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WEIGHING IN By Evan Shipman I BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 12. Times have changed. Today, owners of outstanding thoroughbreds are thinking exclusively of the rich purses they may gather during a season, and paying no attention whatsoever to the price at which their col orbearers start. With the coming of the pari-mutuel, the value of stake events soared, while the importance of the large individual wager dwindled until, at present, the large individual wager can almost be said to be non-existant. Take the imminent Metropolitan Handicap as an example. In the old days, weights for the Metropolitan were published weeks or months in advance of the running, their publication being the signal for large transactions in the "future bookf" this activity continuing with fluctuating odds right up to post time. AAA As will be the case this Saturday, Alfred G. Vanderbilts Native Dancer would, of course, have been the strong choice for the mile race had he raced in that epoch and his assignment, in all probability, would have been the same 130 pounds that haridicapper John B. Campbell has now allotted him, but, descending the list of nominations,, the .conditions would have been far different from what we see today. For instance, White Skies would have been weighted for the Metropolitan previous to having won either the Paumonok or the Toboggan in such brilliant style. White Skies weight here, to hazard a guess, would hardly have been more than 118 pounds certainly not more than 120 pounds. In those circumstances, you may be sure that the chestnut Sun Again five-year-olds connections would have accepted the tacit invitation to wager, arid wager heavily. And so would anybody else who suspected as has turned out to be the case that White Skies was the best sprinter to put in an appearance in many years. AAA Under actual conditions, White Skies may very well pass up the Metropolitan altogether. While his form at distances less than a mile is a known quantity, his ability at eight furlongs has not yet been put to the test. Following the current Belmont Park meeting comes Aqueduct with its seven-furlong Carter Handicap, the richest fixture for sprinters in the country. Now the Carter, although it does not enjoy the same prestige as the Metropolitan, is worth 5,000 more than the longer stake. If White Skies, at Saturdays difference of Nature of Sport Changed by Mutuels4 Stables Depend Uniquely on Purses White Skies Has Reason to Skip Met four pounds, were either to defeat -Native Dancer or to run the gray champion to a head or a neck, Campbells course as far as weights for the Carter are concerned can be readily forseen. AAA So the White Skies contingent certainly see that it is possible to lose the Metropolitan and still incur a crushing assignment in the subsequent rate. Time was when the inducement of winning a whopping bet might have persuaded them to take the risk, but "the ring" is no longer in existance, and the modern stable derives its profits strictly from purse money. Although the value of the Metropolitan, is still not commensurate with the honor conferred upon the winner, it is still, with 5,000-added, worth far more than at the period when it was one tf the countrys great betting events, the winners share in those days rarely exceeding 0,000 and usually being well below that sum. AAA Prompted by a romantic affection for the traditional Long Island stakes rather than any realistic, consideration of our friends best interests, we last winter urged Andy Crevolin, owner of the record-breaking Imbros, to ship his fine horse East this spring with the Toboggan, Metropolitan and Carter handicaps as his objectives. We did not know, of course, how Campbell would weigh Imbros in relation to Native Dancer, but our guess was that the California owner might hope for a six-or eight-pound advantage at their first encounter. At that margin, we thought the venture had a chance of success, nor did we Ipse any opportunity to press the point, painting the possible rewards to be gained in the rosiest colors at our disposal. AAA Enthusiastic by nature, Crevolin is temperamentally inclined to catch fire at any ambitious proposal, while the risks involved merely serve to whet his appetite, but we could not help but notice that trainer Willie Molter was regarding these suggestions of ours with a decidedly jaundiced eye. When we had all but won our case, Crevolin now talking eagerly of the projected invasion, some remnant of caution, conscience or common sense bade us to take stock of just what we had been about; of what Imbros would inevitably miss on the west coast if the brilliant Polynesian four-year-old to be flown to Lpng Island for a spring campaign involving the stakes we have mentioned. Had we all been living 35 or 40 years ago, and had Crevolin been conducting. a "betting stable," our plan might have been advanced on a realistic basis, but in terms of actuality, of the present, it was simply fantastic, and it is a credit to Molters good nature that he was not outspokenly annoyed at our meddling. Had Imbros been sent here, Crevolins horse would have had to pass up the 00,000 handicap at Bay Meadows that he has already won, as well as his chance for the new 00,000 I race to be offered shortly at Hollywood Park, -a . race with allowance conditions not a handicap and, above all, a race on Imbros home grounds, perfectly suited to his talents in regard to distance and in whch the weight he will have to carry is far from excessive. In the far distant past, any horse from the hinterland" who pos- sessed a chance of defeating a local champion in any of the major New York handicaps placed a possible fortune at the disposal-of the owner, but, said to say, we are no longer living in the era of Imp, the "Coal Black Lady," of Sam Hildreths McChesney. AAA In extenuation of an attitude on the part of this columnist, and of Andy Crevolin, too, that, at first sight, might appear merely silly, let us hasten to say that "the sensible course" in the vast majority of cases not only does not make for good sport, but actually militates against sport. It may be the part of wisdom for White Skies to avoid Native Dancer in Saturdays Metropolitan, but the absence of White Skies from the field will certainly hurt the race. A A A And how about Royal Vale? Mrs. Thourons horse, now giving every indication of a return to his top form, was good enough to run Tom Fool to a half length in last years Metropolitan, and then to run the Greentree champion to the barest of noses in a memorable Suburban. In Saturdays Metropolitan, Royal Vale has been assigned 126 pounds, or the same burden that White Skies must carry if he goes, and it is no exaggeration when we say that the real interest of the occasion, the sport, depends on this pair meeting Native Dancer at that four-pound margin. White Skies reasons for declining the issue have been stated. As for Royal Vale, the imported horse has been nominated for the 0,000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs to be decided next Wednesday. The weights for the New England feature have yet to be announced, but no matter how they turn out, what would your own decision be, would you stay here, and throw down the gauntlet to Native Dancer for the sake of the glory?
