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Between Races 1 By Oscar Otis Miles Park Bids for Prestige Racing Launches First Stakes Junior Derby Al Ackles a Capable Aide to General GeneralCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 6 Gen JFred Miles is a rather remarkable individual The selfmade man priginally f rpm the Indian territory i OKianoma nas lu executive and constructive talents to horse racing And while his fivefurlongs Miles Park formerly known as the Louisville Speed ¬ way may never become the big ¬ gest track in America the gen ¬ eral is determined to make it among the best Miles aim is to use it as an instrument to ac ¬ complish something in the way of national summertime prestige for Louisville and horse racing just as the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs does in the spring We say among the best advisedly for there is no such thing as really best in American race tracks the adjective beirig dependent to a con ¬ siderable extent upon personal taste tastePhysically Physically General Miles has extended the old Speedway from a halfmile to five furlongs and the newlayout has made possible the carding of a type of race impossible in past years By way of further back ¬ ground General Miles the first man tp discover oil in Kentucky parlayed hard work into millions High honors both state and national have been awarded him for a distinguished career of public service and about the only real challenge left in life is to do something worthy for horse racing in the wSy of exec ¬ utive promotion If he cari accomplish that life will have given him to borrow a race track plirase air the classic victories Third Season Begins June 27 27The The general has a natty little oval almost in down tpwn LPuisville and his season ppens June 27 and clpses July 26 Its been rplling alorig for the last two years as a rather pleasant place to race for the horse ¬ men a rather pleasant place for fansto enjoy racing But other than that the track has been to put it bluntly undistinguished This despite the fact that the man has poured money into the place like water for capital improvements and has turned according tp Earl Ruby pf the Lpuisyille Courier Journal a sore spot into a garden spot Miles has operated at a sub ¬ stantial loss not because he is a poor businessman but rather because he not only wants the place right but well realizes that in racing you spend money to make money This summer in his step towards pres ¬ tige racing he is carding the first stake ever offered at Miles Park a6furlong eaily fee race for two year olds He calls it the Junior Derby 4 T TNow Now in our wanderings through the vast expanse of America which we know and love the Far West weve run into all kinds of races called a derby Even some of the biggest run derbys which are allow ance races but at the staaller places they inn derbys for threes and up at handicap weights instead of scale andor allowance conditions and at all distances It took a man in Utah to set us right on the point pne year when objecting to a three and up handicap at 6 fuilongs being called a derby our western friend observed acidly Dont be so smug about whats in a name There is magic in the name derby and the mere word brings out crowds here that no other name could The use of the name derby even though the race is a handicap is good public relations and as I recall it Churchill Downs and its Kentucky Derby make a claim to benefiting1 racing everywhere by staging its big race If we can better our racing by cashing in on the name we are justfollowing as best we can the best interests of the sport After thinking it over we had to agree the man had a point well taken Major Breeders Send in Nominations NominationsTherefore Therefore General Miles seems to be following sound turf public relations and prestige thinking when he styles his two year old race the Junipr Derby and if the nominations for the first running Saturday July 19 are any criterion the race will have by far and away more class than any other 5000 added event raced on the American turf all year The General knows practically everybody in the industry and when he phoned or talked to the big wheels of American breeding they all nominated They recognized what he was trying to do for summertime horse racing in Kentucky and felt the least they could dp was their part and mprepver actually race in the stake if their youngsters all were in pne piece and eating the day pf the race The inaugural running will gross over 20000 and Miles has visions of its value naming pyer 50000 within a few years To be specific the race closed with 182 nominations and after two payments 90 still remain eligible Senior aide to General Miles is Al Eckles a turf executive with a bizarre background Eckles a native Kerituckian a banker an economist and a fprmer army pfficer pn the staff of the late Gen Jonathan M Wainwright Eckles like most Kentuckians learned about horses as a youngster and his background there is impeccable At pne time he was assistant state treasurer pf the State pf Kentucky He followed Wain ¬ wright to the Phillipines where he was the rioted Continued on Page FortySeven BETWEEN RAGES RAGESBy By OSCAR OTIS 7 Continued from Page Five Fivegenerals generals personal intelligence officer Cap ¬ tured at Corregador he spent almost four years in Japanese prison camps first in Formosa xlater iii Manchuria onthe edge of the Gobi desert When he was liberated he pondered the long years on the Gobi and came to the conclusion that lifes big pest rewards went to those who made a d e f i n i fe contribution to the community When GeneralJMiles of fered him an exec ¬ utive post that was truly creative in nature and the chance to workclosely with a man who was and is at heart a builder Eckles quickly accepted Now he is the man at the Louisville race track under the conr structive policies of the general himself himselfOn On the purely physical side Miles Park is puttingin the American tote and the film patrol These two safeguards are ex ¬ pected to step up the tone of the racing considerably The beautificationand lux ¬ uriating of accommodations program is proceeding on schedule for both man and horse Intheiront Side the boxes aie being and model stable facilities are rising The track itself is ideal being good old Ken ¬ tucky riverbank property which sheds war ter quickly and provides a springy smooth and velvety cushion la any event the Junior Derby will mark the launching of Miles Park into prestige American racing and if you are in Xouisville this summer a saunter out to the park would be well worth while
