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. 4 California By Oscar Otis » New Del Mar Prexy Meets Press Hugh LupusTop Foreign Sophomore? Carmel Stake Winner for Citation HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 15. — Donald B. Smith, a San Diego businessman and new executive head of Del Mar, "met the press" last night at an informal dinner at the Town House, and the man glowed a bit with pardonable pride as he told of the million dollar-plus worth of improvements made at the surf and turf club which opens hard on the heels of the Hollywood Park season, to be specific, July 27. "I know that cooperation between racing associations, the horsemen, the California Horse Racing Board, in fact, all facets of the sport, is essential," Smith remarked to this writer. "It is just not possible for one track to ignore the problems of racing even for a time, and to that end, you can look for Del Mar to be completely willing td cooperate in every way possible for the betterment of racing. For instance, I already have discussed the problems of summer racing with Mervyn Leroy and Jim Stewart of Hollywood Park. We all feel it would be to our mutual interests to in- j tegrate our racing programs so we could offer, collectively, stronger competition to the Chicago sector. "Between Hollywood Tark and Del Mar, we will be able to present almost 100 days of continuous racing: under the ideal conditions that prevail in Southern California. And again, with only a slight strengthening: of Del Mar, which -I am sure will come with out improved facilities, our combined purse and stake program would be quite competitive with those offered at Arlington and Washington Parks. Del Mar, too, will continue its program of presenting racing that will be pleasing to both owners and breeders. By that, I mean even more emphasis will be placed upon two-year-old racing, on events for fillies and mares, and increased consideration to races for younger maidens. It makes sense to me that the sport can be upgraded more easily by catering to these classifications than by cheaper claiming sprints. We are offering at least two races a day at Del Mar for juveniles, in addition to five of , our 14 stakes. We are considering going even farther with the two-year-old program. I figure that-if enough attention is paid to the sporting side of racing, business will take of itself." Smiths remarks that he considers Arlington and Washington parks as competition is at once a rare tribute to the promotional genius of Ben Lindheimer and to the growing conviction that Del Mar is * coming of age. With its new expansion it will be physically possible an average of a million dollars a day. Such an average handle, with comparable attendance, is substantial enough to make a track rate as major in every sense of the word. Also at the dinner were Ed Crowley, mine host of the Town House and a member of the Del Mar board of directors, Eddie Read, whose job of popularizing Del Mar-and publicizing it has been an outstanding one in the West, and Walter Dauchy, who will serve during the. coming summer as assistant to the president and manager of operations. v Confirmation of something we sus- j pected last year when we were in Ireland, namely, that Hugh Lupus may be the best three -year-old in Europe this year, comes in a message from Bertie Kerr, the Dublin turfman. "Acropolis probably shouldnt have started in the English Derby, -as Colling was unable to work this colt as a result of a shoulder jarring sustained when winning the Newmarket stakes. However, as Pana-slipper was second it would seem that had Hugh Lupus gone to the post he must have won the classic, as he beat the Derby runner-up anything from 10 to 12 lengths in the Irish 2,000 Guineas last month. It was shocking bad luck for young Jimmy Lenehan, for he told me Hugh Lupus was right at his best and had not left an oat since arrival in Epsom. I think this colt was badly affected through the winter with a corn, and it was the sudden jolt coming down Tat-tenham Hill, when he propped before jumping the roadway across the course, that caused a recurrence and left him dead lame on the eve. of the race. However,, she, fa hack* a TJje.qurrqgh, 4and looked well and moved right when I saw him last week, so we are hoping he may win the Irish Derby on the 22nd instant." Carmel, so far as we know, became Citations first stakes winner when the Neil McCarthy filly came with a great rush from the clouds to win the 5,000-added Nursery Stakes here Thursday from a fleet, and pace-setting Bolero filly, Cherry Wise, and Rex Ellsworths homebred, Candy Dish. Carmel was forced wide, as were a lot of others, early in the five-furlong dash, but when clear, came with great, loping strides, and won going away by a length and three-quarters. The only thing about Carmels race was the time, a mere :58%, which by Hollywood standards is not fast. For instance, earlier in the afternoon, a maiden race for colts and geldings saw Robert S.. Ly ties Nuclear Power graduate over this same distance in :57%. The nursery was not a true test, as too many horses lost too much ground, but as we said, the winner had as much trouble as anyone else, so she probably was best. Carmel certainly acted like she would travel a distance of ground when asked a little later on. The victory was all the more pleasing on another score, for Pete Moreno was in the stirrups. It was his first important win since he resumed riding only a few days ago following a long spell on the ground. Injured at Golden Gate, he had his, * Continued on foge Forty-Two California By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Six spleen removed, and got back into action long before his doctors thought would be possible. Carmel, which entered the stakes a maiden, having earned but 00 for running third in her only previous start, annexed 811,175 by accounting for the Nursery. This, by the way, is one of the newer two -year-old stakes on the Hollywood juvenile roster, and has not as yet had much of a chance to establish tradition.
