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. ™, , , , California By Oscar Otis Senate Kills Proposed Unfair Tax Laws Sire Statistics Indicate an Upgrading Rex Ellsworth Debunks Nicking Theory7 HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 7.— The best racing news over the week end came out of Sacramento, where the last of a series of bills aimed at at upping upping the the already already substantial substantial . , ™, , , at at upping upping the the already already substantial substantial Nstate taxes on the pari-mutuel dollar went down to defeat in the conservative senate. The status quo of current taxation will be maintained for the next two years, at least. All segments of racing joined in presenting the legislature with a clear picture of ■ the status of racing in California and all hands are entitled to a degree of credit for defeating the new new and and prohibitive prohibitive taxes taxes as as new new and and prohibitive prohibitive taxes taxes as as asked by Governor Knight on racing, along with other "luxuries," like cigarettes. Jim Stewart and Hollywood Park stressed the point that California had reached the ultimate in taxation already, and that any further tax rise would invoke the law of diminishing returns. Santa Anita pointed out that if the state needed another million dollars or so in taxes so desperately, it could easily be obtained from racing linder the present tax law by merely allowing tracks to run their full legal allotment of dates. "Ifc is unfortunate that every two years, it seems, the thoroughbred industry has to rally to preserve the sport as is and defend it against proposals to, "in effect, tax it out of existence. But as long as the chore has to be done, it is fortunate that all hands see eye to eye on a common peril and act as a unit in opposition to proposed legislation which would amount to virtual destruction. It is worthy of mention, too, that a bill introduced to reduce the state revenues by large sums, through having the state waive its claim to regular pari-mutuel taxes on charity days, or weeks, did not get very far. Also coming from Sacramento was word to the effect that Dwight Murphy, chairman, of the racing board, has advised the governor that he did not seek reappointment when his term of office expires late next month. Khaled Has 31 Representatives This Season Khaled, as well as being Californias leading stakes sire of the year, also has the most registered two-year-olds of 1955, according to a statistical study made by rthe California Breeders Association. The sire of Swaps has 31 horses to represent him at the races this season, as against 24 for Mafosta and Two Ton Tony, next most prolific. Cover. Up and Dogpatch each have 23, With Regards 22, and Count Speed 20. Others with good representations are Reading n., 18; Seven Seas n., 17; Solidarity, 16, and It Happened, 15. The complete roster of the breeders lists a racing crop of 960 home-breds. Sires represented total 191, a figure which represents a sharp decline from the 300 in service in California only a few years, ago. Of these 191 sires, some 85 were represented by only two foals or less, meaning one. These statistics are gratifying news to the breeding industry for they would seem to prove, to this writer at least, that the so-called "weeding out" process of inferior California sires has been, to a surprising degree, accomplished. At one time, you may recall, it was estimated there was one sire for every three mares in the state. It was a rTatio which was "impossible," but which righted itself through only one medium, i.e., competitive conditions on the race tracks. We havent any exact statistics to prove the point, but we have the notion that the thoroughbred population of the state has become pretty well stabilized, and that from here on, there will be little or no increase in numbers. Quality is something else again. Many breeders have culled down to small but worthwhile bands of mares, having learned that sheer numbers does not in itself call for success. Admits Hyperion Blood Is an Asset Rex Ellsworth tells us that insofar as he is concerned, any talk, and there has been a lot of it, that his success as a breeder of stakes horses hinges upon a "nick" of Hyperion upon Beau Pere Khaled mated to Beau Pere mares, is just not so. "Khaled produces pretty good horses with whatever blood he is mated to, and I dont think there is anything magical in this particular cross," explains Ellsworth. "I do believe that the Hyperion infuence does have a beneficial effect upon a foal from a Beau Pere mare, as the latter line is prone to pasterns that are a trifle too straight, and the Hyperion will tend to correct this flaw. But that isnt a nick at all, it is strictly physical." Ellsworth is the first in California to admit that Khaled, in his career to date, has had many mares which were not noteworthy, or lacked prestige, but most all of his offspring could run, regardless of the mare, as witnessed by his extremely large total number of individual winners, either racing today or which ran since his first crop came to the races. And by the way, the Ellsworth stable has long ago quit denying the malicious rumor that was spread about Khaled some months ago, that the colt cost him a mere 3,000 or 0,000, thus making it look like he obtained one of the best sire bargains in history from Europe. We are going to say just once more, and finally, that the correct price paid Prince Aly Khan was 60,000, less a few dollars which represented Khaled s. winnings in English pounds after the sale, but prior to the colts departure for the United States. -
