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. On the Trot I By MORRIE KURLANSKY- Good Sport Ahead at Chicago Downs Open With ,000 Minimum Purse Run 16 Class Pace in Two Sections Dee Stover, president of the Illinois Harness. Horsemen Association, in a recent memorandum to members of that organi-, . zation, zation, described described best best zation, zation, described described best best what Chicagoland sulky fans can expect from the Chicago Downs meeting at Sportsmans Pa r k , which opens Monday night with an excellent inaugural program. Said- Stover: "We are very fortunate indeed that the management at Chicago Downs has voluntarily voluntarily elected elected to to voluntarily voluntarily elected elected to to open their meeting with a minimum purse of ,000, in an effort to keep public opinion and public confidence at its present level. Chicago Downs commented that should they go to their minimum agreement of 00 immediately following the Maywoodj Park meeting that it would tend to cheapen J rather than to broaden and stabilize public opinion as it is at the present time." In fact, Chicago offers the highest purses for harness horses outside of New York, Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways with their million-dollar average being in a class by themselves, and the result of this generous purse policy here could not fail to attract some of the best equine talent in the whole country. Stable space at the Cicero half-miler is at a premium and the facilities of neighboring Hawthorne had to be used in order to accommodate the overflow of horses. Entries for opening nights program were so plentiful that • the feature event, a 16 class pace stake, had to be split in two divisions, with the original purse of ,500 allotted to each of them. Among the eight starters for the first division are the good Maywood Park winners, Trigg County, Lindon, Seminole Sue, who will be opposed among others by the Detroit invader, Hi-Los Starwa, a winner of two races at Hazel Park this spring. The Indiana-owned son of Hollyrood Hermes has a half-mile track mark of 2:04% and will have the services of Howard Beissinger, one of the leading reinsmen on the Chicago circuit ... An even classier field will contest the two dashes of the second division, and horses like Kings Ale, Easter Bunny, Judy Cash, Spencer Camp, Victory Scott, Idle-more, which showed excellent form at the River Road plant, will have to give their best in order to down a foe like Newton Girl, a four-year-old filly, who comes off a victory at Fairgrounds Speedway, Louisville, Ky., where she defeated such formidable opponents like Marvel Way 3. 1:59 and Gene Hayes in the fast time of 2:041/5. . , j Wayaway and Deckwin divided honors in Thursday nights NBC Television Stake, a double-dash event for 16 class trotters. The second fastest trotting-time of this meeting was registered in the first heat, when the six-year-old stallion, Wayaway, owned by Saunders Mills, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, and driven by Don Hall, overtook the tiring Clever Tee in the homestretch to win by three lengths in 2:05, a mark which is a new record for this royally-bred trotter. A son of the late Yolomite, recognized as the outstanding sire of trotters and pacers in modern-day harness racing, Wayaway is from the Spencer mare, Precise, a very fast trotter in her own right with a record of 2:034 made as a three-year-old and dam also of the exported Precision, Lovely Way 2:03, Way Yonder 2:02%, and other better than average performers. The Illinois-owned Deckwin, a half-brother to Cliff Win, suffering interference in the first heat, trotted to a new personal mark of 2:06% in the second heat, which he won by one length from Clever Tee, who had more than his share of hard luck on Thursday night. Starting from the fifth post position in the first dash Earl Roush tried to outsprint the field around the clubhouse for the lead, but found himself parked out with Clever Tee on the outside of Deckwin, who stubbornly refused to let the son of Clever Hanover take over command. This head-and-head battle went on for more than half a mile and it was not until they reached the clubhouse turn for the second time that Clever Tee was able to finally pass Deckwin. Roush, however, cut over too sharply, and Deckwin, hitting the Ohio teamsters bike, made a break. Once in the van Clever Tee had to defend his leading position all down the backstretch and around the final turn against Express Colby, Wayaway, Volora and Francis Mc. Don Hall saving ground with Wayaway made his move at the head of the stretch and the brown stallion had plenty of wallop to win in 2:05. Clever Tee held valiantly on to finish second, but as the result of an inquiry by the judges the six-year-old was disqualified for interference and placed last, the first time in 16 starts this year that Clever Tee did not get a share of the JMUjsttscnbaCeT post position, nevertheless was on top after the first quarter and set a swift pace until the last sixteenth when Deck-win, who had been in second position all the way, caught up with him to win by one length in 2:06%. Bob Parkinson won two races on Thursday guiding the trotter, Chief Tomah, and the pacer. Dusty Cecil, to victories in a CC class trot and a 22-23 class pace, respectively. . .William "Jake" Ward on behalf of Maywood Park management presented Billy Shuter, diminutive trainer and driver, with a solid gold watch for his splendid victory behind the track record-breaking Daisy Astra earlier this week. The much applauded ceremony took place on the finish line between the eighth and ninth races on Thursday night... Ray Meyer, one of the nations outstanding basketball coaches, visited with his old friend, Stan Bergstein, track announcer here and formerly connected with the Harlem Globetrotters, alternately listening to the radio broadcast of the Marciano-Charles fight and watching the sulky pullers. . .Joe Harbutt, track superintendent and his crew deserve a big compliment for having this half-mile oval in such excellent Condition. On Thursday night all nine races were timed in better than 2:10 with eight out of nine winners getting new
