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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otisi HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif.,4 June 14. The most unusual race of the year transpired in the inaugural running of the mile and one-sixteenth 00,000 add-1 ed Californian Saturday when Andy Crevo-lins I m b r o s and Determine, the latter the three - year - old Kentucky Derby winner, ran one-two in that order, with High Scud a rather distant third, the rest of the field thoroughly beaten. Imbros, in at 118 pounds, equaled the world record for the distance, 1:41 flat, and the early fractions of the race were all his, a searing six furlongs in 1:09, mile in 1:34. The mark, of course, was a new track record for Hollywood Park. Johnny Longden, a truly great rider on a front runner, kept Imbros going from start to finish, and it was a great exhibition of both equine ability, blinding speed sustained for the distance, as well as a superb exhibition of the Longden skill at its best. Determine ran fiercely through the stretch from the whip, but could not get up. He was conceding eight pounds on the scale to Imbros, from 12 to 17 pounds to every other horse in the race. AAA We said the race was unusual and it was, in that just before the contest the Crevolin stable asked if it could declare to win with one of their starters, presumably Determine. The stewards said the stable could not; that each and every starter would have to be ridden out. Wendell Cassidy explained to this writer that the rule, much to our surprise, which permitted "declaring to win" had been abandoned in California as being outdated and not in keeping with public policy. Had it not been for this, the stable easily could have arranged for Longden, once he saw the entry a sure thing for one-two, to have eased in favor of the three-year-old. AAA r Just prior to the race, Crevolin had told us, "You were so right when you mentioned a few days ago that we had hopes that Determine would become the Horse of the Year. Thats the only reason we are going to Chicago this summer later on, and after that to New York or maybe to Maryland if we get an invitation to the Washington, D. C, International at Laurel. Everything we do with Determine from Imbros, Determine in Private Duel Polynesian Colt Equals Time Mark Latter, Giving Weight, Impresses here on will be based on this goal. Yes, Willie Molter has agreed to go with the horse come what may. And the only reason that we are going is that we realize Horse of the Year honors only can be won in the East." However, as we saw the Californian, we thing Determines terrific effort in just a shade off 1:41 will add to his hopes of becoming Horse of the Year, and certainly will in no way detract, for he met old, tongh horses and, in the case of his mate, Imbros, a really brilliant one. Of course, if he could have won it would have been so much the better. AAA Whatever happens from here on, too, the stud careers of both Imbros and Determine seem assured. "I have what amounts to an ultimatum from Leslie Combs to send Determine to Spendthrift," says Crevolin, and I have two firm offers from Lexington interests for Imbros, and the chances are he will also go to Kentucky when the proper time comes." To get back to the race, it was the world record of Count Speed that Imbros equaled, and, through k coincidence, Johnny Longden rode both Imbros and Count Speed. The latter is now one of the most successful sires in California and, for that matter, the nation. AAA We must confess that while the pre-race analysis of the Californian left this writer a little cold, its running left us fired with a great deal of enthusiasm. We saw two great horses from the same stable wage a private duel through a quirk of California racing law, a duel that was just as bitter as had there been different ownerships involved. And, now that the Californian has been decided, racing secretary Johnny Maluvius is free to go ahead with his weights for the Gold Cup, which will be posted late today. And, incidentally, when the race was over,- trainer Molter did not enter the winners circle, but went out to the track to see that Determnie was okay. AAA Perhaps the 00,000 race, a magical thing in Southern California, or the appearance of the popular Determine, or maybe a combination of both, saw the afternoons attendance approximate 50,000, a figure which surprised even the management. This column pointed out last midweek that the Californian had a few as- pects which were disappointing, but Hollywood president Mervyn LeRoy remarked "I am not disappointed. Quite the contrary. I have every belief that the Californian will build, and rather quickly, into one of the real prestige races of the West and the nation. It may be, as you say, that there will be vintage runnings and at other times, just runnings. But until the Californian, the Far West lacked a stakes-allowance race which approximated a weight-for-age event, and the Californian definitely fills this need. I say need because more races which tend toward classic conditions is the next big step forward to be taken by California racing and a step which will be for the best interests of all our racing. Every race has to have a beginning, and I think we did pretty ell for our inaugural of the Californian by getting horses of the caliber of Determine to the post." AAA Walter C. Marty, new managing director of Del Mar, was a turf club visitor and he said, "I wont have any statements to make as to policy at Del Mar until I have had a chance to go. home this week end and survey the present set-up. But offhand, I think the new owners of Del Mar are taking over an efficient organization and one that has done much 1 contribute to the finer phases of sporting racing. There seems to be a good foundation from which you can continue to build." Insofar as Del Mar policies, we can reveal that one flat decision has been reached, and it was done so after a consultation just before Clint Murchison left for Texas. Murchison told us, "we transacted only one bit of business, and that was to consider a suggestion that in view of conditions, we should raise the admission price. This was promptly vetoed after a minimum of discussion." We dont recall Murchisons exact phraseology, but it boiled down to a philosophy that people are the essential ingredient of any sporting enterprise, and that anything that would tend to discourage attendance and popularity of the sport was not in the best interests of either good racing or good business. Marty phrased it another way, when he commented "perhaps the solution to some of racings problems lie in increased attendance rather than in higher prices, and I dont think it is too much to hope for to say that racing has a great potential ahead of it and that racing can achieve those gains in this vast undeveloped field of the sports minded American people." In other words, stress on making racing more pleasurable and interesting new millions in the sport might lead only way upward.
