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. Demand for Fairmount Stall Space Continues Requests Still Coming In Even Though Meet Opens Tomorrow By J. J. HAHN Staff Correspondent FAIRMOUNT PARK, Collinsville, 111., May 4— The 60 day-night meeting under the auspices of the Fairmount Park Jockey Club, Inc., starts here Friday night and following the close of the local season the horses move over to nearby Cahokia Downs for an additional 60 days, terminating the middle of October. Highlighting the opening nights card is the five and one-half furlongs Inaugural Purse in which three-year-olds and upward are eligible to contest for the major portion of the ,700 purse. Some of the swiftest sprinters housed here are scheduled to go in the opening night feature while others are being reserved for the ,500. St. Louis Handicap, a dash at six furlongs, is ,to be staged the following night. Never before has there been such a demand for stall space at this course. More than a thousand horses have been turned down by Racing Secretary John J. Klucina and even through Thursday Klucina was-receiving applications for stalls. Last season the local track had the use of. Cahokia Downs in taking care of the overflow but this year the half-mile course is not available since the racing strip proper is underdoing a thorough treatment to make it more safer than last falls initial meeting. It will be at least three weeks before work at Cahokia Downs is completed. Thereafter, there will be stall space in this area to take care of more than 1,500 horses. At the present time, there are about 100 horses housed at adjacent Greek Side Farm with approximately 120 awaiting the completion of a new barn under construction here. This work will be finished in two weeks, although some 50 horses are expected to move into partly completed quarters this week. Ray C. Bennigsen, Vice-President and Secretary of the Fairmount Park Jockey Club, Inc.. and who also serves as general manager, has announced that the plant is ready - for the opening. He is making preparations to entertain some 10,000 racing fans who will be witnessing their first racing since the latter part of last October when the first meeting at Cahokia Downs came to a close. The sport will be staged six times a week with the exception of the Tuesdays following Memorial Day and July 4. All other Mondays throughout the season, which comes to a close July 16, will be racing nights. Formerly no racing was conducted here on Monday nights.
