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New Jersey By William Phillips A Portrait of Jockey Sammy Boulmetis Highly Successful on New Jersey Circuit Eyes Third Straight Riding Championship ChampionshipGARDEN GARDEN STATE PARK Camden N J May 1 Sam Boulmetis is a respected citizen of Delaware Town ¬ ship devoted family man and leading Jockey of Ne Jersey Sam has held the latter title for two years and hopes to make it three at the conclusion of the current season The name of Sam Boulmetis printed on the program is to most New Jersey racegoers the same as if it said sterling silver and for good reason Sammy has been one of the most successful reinsmen ac ¬ tive in New Jersey since he rode his maiden winner at this track reached the top here in his adopted state and last season his success was almost miraculous Not only did he lead all of the riders in New Jersey with a total of 178 winners during the 150 days of racing in the state but he almost had a monopoly on winning the stakes events He won 15 added money races in New Jersey alone and these added to his stakes triumphs in other areas made him one of the top money winning riders of the country His total of 236 winners for the entire year was far short of Willie Hartacks total of 417 that earned him the national championship but the number of Boulmetis victories would have earned him the national title in 31 of the 55 other years since the turn of the century centuryWillie Willie Hartack is Boulmetis only rival of the moment to snatch the New Jersey riding title Hartack probably would have been the top man in the saddle last year but for the fact that he left the Skeeter State to ride part of the summer in Chicago and a portion of the fall in Maryland At no time however did he threaten Boulmetis stakeswinning title Hartack prob ¬ ably will remain in New Jersey this summer but stakes engagements at other tracks will lure him away for brief trips that no doubt will give Boulmetis the ad ¬ vantage on the local scene Sammy occasionally takes stakes engagements at other tracks too but he prefers to stay as close to New Jersey as possible possibleTries Tries to Give the Mount a Chance t tBoulmetis Boulmetis is known by the horsemen as a steady rider There is little flash about his style but he is dependable Sammy tells us he always tries to give his mount a chance He explained that by giving them a chance he means that he prefers to take a long hold on the reins and permit a horse to settle into stride Sammy says he would rather ride in a distance race for that very reason and that it usually turns out to be a truer race for all of the horses involved He holds closely to the philosophy of may the better man win and takes the view that there is plenty of room and honors for everybody so why get frantic about any ¬ thing By this one may understand that Sammy is a gentleman and for a fact he is isSam Sam was born in Baltimore Md but he moved to New Jersey at the time he began his riding career He now owns a farm near Marlton N J just a few miles from Garden State Park where last winter he boarded 25 horses Two years ago he purchased a large home in Erlton less than a mile from the track and he enjoys a happy life there with his wife Beebee and two daughters Sam tells us that Beebee expects to present him with another heir next month but this time he is sure it will be a boy Of his riding experiences Sam says hisproudest moment was when he won his maiden race and the biggest thrill when he outfinished Eddie Arcaro and High Gun astride Helioscope in last years memorable Suburban Handicap He rates Arcaro as being consistently best among the jockeys against whom he has ridden and Helioscope as the best horse he has ever ridden riddenRuth Ruth Chilton who for several seasons was with the Garden State public relations staff made her first appearance here on Monday She was accompanied by her husband Bob Burns with whom she and other associates presented the memorable National Turf Show two winters ago at Miami Beach Danny Perlsweig called to attention a coincidence that the suckling colt they featured in their show was making his racing debut in Mondays third race They held a contest for the naming of the colt and the winning selection was Show Hero Don Levine a soninlaw to Atlantic Citys John B Kelly entered the racing business last fall when he purchased two yearlings at the Garden State sale They were named Comes a Tide and Terry Wave and they are being prepared for their debuts here by trainer Frank Beattie BeattieBlum Blum Astride Royal Lark in Oaks OaksWalter Walter Mickey Blum will be at Churchill Downs on Friday to ride Maine Chance Farms Royal Lark in the Kentucky Oaks Agent Harold Wiseman says Mickey was not fortunate enough to draw a Kentucky Derby mount so he will hurry back to ride here Sat ¬ urday Next Wednesday he is engaged to handle Hunter Lyons oneeyed Busy Harvest in the William Penn Stakes here Ed J Simpson president of the Jones Precision Photo Finish Inc checked over opera ¬ tions with his brother Ray who operates the camera here The name of the company was changed from the CrowleyJones Photo Finish last winter Jimmy Raftery who with Bob Cicero runs the tracks photo ¬ graphic departments reports that his daughter Jean has traded in her sailboat for a camera Jean was captain of the fleet in the Gulfstream Park infield
