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ON THE WIRE By Hugh J. McGuire BEULAH PARK, Grove City, Ohio, Mayf 14. It seems that as long as we can remember there have been arguments and discussions as to whether it was more difficult for a racing secretary to draft the fields for his races from the cream of the countrys thoroughbreds or from those more lightly regarded. While we have no way to prove either point there are many horsemen and officials who will tell you that it is only necessary to have good horses to draw from to make the finished program look good while the secretary who deals with the cheaper grade of horses is constantly taxed to bring together representative fields with a semblance of color and promise of competition. The presence of one "name" horse in a field often is sufficient to elevate a race to a place of prime importance as demonstrated by the appearance of a championship candidate in a preparatory race which would be drab by comparison without his presence. The racing secretary at less pretentious tracks than the best has the well-nigh impossible task of making the fields in his feature races look like a meeting of champions and at the same time getting enough horses into his races to satisfy the mutuel department that the contest will be a profitable one from a wagering standpoint. To, many mutuel departments small are an abomination and to program a race that resulted in a minus show pool is to commit the unpardonable sin. A recognized master at drafting satisfactory and competitive races from sources that can be described as no better than mediocre is Eugene Bury who is racing secretary at Beulah Park and other courses. Bury is a veteran of the condition book who has had a fling at all types of horses during a colorful career. He can tell you of his initiation into the duties of a secretary under the kindly but keen guidance of the late Malcolm MacFarlan whom we knew and of racing at the beautiful Lagoon track at Salt Lake City which . we did not know. Beginning at Memphis, Discussing Racing Secretarys Taskf Gene Bury Veteran of Condition Book Prefers Claimers as Great Leveller there were years that saw Bury in action at Montreal tracks when that Canadian city boasted of the finest racing on the continent. There was a decade at Fort Erie and other Dominion tracks to be followed by about 17 years at Oaklawn Park and sorties to such courses as Suffolk Downs in New England and Arlington in Texas, There are any number of practical horsemen who place Bury with the leaders of his profession. AAA When asked point blank whether he found it easier to write races for top horses or those less highly regarded, Bury answered with a question of his own. "Is it easier for you to write about stakes-winning horses with color," he asked, "or about cheap horses who can never hope to run without a claiming tag?" When queried about changes that had come about during his career. Bury found many that were definite improvements and others that he looked upon as less desirable than he had found in the past. Of horsemen he finds that the present crop demands that races be written with conditions that eliminate a great deal of opposition whereas in years past they ran in open races without question. The temperaments of horses he finds greatly improved and the rogue today is the exception. AAA He looks upon modern equipment such as starting gates and cameras as definite steps along the road to improvement and notes that stables and backstretch conditions today compare favorably with those of "another era as do facilities for the public. Bury does not believe that optional claiming races are the solution to many racing problems because they permit good horses to hide behind this protection for long periods. He prefers the old claiming rules as the great leveller where an owner puts his own price on his horse and takes his chance. He believes that the elimination of cheap horses will come mainly from refusal to grant stall space to those who do not meet certain standards and he is of the opinion that jockeys of today, as a group, are far less capable than they were in the past. He runs into an acute difficulty in finding horsemen who list their horses as of ,500 quality when making application for stall space, will run their charges for half that amount once they are stabled on the grounds. He regrets and sees a danger in internal conflicts in racing. AAA The national dearth of apprentice riders is seen here as elsewhere and while there was a preponderance of budding riders in this area we have been able to unearth only five boys here who are entitled to the allowance of five pounds. These are R. C. Cassidy, W. Hubbard, J. Ring, D. Baldwin and L. Cargile. The last named lad caught our attention initially for two reasons unconnected with his riding ability. The first was that the program listed him as L. Cargile Jr. which recalled that it was not so long ago that Leo Cargile rode in this sector. George Bulcroft, in charge of the jockey room here added the junior to this lads name just in case the senior Cargile decided to resume riding again. The younger Cargile, whose name Is Lc :qy, assures us that his parent has no intention of returning to the saddle and at present is employed In the crew of starter Tom Brown. AAA Our other reason for noticing Leroy Cargile is that he just received from the Kentucky Racings Commission, notice that his apprentice allowance has been extended for five months and five days to terminate on October 20. Cargile rode his first winner in May just a year ago but he suffered a fractured bone in his neck in a spill at Churchill Downs which sidelined him for the time which the Kentucky commission has now granted him. Fully recovered, the lad is back in full stride and those who have watched him in action like the appearance he makes in races. Contract on his services is held by Fred Sharpe, an astute conditioner who is tutoring the lad who already has an easy confidence and a very pleasant manner. Leroy comes from our bailiwick of Lexington, Kentucky and when he explained that he had learned his early lessons there from E. Barry Ryan, Doug Davis, John Ward and Herb C jvens we knew that his education in horseman- CosHfi. fand j -as I- 3 ; i : i i i i i I I s . ON THE WIRE By HUGH J. McGUIRE Continued from Page Four ship had been acquired under unequalled surroundings. This background, coupled with his affiliation with Sharpe and his continued claim to the, "bug" allowance should again set the lad in his way to success. He has ridden already five winners and can ride at 105 pounds. AAA In brief: The silks of Fred W. Hooper were seen in action here on Thursday when carried by Big Hoop, a son of the Kentucky Derby winner. Hoop, Jr. It is believed that this marked the first appearance of the Hooper silks at this track. Big Hoop is in charge of trainer Eddie E. New. . . Racing secretary Gene Bury is of the opinion that a shortage of apprentice riders is due to some measure to the fad of using ponies to a great extent. Horsemen pony their horses rather than orain riders. . . A unique sanitary procedure in this area is the practice here of loading manure onto carts which are hauled away frequently rather than store it in piles in the stable area . . The first claim of the meeting was recorded in Thursdays sixth race when Mrs. M. Troiani haltered Terry Mine from F. Wood for ,200. . . Starter Tom Brown keeps in close touch with the stewards with a short-wave radio set mounted at the six-furlong starting chute . . The brilliantly white head numbers for horses in use here were designed by George Bul-croft, custodian of the jockeys-room and were of particular value during the recent period of heavy rain.
