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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 8. Hollywood Park undertakes its first major excursion into the realm of top flight allowance racing come Saturday in the inaugural running of the 00,000 added Californian at a mile and one-sixteenth. The stake shapes up, at this writing, as being well worth while in many respects, but in others, it may prove disap pointing and Whether it is worth 00,000 or not is a moot question. The trouble seems to be that insofar as the older horses are concerned, they have pretty much established themselves at handicap weights, with the result that several "logical contenders" have declared themselves as not being interested at allowance weights, poundages, for instance, which see Imbros get in at 118 pounds. To be quite frank about it, western racing fans have never been either schooled or accustomed to appreciating what amounts to weight-for-age races, and they have shown a marked preference for the handicap. AAA One reason for this, of course, is that the ranks of the top horses in America are dispersed over the continent, and it is hard to get a really representative field together under allowance conditions regardless of the purse. Along this line, it might be mentioned that Hollywoods big midsummer derby, the Westerner, is run under allowance conditions, the sport having not as yet reached a stage of development whereby a straight scale three-year-old stake would fill. At scale this year, for instance, Determine would be a prohibitive standout, and well he may be at post time for the Westerner even conceding weight to every other three-year-old he must face. AAA . While Pet Bully did fly in over the week end from New Jersey, in the main, the Californian Saturday will appeal to "horses on the grounds" and stake names quite well established on the West Coast. However, Hollywood Park officials aver Reactions to Californian Inaugural Hollywood Programs Attain Balance Purchase of Stock Pleases Public that they are hot in the least bit disap- pointed, and figure from the beginning that the Californian was instituted on a long range basis, and that in the future, as owners become more aware of its presence, they no doubt will be more inclined to ship. AAA "On my last quick trip to the Atlantic seaboard, I was astonished to discover that most of the owners I talked to were more impressed by our overnight program than by the stakes," commented Stewart. "They looked in the condition book and saw the graded purses, with an overnight every day of 0,000 or more excepting on certain stake days plus a liberal sprinkling of ,000 and ,500 allowance races. This, reaction was enough to convince me that we had attained a truly balanced program for Hollywood Park, and this being true, I am sure that this balanced, program will serve to upgrade our entire racing cards in the seasons to come." AAA A generally favorable reaction. has been noticed throughout state racing circles over the announced purchase of a block of Bay Meadows race track stock by the Golden Gate Fields Corporation, a move made by Golden Gate to insure the continued faest-ern ownership of the controling. interest in the Meadows. True, at the moment, Golden Gate, through exercise of its options, will have only a 10 per cent interest, but that is a substantial one. Just what is in the minds of the Golden Gate leaders is not known, but speculation is rife, and our guess is as good as any. And that guess is simply this the Golden Gate people will use their influence to make a bigger and better Bay "Meadows and perhaps the whole racing structure in the San Francisco Bay area can be upgraded through an integral tion of area policy. AAA The leadership in Golden Gate Fields is progressive. Only a few months ago, for instance, the track took out membership in the TRA and has agreed to abide by both the spirit and the letter of the TRA code of ethics. Golden Gate Fields also has introduced a new spirit of building in the north, to wit, the establishment of a reasonable inducement for two-year-olds through the inauguration this fall of the 0,000 gross Golden Gate Futurity and the companion feature, the Gross Golden Gate Girl, for fillies. AAA Tanforan has always been willing, in principle, to go along with integrated programs and integrated policies affecting the public. These latter, too, are important, for it doesnt quite make sense for one track in an area to upgrade racing through a paid gate and have that effort nullified by in effect offering a free gate at another race track. Either the whole area should be paid or the whole area free. Both systems cannot survive in the same general community and at the same time see racing attain its true potential. The Golden Gate Fields "bloc" intends to move slowly but, as we say, it is a long time until Bay Meadows races again,, and during the lengthy interim, a great deal will be accomplished. And, as we say, the general reaction to the acquisition of the stock has been -extremely favorable. AAA Miz Clementine, whom many have predicted will be the best Calumet filly since Two Lea, lived up to that reputation by easily winning the 0,000 Sea Breeze Stakes on Tuesday at seven furlongs. She only ran in 1:23, not fast by Hollywood Park standards, but it was all she needed to win. As a matter of fact,, she ran only about a sixteenth of a mile in the Sea Breeze; making a bold and relentless move on the turn into the stretch and, once she had her field beat, just coasted on the rest of the way under the guidence of Ismael Valenzuela. A A A The Sea Breeze marked the second American outing of Sixpence H., and while she set a rapid early pace, she wilted when Miz Clementine challenged and tired, right out of the payoff line, to be exact about it, fourth. Miz Clementine picked up 2,900 in first money, a figure which helped keep Calumet in the front rank of earners for the. current meeting.
