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ON THE WIRE By Hugh J. McGuire BEULAH PARK, Grove City, Ohio, May 13. Two years ago. when Robert J. Dienst, president and general manager of Beu-, lah Park," decided to build modern quarters for stewards, placing judges, photo-finish cameras, announcer and newspapermen atop the grandstand he added another room to serve as a sort of penthouse and office for himself and friends and installed an eleva tor for the more convenient approach. All of these quarters are attractively finished in modern design and mark only one phase of the constant series of improvements that. Dienst has ordered since he took control of the track in 1937. He had been interested in the plant since 1933 but then as now the race course was primarily operated as a hobby. Dienst is a prominent contractor with headquarters in Columbus; This year the race track was widened and new grandstand seats were installed. Next fall, Dienst plans to enlarge the modern clubhouse to double its present capacity which is inadequate to handle Saturday and holiday crowds. AAA Dienst also operates a racing stable now campaigning at Suffolk Downs in charge of trainer Rollie Shepp, who has conditioned the Dienst River Divide Farm horses for many years. There are now 17 horses in training with three or four back here on the farm for repairs. Current star of the racing stable is Andre for whom Dienst de- j posited ,000 in the claiming box and then saw him improve to win about 00,000. The Dienst interest in thoroughbreds extends to breeding and at the farm adjoining the track are the two stallions, Brief Sigh and Final Touch. AAA The stakes winning gray Brief Sigh now is 13. By Brevity from the imported mare Forsythia, by Stefan the Great, Brief Sigh could do no better than finish" fifth in the Kentucky Derby but he numbers among his triumphs a tally in Beulahs own Governors Handicap. His mares have been limited and most of them belong to the home farm but he has been a 100 per cent producer in that all of his foals have been winners. Last year horses by Brief Sigh won about 8,000. His current crop of two-year-olds numbers only three and two of these have won while the other finished third. The owners of any big scale stallion would be mighty proud of this percentage record. AAA Final Touch is by Dauber Thats That, y High Time, and was claimed from A. G. Beulah Park Prospers Under Dienst Has Been Head of Track Since 1933 Also Prominent Breeder and Owner Vanderbilt. He raced with moderate success for Dienst before being sent to stud duty. His first crop consists of three, now yearlings, two of which are colts. He is also sire of three sucklings. Two River Divide stallions are open for outside mares, but no effort is made to commercialize them. Other successful claim made by Dienst was High Fidelity, who was haltered for ,200 and won some 0,000. This was the -colt who won the Ben Ali Handicap at Keene-land when that race was staged at a mile and nine-sixteenths. He scored in track record time, but was disqualified in an incident that started a controversy over the justice of the ruling of the stewards, although Dienst himself did not protest. AAA Dienst, who also has a sizable interest in. River Downs, is assisted in many of his duties by his son, Robert Y. Dienst, who is keenly interested in thoroughbreds and track operations. The elder Dienst has ruled, however, that his sons prime interest shall be the contracting business. A few years ago the younger Dienst and a friend named Kenneth Goodman, who was mechanically inclined, set out to build an automatic starting gate, and the result of. their labors is still in use at Beulah Park. This is known as the Kenny gate and, while it was home built, the locks were procured from the Puett Gate Company, to whom royalties still are being paid. Starter Tom Brown is high in his praise for its operation. AAA One of the features of the starting gate is that the doors are made of aluminum and it is hot known that such doors are. in use elsewhere. The adoption of this metal for the gate resulted in a saving of some 800 pounds in the total weight of the equipment. Sponge rubber is also used as a protection to hprses in the stalls of the apparatus. The gate carries a rather unusual story in that as soon as it was completed the younger Dienst received his call for Army service, and he did not see his finished product in operation until after he had served out his term with the Army. AAA A rather unusual situation developed at the meeting when H. V. Courtney started three horses. Two of them won and the other finished second. There is nothing spectacular about that, of course, but all three of the horses have the same parents. Tulomas Girl, a four-year-old filly, won the first race of the meeting. In the fifth race on the same day Bennye, a three year-old colt making the first start of his career, was second. On Tuesday a two-year-old colt named Lucky Tim made his first start a succesful one. The three hprses are by Talked About Tuloma, by Mont-ferrat and all were bred, owned and trained by Courtney, who. was a former football star in collegiate football in Columbus. We have been told that while the breeding of these horses could not be termed fancy, they inherited their ability from their sire who campaigned successfully in this area for so long that he became one of the oldest active racers in the state. AAA In Brief: When Dienst raced his River Divide Farm horses at this course, he found himself in an unenviable position. Because of the connection with the track, the horses invariably came in for stout support. If they were beaten Dienst was accused of all kinds of things. If they won, the same conditions prevailed. Now, as much as he would like to see his horses run over his own track in his home town, the River Divide stable does its racing elsewhere. . . One of the nicest things, we think, about this track is the practice of saddling the horses under the trees in the walking ring when weather permits. Its a pretty sight and we understand this saddling area is to be enlarged. The jockeys on two-year-old first time starters are not permitted to carry whips at this course. . . . One of the boasts of Beulah Park is that Ben Jones raced his horses here B.C. which means before Calumet. Jones always claimed this one of the hardest tracks he knew at which to win a race. Another figure now prominent in national racing rode here in the person of Ted Atkinson. . . Mrs. Mamie Sheets is celebrating her 25th year in the employ of the Charles Hayes catering concern which operates the local concessions . . . Mrs. R. J. Dienst designed the attractive interior of the clubhouse and presumably will do the same for the new addition to be added to that structure in the fall of this year.
