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I im ty. pr-- ijlijaWI _ *fii£"™J™ BE TW E EN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD, Inglewood, Calif., June 24. — Our phone in the presse box here rang this morning," and over the wire came the _ I im cheery cheery voice voice of of our our ty. pr-- ijlijaWI Northwest Northwest man, man, judge judge cheery cheery voice voice of of our our Northwest Northwest man, man, judge judge Pete D. Pedersen, the former rowing star of the University of Washington and who, since his college days,! has carved out a career in racing as an official, a writer, and a good will man for Long-acres in particular and the the American American turf turf in in general. general. "We "We open open Fxi- *fii£"™J™ the the American American turf turf in in general. general. "We "We open open Fxi- Friday here for 54 days and for our 21st meet-* ing," said Pedersen, "and come up if you can. YouH see that racing at Longacres is planned to be more pleasurable than ever -before. IH say one thing about president Joe Gottstein. like most other top ranking turf leaders in the nation, representing management, he never stops thinking about ways and means to make racing the number one sport in America, and that _ he is making such progress in the Northwest is evident from the turnstile figures of the last -few years. Racing is now the number one paid spectator sport in this state. AAA "Until Golden Gate came along, Long-acres was always rated as the fastest track in America, and this summer, to be absolutely sure about it all, Gottstein is utilizing the electrotimer, the gadget claimed to be accurate to a hundred thousandth of a second and which is operated in conjunction with the photo finish. Two years ago, you may recall, oue of our big forward steps was the installation of the film patrol, and while I realize that this is nothing new for a big track, we understand that Longacres is the only track in America to use the patrol with a comparable handle. AAA "And, when you consider handle again, Gotteteins stake and handicap program is little short of breathtaking. He is offering a record roster for the Northwest, to be exact, 37,000 for those 54 days. When you were here last summer, you looked over the program andjts fine balance between j Washington-bred stakes and open races. This year, we have still another hew Washington-bred race, the William TE. Boeing, ,000-added, and which will be inaugurated this Saturday. It is at five and one-half furlongs for homebred three-year-olds. Add in the established Fashion*, j Longacres Opens 21st Turf Season* Electrotimer Is Innovation for Fans Gottstein Stresses Homebred Races ,000 for fillies and mares; the ,000 Washington Stallion Stakes, the ,000 Washington Championship, and ,000 Ruth Parton, for two-year-old fillies; the Rhodendron, ,000 for three-year-olds; the ,000 Hilltop Handicap at a mile, and. the greatest race of all, the ,500 Washington Futurity, and I think youll agree that Gottsteins theory that the best way to assist Washington breeders is to hand up the money is probably the best way. In the past few years, there has been a definite trend toward better Washington-breds and this summer we expect to see this trend accentuated. Not only are there a lot of • Washington-breds on. the grounds, ; but their ranks include some of the top contenders for upcoming stakes. Youll see a lot of them in action later on this fall in California. As a matter of fact, youve got a good one there at Hollywood Park right now — Rover Bill. A A A "There seems to be a direct tie in between this purse roster for homebreds and price of thoroughbred stock. In the two-year-old division, a deal is on the fire whereby Pappus is being sold to Jack Kelly of Seattle by his owner and breeder, Joe Boyce, for ,000. This is a record price for an unraced homebred two-year-old. Pappus is among 21 other registered two-year-olds in the first Washington crop of Speculation, who, as most everyone will recall, was a record-priced yearling. The Bull Dog sire, Rover, has been -a success from the very start of his career in the Northwest, and, if you care to check Clio Hog-ans admirable analyses in the Washington Horse, I think youll have no trouble discerning a definite and rapid upward trend in Washington breeding both as to sires, broodmares and, young stock. Hogans statistics are relentless and speak for themselves, and enoigh people have heeded the lessons indicated to have paved the way for a major culling policy, in turn which was led to sharp upgrading." A A .A Clio Hogan is the editor of the Washington Horse, and we are frank to say that at times in the past, as an outside, but nevertheless interested observer, we have disagreed with certain policies of the "Horse" as being, in the long term, shortsighted. But at the same time, we have ad mired the determination of the Washington breeders, as reflected in the "Horse," towards improving the breed in their Northwest area. It is our personal opinion that Hogan and Ed Heimemann, field agent for the breeders, have layed the groundwork for further improvement, and that when more and more good horses invade the lush California purse fields from that area, the concept of the breeders will enlarge to California in their horizons, and all the West, not just Longacres and Spokane. However, in looking back at the history of California, we realize that -the course of progress in affairs bloodstock has never been smooth. Such turbulences usually mean progress. # AAA Incidentally, last years freshman champ, Call Call, has been established as an early favorite for three-year-old and older Washington stakes, as well as being rated a strong contender in open races. Call Call is owned by Walt Peltier, who must have something of a sense of humor, for he has named a pair of his two-year-olds which lie will introduce to the races in the near future- "Wherethey Go" and "Existentialist." Theretheygo is track announcer Harry Hensons first call to start a race, and as for Existentialist, wed hate to be the announcer for a race in which he was a starter. On the physical side, major ex- j penditures have gone into the barn area, with new outside tack and feed rooms making more stall space available for thoroughbreds. A modern restaurant has been built in the stable area, and, over on the front side, both grandstand and clubhouse have been completely refurbished. AAA Longacres, by the way, has made a new approach in its advertising and is publishing its time for "parade to the post" for the first contest of the afternoon instead of "post time." The horses leave the paddock for the gate at the exact time advertised. Given a trial run last summer, it worked out rather well, met with public acceptance, and had the effect of getting people out a bit earlier. This is not, as a cynic might imagine, commercialism. People go to the race track for the races and the earlier time reminder has been for them to get to the track in time for the first race, to their genuine delight. As for the speed rating of the Longacres strip, this summer, we will reserve judgment for about 10 days. A flood last spring deposited a lot of new topsoil on the track and previous floods have varying effects upon the course. It is always fast after such sediment deposits but some floods have left it faster than others.
