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Ascot Park I By W A Cruse 1 1Attendance Attendance Wagering Mounting Daily Inclement Weather Hurts Spring Meet Glenn Laird Checks Camera Equipment EquipmentASCOT ASCOT PARK Cuyahoga Falls Ohio May 1 It has been several years since we were here at this oval and actually the physical makeup of this plant has not changed a great deal even with the advent of the new owners The weather has been at its worse during the first 21 days of the meeting During that time there have been but two days on which the racing strip was any ¬ where near normal Snow rain sleet hail and general overcast weather has been the order for days yet the wagering and atten ¬ dance figures are up considerably When we arrived last Monday the percentage in increase of betting was 224 over last year and a 25 per cent increase in attendance Horace Adams the president of the Ascot Park Jockey Club said the evening we first met him that If we would have favorable weather we would be up between 30 and 35 per cent Adams is a very impressive president and is quite possibly 100 per cent right Interest in racing at this course is mounting daily and with the integrity and sincerity which Adams has put into the very atmosphere of the plant it is not improbable that this area now has another major course added to the list of prominent race tracks in the country countryHint Hint Plans to Renovate Barn Area AreaOne One of the improvements at this course since our days here is the new jockeys quarters However Mr Adams does not take credit for that stating that the building was up before he purchased the track This is the second year which Adams has operated Ascot Park and according to the grapevine there are plans in the offing to reconstruct the stable area At present with all the rain snow and general inclement weather a recent trip through that area was not too pleasant Another of Adams improvements is the construction of two new barns and the racing strip itself Following last years session a new retention barn and a 58unit stable was constructed of concrete block and is fire ¬ proof all through with the most modern conveniences available The racing strip has been completely re ¬ surfaced Three seasons ago it was necessary to stop racing because of an unsafe track To prevent this happening again the old strip was completely removed and a new surface was set This was an extremely fortunate move on behalf of the management and with this weather it is not unlikely that a similar situation would have followed this year While the track has been off for a long time now it has never showed any signs of being abnormally safe safeGlenn Glenn Laird president of Confirmation Photos Corporation whose camera is in use at Ascot Park arrived from pimlico race course where he supervised the installation of the Confirmation camera for that meeting which will open shortly After spending a few days here Laird will journey to Raton N M where he will install his equipment for the upcoming La Mesa Park meeting Laird will then return in time to see that his cameras will be in readiness for the Thistle Down session which gets under way on May 28 in Cleveland It is uncanny with the steady inclement weather and off track but during the first 20 days of this scheduled 44day meeting 113231 fans pushed 6676470 through the mutuel department Leonard TJtterback the track superintendent is an extremely busy man these days Josephine his wife also takes part in about every activity that Len gets his hands in and can be seen taking care of all sorts of chores Recently though she put away her paint and brushes particularly since her favorite boulders were removed from the centerfield For many years it was part of Mrs Utterbachs job to paint those huge stones various colors They were attractive when she finished with them but now that they have been removed she says she is not painting anymore anymorePress Press Box Attache Very Versatile VersatileRobert Robert A Bob Van Kirk assistant to director of public relations William D Griffiths is one of the more versatile individuals in the press box In addition to his duties as Bills assistant he publishes the Akron Knights of Columbus News a monthly publica ¬ tion by that organization Bob is also the former di ¬ rector of Camp Santa Maria a K of C camp for boys and girls which is on the portage lakes just a few miles out of Akron Ohio The camp features swimming and horseback riding the two things most of the Akron youngsters dont get too much of a chance to do Camp Santa Maria owns the horses and during the winter months the local Masonic lodge which has a mounted drill team keeps the horses and uses them in their parades and shows showsDr Dr Frances Clark prominent Cleveland physician and surgeon is back at his post as track physician He also serves in the same capacity at ThistleDown and Cranwood Park meetings in Cleveland He is ably assisted by nurses Alverta Berler and Teresa Cusick Dr Clark and his aides are very much pleased over one of the many improvements made by prexy Horace Adams which is a passageway that has now been made from the hospital to the track enclosure proper Last season ailing patrons had to go out of the track itself before being able to enter the hospital and irst aid quarters Cleveland Plain Dealer are covering the Ascot Park meeting for their respective papers Laurin Tibbels Tiny Tim executive sports editor for the Akron Beacon Journal is a daily member of the press box scribes James R Lewis jockey room custodian at ThistleDown and Cranwood is valeting during this meeting Ben Cruickshank is the custodian of the jockey room here L C Bogenschutz steward here journeys to his home in Cincinnati practically every week end For the most part though Larry remains busy taking care of the various duties in his racing
