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Time for a Change AN EDITORIAL What price tradition when it means the best horse must pass up our most important races because he is ineligible? Last year it was Determine; this year it is Swaps. Determine was named for the Preakness and not for the Belmont, so he did not start in either event. Swaps is ineligible for the Belmont but could start in the Preakness if owner Rex Ellsworth elected to pay the supplementary fee of ,500. However, Ellsworth has decided that since his colt cant start in the Belmont he sees no reason for sending him east for only the Preakness. Thus, the Triple Crown again becomes a lack-lustre jewel, with the winner of the first leg back home in California while horses he has beaten compete in the Preakness and Belmont. This newspaper firmly believes that provision should be made for supplementary entries in every important race in the United States. The fees should be high enough to keep out horses who dont belong — but the opportunity should be there. The public is entitled to see the best horses in our classics. What does Belmont Park gain by barring supplementary entries for its third leg of the Triple Crown? So far as we can see, for two successive years the association has lost the strongest candidate for three-year-old honors, thus reducing the value of its most important fixture. It is time for a change.
