such matters and next year there probably will be a basic redistribution of the money awards with a more reasonable share going to second third and fourth horses vAbout five years ago there was a clamor to establish some uniformity in the closing dates for the three Triple Crown races but nothing came of it at the time However the goal is being neared if not actually approached as both Churchill Downs and Pim ¬ lico managements realize the merit of conforming to what might be termed a classic Triple Crown pattern patternA A A A AAs As for the Belmont people ever admitting geldings to the roster of the mile and a half stake it would be doubt ¬ ful and yet we seen no valid reason why they should be barred As Ben Jones pointed out when he had a geld ¬ ing called Armed the breed is not improved nor is the merit of a potential sire established if he doesnt beat the best and it just could be that the best in any given year was a gelding We inferred that Jones meant that a race of classic claim which barred any horse was not as great a test as one open in effect to the world Person ¬ ally we would like to have seen Determine try his luck at a mile and a half because there has been a lurking rumor that the Alibhais were not particularly champion ¬ ship at distances further than a mile and a furlong But at the Derby jockey Ray York for no particular reason or maybe just sheer exhuberance actually rode Determine out almost a full eighth of a mile past the wire From the way we saw him go on out we were convinced he would go as far as asked even allowing for the self evident item that strategy in a mile and a half race usually is somewhat different than that prevailing at a mile and a quarter quarterN N A A A AJohn John Schapiro of Laurel is on the high seas today en route to Europe where he will visit Rome Paris and London Schapiro is to all intents and purposes making a routine trip abroad in the interest of the third running of his Washington D C International scheduled for early November But it can be said that this trip is more than routine for he departed cherishing the idea that it might be possible to get one of the Queens horses presumably Aureole to make the trip by air this fall and Royal representation in the Washington D C would give the race a prestige which would be as we say in Hollywood super colossal Captain BoydRochfort the Queens QueensContinued Continued on Page ThirtyNine BETWEEN RACES RACESBy By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page FortyEight FortyEighttrainer trainer has been in Ameria twice during tht past two years having gone as far west as California rnd has no doubt acquainted himself with American conditions especial ¬ ly those at track which offer turf racing Her Majesty might entertain the idea ac ¬ cording to some of our English friends on the grounds that representation might be construed as a friendly international ges ¬ ture as well as giving one of her horses if worthy an opportunity to add to the bril ¬ liance of his record That the Washington D C can accomplished just that for a European horse has been proven twice in its two runnings first with Wilwyn last fall with Worden II The D C exactly doubled the value of the latter as a sire prospect in Prance PranceA A A A AOn On the eve of his sailing we asked Scha piro if he felt that international racing was not becoming something of a oneway street and that it could not attain its true global destiny under such circumstances Schapiro replied that the field of interna ¬ tional racing was still somewhat in the pioneer stage and said that he believed a reversal of the trend or perhaps more pro ¬ perly stated an equalization of traffic with the passage of time may develop After all he pointed out international racing is comparable to the development of Ameri ¬ ca For many years most of the traffic was to the west to America but as this nation grew and prospered more and more people have turned to Europe for trips and the traffic to Europe is now enormous Perhaps much the same thing will happen in inter ¬ national racing Schapiro probably has a point too while in general American purses are far richer than in any foreign lands the prestige values involved in win ¬ ning certain classics abroad is immeasura ¬ ble and it is certain that they have a profound influence upon bloodline patterns Indeed we think that international racing with a flow of American thoroughbreds to other countries just as the D C has in ¬ duced such a flow to this country will come closer to reality when even better transport methods are worked out in the United States In fact quick transport within thek continent say from California to New York and vice versa is just getting down to a science That it has a ways to go can be proved by the item that Deter ¬ mine was the first Kentucky Derby winner ever to be delivered by air to Louisville via an ice truck He was unloaded from the plane in that manner the Louisville port lacking modern ramp facilities necessary in all cases except where the planes carry their own facilities such as do those of John J McCabe
