view raw text
Move Del Mtir Finish Line to Original Position Being Set Back 118 Feet So That Stretch Run Will Be 832 Feet DEL MAR, Calif., May 12. The finish line at the Del Mar race course will be returned to its original location for the 15th summer season opening July 27, it was announced today by president Alfred Hart. Work on the project is just about com- pleted, Hart reported. The finish line will now be located between the grandstand and the clubhouse-turf club areas moving back 118 feet from its position for the past four seasons. Del Mars stretch run will now be 832 feet as compared to the 950 feet of before. The distance from the finish line to the first turn will be 488 feet. Last year it was 369 feet. In making the decision to change back to the location which was in effect from Del Mars inaugural season in 1937 through the 1949 meeting, the management was governed by several factors. For safety in races at a mile or more when the field had such a short run to the first turn;, in order to bring the finish line to a location pleasing to the greatest number of patrons; and to restore a time-honored Del Mar tradition were cited as the most pressing reasons for the change. Prom a standpoint of form, there is little to choose, Hart explained. Percentage of winning favorites at Del Mar both before the finish line was moved forward and afterward indicates no appreciable gain or decrcease. There is a wide variance in the stretch runs at race tracks in the United States. Washington Park in Chicago has a stretch of 1531 feet and Tropical Parks in Florida measures 716 feet. Each track is different, which gives credence to the axiom, "horses for courses." Work in re-locating the finish line involves a re-survey of the one mile oval to place the sixteenth, furlong and quarter poles; replacement of the judges stand 60 feet beyond the line and also re-location of patrol judge and starters stands; and the re-building of the photo chart booth on top of the grandstand. Placing judges, too, will be moved to the grandstand roof, re-linquishing their quarters at the top of the turf club.
