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Civic, Business, Turf Notables Attend Horse of Year Dinner E. P. Taylor, Guest of Honor,* Says Cut in Ontario Tax Is . Likely; Plan Canadian Oaks By FRANK ARMSTRONG TORONTO, Ont., June 4.— Political and civic leaders, men prominent in business and finance and representatives from all departments of the turf sport gathered at Daily Racing Forms fourth annual Horse of the Year dinner Friday night when E. P. Taylor was guest of honor. An oil painting of Queens Own, Canadas Horse of the Year in 1954, was presented to the colts breeder and owner Taylor by Editor and Publisher J. Samuel Perlman on behalf of Daily Racing Form. The painting is the work of C. W. Kettlewell, noted Canadian artist. After the unveiling and presentation ceremonies, Taylor spoke of Ontario facing and its bright prospects. He said there is every expectation the provincial government will reduce by 1 per cent its share of the taxes on pari-mutuel wagering next year, cutting its portion of the "take" to 6 per cent and slicing the overall "take" to 15 per cent. While- expressing hope for even lower taxation in the years ahead, he said there was present satisfaction in the knowledge that Ontario would at least be on the same level with New York and Florida in regard to pari-mutuel taxes. For years Ontarios "take" has been the highest in America. Counterpart of Original Oaks in England Of particular interest to breeders and owners was the announcement, made with the approval of Ontario Jockey Club president, Col. K. R. Marshall, that plans were being formulated for a new and important addition to the stakes roster. This will be Canadian Oaks, fashioned as a counterpart of the original Oaks in England. It will be inaugurated and co-featured with the Queens Plate for the opening of the Ontario Jockey Clubs super track next year. Conditions have not yet been completed and the purse value has not been established, but both will be in keeping with its importance as the principal filly fixture on the stake agenda. Speaking of the super track now under construction at Malton, Taylor stressed the fact that it will be a racing plant comparable with the best in the world. The site at Malton covers approximately 900 acres, conderably more than the acreage of Belmont Park. The club house and grandstand will ultimately have a seating capacity for 30,000, though accommodation for the first meeting will be considerably short of the figure. In addition to the main course and the turf course there will be training tracks with both surfaces, as well as ample space which can be utilized for easy training. The parking area will -accommodate 35,000 cars. Rail and bus service will be available from various points in the Province. Broodmares Contribute Most On the viewpoint of thoroughbred breeding, Taylor stressed his belief that broodmares made the greatest contribution to quality and urged breeders to strengthen the structure of the industry by the acquisition of mares who would meet the requirements of type and pedigree. In his brief address Perlman said that the new race track would be a credit not only to the sport of racing, but to the community at large. He reiterated his opinion that racing will cease to exist when it ceases to be a sport, but added that there was scant danger of deterioration because the type of men supporting racing assured its future progress. He observed that the men who contributed most always expected the smallest return, except for the pleasure of participating in and of preserving racing as a sport. He paid tribute to Taylor, asserting that no one man had done more for racing in Canada. Nelson Dunstan, columnist for Daily Racing Form and the Morning Telegraph, acted as master of ceremonies, introducing the guests at the head table. Among those called upon to speak were: FredjG. Gardiner, chairman of the board for the Metropolitan Toronto Council; Mayor Nathan Phillips of the city of Toronto; Col. K. R. Marshall, president of the Ontario Jockey Club; George C. Hendrie, managing director of the OJC; Magistrate S. Tup-per Bigelow, chairman of the Ontario Racing Commission; Fred S. Orpen, president of the Orpen race tracks; Vincent J. Sheridan, regional president of the Horsemens i i ■ Benevolent and Protective Association and Humphrey Finney, president of Fasig-Tipton Company.
