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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis PLEASONTdN, Calif., June 19.— It was, our good fortune today to be in Northern California to make a survey of the Cali-— fornia fornia fair fair circuit. circuit, fornia fornia fair fair circuit. circuit, which opens Monday here at the Alameda Ccunty Fair Grounds. Following Pleasanton, to compx-ise the so-called fair circuit, will be Vallejo, a comparative newcomer to the California racing picture, but whose race meeting has been a success from the very beginning; oegmmng; Santa Santa Rosa, Rosa, beginning; oegmmng; Santa Santa Rosa, Rosa, Ferndale, up hi the tall redwood country near Eureka; the San Ivlateo Country Fair, then the old-established San Joaquin County Fair at Stockton, and after that the State Fair. The circuit will wind up with the Los Angeles County Fair at Pomona and the Fresno district fair. All this might not be claeced as news, but big things are happening to the fair circuit, and these events have been something/in the nature- of a mixed blessing. AAA While the all-over improvement has been startling, the forward march, of quality on the fair circuit is seeing the final disappearance of the old type fair horse as we knew him only a few years ago. What happened was this: Horsemen long have been agitating for higher purses on the circuit and, in co-operation with manage-• ments, saw to it that the purses exactly matched the growing handles. These purses are now so big that quality horses have been attracted in such numbers that the bull ring horse has been squeezed out. Ironically, some of the horsemen who were loudest in their demands for larger purses have been the very victims of the squeeze. Their horses no longsr fit the programs. What will happen to them nobody seems to know or will even as much as hazard a guess. A A » The "situation came to light here a few days ago in a dramatic fashion. In order to be fair in the allocation of stalls to horses which were questionable as to meeting the rigid standards of qualification, Sam Whiting, director of racing, decreed a series of trials for, those seeking space and, with a staff comprised of the senior steward, a clrclcer, a veterinarian and others, a number of horses were drilled. If, in the opini-n of this board, a mistake has been made in barring the horse, he was given a stall. But, as ex- tPleasariton Opens Season at Fairs* Bush Horses Crowded Off Circuit Note Big Changes on Punkin Wheel pected, the bulk did not measure up and now have no place to go, no piace to race. This in spite of the fact that all quarter horses and harness horses are stabled off the grounds. AAA Bob Weurth, public relations man for Pleasanton, remarks: "This is progress, and worthwhile, for every one has been talking for a long time about improving the quality of racing oh the fairs and how good it would be for racing in California and the breeding industry. Now that we have reached a point of attainment, we feel that we have accomplished something worthwhile, but at the same time we cant help but feel sorry for these men who. have those old, bad horses. The situation will- get worse as we go along, for stable accommodations at Vallejo and Santa Rosa are far less than here at Pleasanton. I suppose progress is always a cause of un-happiness for some, but there is nothing that can stop it." AAA Added Weurth: "I would estimate that the Alameda County Fair attracts 90 per cent of its patronage from the San Francisco Bay metropolitan area, the other 10 per cent from the grass roots of California. A rough, but nevertheless good guess is that Santa Rosa and Vallejo are about 75-25 between city and country patronage. The fairs firmly believe they are doing a great service for racing at the big tracks in at least two respects. One, by getting the city folks to a fair, they bring them into vivid contact with the agricultural aspects of racing and so are truly educational. .In turn, they interest the grass roots man in thoroughbred racing and so build up a potential of direct patronage and, if not that, at least an understanding of, and good will to the thoroughbred sport. A survey by an outside firm which deals in such matters has shown that the fairs have performed a I great service in creating better understanding between folk in the metropolis and on the farms. The fairs also have done more than any other agency to get across the message of what racing means to agriculture in this state, and as all informed people know, it means a lot." A A A The Pleasanton track has always held a particular fascination for this writer because its oval antedates Saratoga by two ►years, and, while thetand and stables are modern, the track itself is pretty much the same as it was a century ago. And even before the "Americanos" took over, the site of the Pleasanton track was used by the Spanish Dons for what today would be called impromptu racing, but which early historical records clearly indicate were orderly and the races were conducted under clear cut rules. For Pleasanton was an early day spa, and was "popular with the Grandees from as far away as the then state capitol at Monterey. Sam Whiting has been able to retain most of this ancient charm and tradition while at the same time converting Pleasanton into one of the most modern tracks in the West. Sam is the kind of a thinker who sees nothing incongruous in the American tote and nostalgic tradition. AAA Perhaps the biggest item in Pleasontons potential of further growth is the freeway construction on nearby highway U. S. 50, and which when finished will put the track within half an hour of downtown Oakland, a mere 45 minutes from San Francisco. Long sections of this superhighway remain. These bottlenecks will be eliminated in the not too distant future. We daresay that the time will come when the racing enclosure at Pleasanton, as part from the general fair grounds, will play host to as many as 30,000 people. Still another thing we like about Pleasanton is the understanding shown of racing and its problems by the Alameda board of supervisors, who keep the track open the year round as a traniing center. The costs of such maintenance come out of the profts of the racing, are plowed back as being good business for Southern Alameda County because of the year round residence of many horsemen, .as well as providing a huge year round market for feed, grain, veterinary supplies, tack, and the like. AAA The horseman, in Alameda County, is definitely not a second class citizen. SOme 1 20 years ago, Pleasanton was an important breeding center, but its days of grandeur in this respect have vanished. A few farms still remain, but they are, for the most part, recuperative and not production projects. In any event, the fair wheel is ing with big time racing in prospect and what happens during the next 80 days of sport promises to be highly interesting — as well as providing a test as to just how ifar the sport on the "punkin circuit" has I improved.
