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I On the Trot I Br MOMHE KURLANSKY 1 Fast Times Click Like Clockwork Baroness Wick Probably Set Mark New Racing Surface Prime Factor MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May 5. — Results of Tuesday nights racing here i undoubtedly will reverberate in the world of harness racing as the average for the nine dashings was an astonishing 2:07%, with individual clockings ranging from 2:04% to 2:11. Only the trotting races were timed slower, than 2:10, while Baroness Wick must have set a new record for a green pacer over a half-mile track when the five- year-old mare broke her maiden in 2:05%. the fastest time ever registered here and probably in the nation, too, in an event for 24-class pacers. In addition to this performance. Meadow Direct gained his maiden victory in 2:06% and Record Colby TQf,ed to n 2:072A mark in lns first win. Three other winners on the program lowered their previous best marks considerably, with Easter Dawn even crashing the coveted 2:05 list. r In direct consequence of the fast miles currently registered here, we feel sure that the USTA before Ion? will have to revise the speed ratings of 2:05% Riven this River Road plant before the 55 season got underway. Only six half-mile . tracks across the country — Roosevelt Raceway, Delaware, Ohio, Saratoga, Baltimore, Laurel, Yonkers and Harrington, Del., were accorded faster ratings than Maywood Park, but it must be doubted if horses racing at these tracks will as consistently surpass their respective class limits as has been the case here the last 10 days. As you might remember, the - Maywood oval last summer was completely resurfaced and the turns newly * banked before the Fox Valley Trotting Club meeting opened late in August. Within a few weeks of racing- over* the new strip, Knox Hanover set his sensational track record of 2:01%, which compares favorably with best times made at any other half-mile track in the country. During the winter months, Joe Harbutt, Maywood track superintendent, and his crew worked diligently to smooth out a few of the rough spots and further improved the turns to a point where post positions became much less important than they were in previous seasons. How fair the Maywood oval actually is can be seen from the fact that after the first 15 racing nights here the outside post positions, e. g., Nos. 4 to 8, have been credited with as many winners as the inside positions, while most winners at this meeting come from No. 7. Granted that weather conditions Tuesday were extremely favorable, with a temperature in the 70s and only-a plight breeze, the main factor for the fast clockings is the racing surface, which is now as fast .as hands can make it. The biggest surprise Tuesday, of course, was the victory of Ross Craynes pacing mare, Baroness Wick, in the featured 24-class stakes for sidewheelers. Starting from No. 5 in the first tier of the bulky 12-horse field, the five-year-old was hustled into the lead by Clarence Curtis, covering the first quarter in 30 seconds, half in 1:02% and three-quarters in 1 : 34, making every post a winning one and gamely withstanding Jerome G. Creeds stretch bid to win in 2:05%. It was only the second start for Baroness Wick in a regular race, she having qualified 10 days ago in a non-betting event. The few backers of the amazing mare collected 9.60 for win mutuel, while Jerome G. Creed, a six-length winner test week in 2:07%, was a heavily backed 4-to-5 choice. Harness racing is making big gains, not only in Chicago, where attendance and. wagering figures already have reached record-breaking proportions, but elsewhere. Magnolia Park, the nations newest trotting track which opened its gates for the first time last fall, reported big increases for its 34-night spring meeting which v/as concluded April 30. The mutuel handle for that meeting showed a 14 per cent nightly average gain over the tracks initial racing dates last fall. Hollis Regur. currently competing here, was the leading driver at Magnolia with 28 victories, while Harry Burright finished in, second place with 27 wins. Both the trotting and pacing marks were consider ably reduced during the spring session. Vernon Elkington, a member of the Henry Clukey stable, paced the mile in 2:02%, ■ .while Earls Pied Piper trotted the same distance in 2:04%.
