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REFLECTIONS By NELSON DUNSTAN BELMONT PARK Elmonfc L I N Y May 8 After being admired by a large throng in the paddock Na ¬ tive Dancer demonstrated on Friday that he had the same brand of speed that he showed as a threeyearold The Vanderbilt horse filled out mag ¬ nificently over the winter and only a few horses figure to give him com ¬ petition this year His next start probably will be in the Metropolitan Handicap at one mile next Saturday and there is much speculation about the weight John B Campbell will assign him and how much poundage he willbe asked to concede his opponents There is still talk of the son of Polynesian being sent to England for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes which will be run at a mile and a half on July 17 Last winter it was said he would try to emulate the feat of Tom Fool by winning the Metropolitan Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps New Yorks own Triple Crown Following the Metropolitan the Suburban Handicap will be run on May 31 and then the Brooklyn Handicap on July 10 so it would be possible for him to compete in this trio of events and then be flown to England for the Ascot race Native Dancer is a much needed shot in the arm for the handicap division this spring He is eligible for some of the rich events at Arlington and Washington Parks in Chicago in late July so there is a question of whether he will go abroad or out west westA A A A AWith With the Fashion Stakes in the record books the two yearolds will advance another step with the running of the Juvenile at five furlongs over the Widener Course at Belmont on Wednesday Winter racing did not produce a standout in this division so there is no telling just how Speculation on Weight for Native Dancer Will Vanderbilts Colt Go Abroad in July Juvenile to Attract RoyallyBred Youngsters Preakness Shaping Up as Interesting Race Racethe the baby ranks will shape up by the time racing moves up to Saratoga in August For some time we have been hear ¬ ing that the Belair Stud of William Woodward Jr had an exceptional colt in Nashua a son of Nazrullah Segula by Johnstown This colt made his appearance at Belmont in four and a half furlong race last Wednes ¬ day and while his time of 52 was not exceptional he demonstrated he is a youngster to cope with if he is a starter in Juvenile No less than 199 colts and fillies were nominated for the race and their pedigrees reveal that many are by the top stallions of the land and out of mares who distinguished themselves on the race course Inaugurated in 1874 the Juvenile has often pointed out twoyearolds who went on to greater things It was won by Sensation and Tremont two of the best youngsters prior to the turn of the century and in later years by such as Broomstick Hourless Trys er Blue Larkspur Equipoise Sun Again and My Request RequestA A A A AOn On Monday night supplementary nominations for the Preakness close and it will be interesting to note if any owners pay the 7500 fee to make their colorbearers eligi ¬ ble In view of the many threeyearolds who have been sent to the sidelines with Determine the Derby winner back to California and others doubtful it could be a worthwhile investment When the original entries for the Preakness closed 133 were nominated and a good sized field should answer the bugle Whether Hasty Road will be a starter is problematical at this writing but the Roman colt who ran such a good race in the Derby Trial only to fail in the Derby is a horse of extreme speed when at its best and he could prove a tough opponent if a starter Goyamo who finished fourth in the Derby is another likely starter in the Pimlico event Interest in it has soared as some who were not Derby starters will appear in it Prior to the Derby running we made the guess that this was not a year that would produce a Triple Crown winner and as matters have turned out that is now impossible That however does not detract from either the Preakness or the Belmont BelmontA A A A AWhile While in Kentucky we discussed the tax situation in that state with racing owners and breeders The increase to 14 per cent will not take effect until June 1 and many are wondering how it will affect the Keeneland meeting in the fall When the bill was in the discussion stage at Frankfort some Keeneland officials were very pessimistic about the future of the sporting little track in the heart of the Blue Grass It seems to us that there is a solution for Keeneland by lengthening themeetings in the spring and the fall Opening on April 8 the spring meeting was of 11 days duration with Mondays dark In view of the new tax there is no reason why the track could not have an earlier opening with at least 20 days of operation Be ¬ ing in the section where the majority of our horses are bred it would seem that the people would welcome a longer meeting It isalso true that in the spring Keene ¬ land attracts a sufficient number of horses especially threeyearolds who are pointing for the Kentucky Derby It would be little short of a tragedy if the quality of the sport at this Lexington track were to deteriorate It is our opinion that longer meetings would be a solution of ofContinued Continued on Page FortySix REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONSBy By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page FiftyTwo FiftyTwowhat what the Keeneland officials feel is a seri ¬ ous problem Kentucky is not the only state where excessive taxation is a grave problem for racing organizations In his address before the Kentucky Thorooghbred Breeders As ¬ sociation recently Ogden Phipps covered the situation nationally While we believe that the important associations along with The Jockey Club should take the lead in combating the taxes we still agree with what Phipps said about the dangers that exist under present conditions He stated that public opinion is important in helping racing to hold the tax line It cannot be denied that public opinion has changed for the better since the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau Pinkertons and other agencies have done such fine work in rais ¬ ing standards and thus create greater con ¬ fidence but seemingly the lawmakers are far more interested in revenue than they are in the protection of our sport If racing is to hold the gains it has made there must be a united effort to prevent taxation reaching the point where the law of dimin ¬ ishing returns takes effect
