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BETWEEN RACES byoscarotis BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 12. Belmont Park has tried two experiments in the. past week and weather conditions had considerable to do with arriving at a fair conclusion concerning them. First English and Irish jumpers were imported to make the International Steeplechase a truly international event and the management was not to blame because it was not a resounding success. Steeplechasing has lost considerable ground in the past few years and it cannot be denied that we are woefully short of good jumpers in this country. It seems ironic that a steeplechaser such as Extra Points, who had never been prominent, should defeat our own The Mast, who was voted the best jumper of 1953 and also the foreign horses brought here. The second experiment is that of grass racing. On Monday the seventh race was a seven-furlong race on the turf. It was won by the aging Royal Governor, a horse who moves up considerably when the going is on the grass, especially soft sod resulting from a constant downpour of rain. There were some significant aspects to that race for the throng sent 35,569 through the mutuel machine, the largest sum bet on any race during the day. Another item was that horses like Jamie K., Ming Yellow, Impulsive and Grover B. were starters. It was unfortunate that Grover B. stumbled and fell, but luckily Ted Atkinson was not injured. AAA Belmont officials stated from the start that turf races were simply "experiments" and we know they are still of the same opinion. A minority is opposed to these events which are of foreign origin, but which have taken hold in v this country. When we come right down to it, what is Badyeather Marred Belmont Experiments New Yorkers Greatly Favor Grass Racing Many Rich Turf Events Scheduled in Fall Do International Races Prove Anything? there about our American thoroughbreds that are not of foreign" origins? Since grass racing has been introduced in this country, it has become a colorful asset to the racing in New Jersey, Maryland, Florida, Illinois, California, and, though still on an experiment basis, in New York. Judge John C. Pappas of the Suffolk Downs track in East Boston stated he would go to Ireland with a hope of inducing owners over there to ship horses to the New England course for fall and winter racing. He feels, as so many others do, that grass racing offers a spectacle that is a welcome variation to our flat racing, and if possible he would like to emphasize the international phase that has become part and parcel of American racing in recent years. Racing programs do need variety and this writer has seen enough throughout the country to realize the value of steeplechasing and grass racing in attracting more people to the sport. A A A It is this writers impression that in the months to come we will see many more of our top horses "competing on grass courses. Racing organizations throughout the country have clearly seen the value of these events and have offered purses that justify an owner and trainer nominating their colorbearers for them. Ben Lindheimer of Arlington and Washington Parks in Chicago was one of the pioneers in promoting grass racing over here and he will start a series of such races with the 5,000 Stars and Stripes on July 5, and on the last day of that month will stage the 00,000 Arlington Handicap at a mile and three-sixteenths. When the sport switches over to Washington Park the 5,000 Grassland Handicap will be run on August 14, followed by the 0,000 Meadowland Handicap on August 28. Chicago is but one of the many sectors that will be offering grass events in the fall. At that season, the United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City and the Washington, D. C, International at Laurel will be renewed. Whether Belmont will stage races on the turf in the fall we do not know, but we think it will be passing up a popular form of entertainment if they do not. During the winter, grass racing is popular in Florida and, since the running of the San Juan Capistrano, it has also taken hold on California racegoers. AAA It has never been clear in this writers mind why some people object to the introduction or, more correctly, begrudge, the popularity of grass racing in this country. There will always be objectors to certain forms of human or equine activities in sports and right now England is faced with the agitation of some organization to end or to modify the Grand National Steeplechase, which is called, "the worlds most hazardous race." At the last renewal, four horses were killed and that prompted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and-others to demand that the race be discontinued. As a matter of cold fact, the jumps in England are no higher than ours. If one were to demand that this sport be discontinued why not go after prize-fighting, midget auto races, bull fighting, water polo and every other, sport in which -there is a possibility of a human or a horse being injured or possibly killed? Since 1839 when the Grand National was inaugurated, only one jockey has been killed. While it is unfortunate that four horses should have met Continued on Page Thirty-Nine BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Eight i at Atlantic City we can better," explains Dr. Levy, "and one of them is its interior beauty. Sometimes, I think certain parts of the track looks more like a warehouse than a part of .a park. After all, the days are over when racing catered only to a clientele of hard-core racetrackers. We are definitely in an age whereby our appeal and our success is based on the attraction of the average good citizen. Our progress plan is not all physical, either, for late last week, our executive committee met and promoted our public relations director, Lou Cunningham, to junior executive status, and "Mugg-sy" Feldman has been advanced to senior press relations officer. Cunningham will thus be free to devote his full time toward high-level promotion of the best interests of Jersey racing in general and Atlantic City racing in particular." AAA "Maybe Ive been wrong about television," says Gene Mori, president of Garden State Park, "and if I have been wrong, Im the first to admit it." Mori was commenting, of course, upon the new TV programs from Garden State Park, programs which will bring to viewers the running of the feature stake each Saturday. Marshall Bainbridge, Jr., director of good will for the Camden track, says the ABC wants to distribute the program live nationally, which, together with the popular CBS national hook-ups, would give American racing fans a tasty turf fare of a Saturday. The times would not coincide, as Jersey stake races in general are run much later than the New York features." As we said, we feel this item is important in that Mori is holding an open mind on the subject of TV, whereas last year, no live telecasts were even considered. This being the case, it is entirely probable that the second running of Garden States classic stake for two-year-olds will he made available to a nationwide audience next October.
