view raw text
Connors Corner By Chuck1 Connors Belmonts Opening Not Marred by Rainfall Mrs Ashley T Cole Escapes Severe Burns Odom Is Pleased With Condition of Poly Hi HiBELMONT BELMONT PARK Elmont L L N Y May 12 Old Jupe Pluvius was in a charitable mood as far as Belmont Park was concerned The old boy slammed shut the rain ducts Sunday eve ¬ ning flashed word over to Old Sol that he was through and then evidently fell asleep Anyway Old Sol turned on his best beaming smile swished the clouds under the carpet or some place tem ¬ pered the winds and gave the boys and girls an opportunity to examine the flowers shrubs trees and the many and varied im ¬ provements that were completed during the cold wintry months Parking facilities at a racing ground are important and unless you have the acreage better dig up another spot The influence of the motor car has not only changed race tracks but the habits and customs of the public Back in the days exercise boys grooms and what hatfe you came to Belmont Park from Sheeps head Bay Gravesend and Brighton Beach by special train horses were not in the habit of running 6 fur ¬ longs in 108 or something like that Threequarters in 1 13 was a real good race and that was that thatThe The automobile was just beginning to poke its nose over the transportation horizon and a few of the gayer Long Island blades imported some of the mechanical gadgets from France The tallyho the carriage and the phaeton drawn by high steppers were the mode plus the old steamers on the Long Island To get aboard the latter from Manhattan you crossed the ferry at Thirtyfourth Street to Borden Avenue on Long Island From then on the trip was okay that is if you could get by the enticing emporiums that had as their slogan The more you lay down the more you pick up Vernon Avenue and East Thirtyfourth Street each had quite a few of these stores The mechanical age had not arrived as an incentive to thoroughbreds running miles in 135 Track superintendent Pels was the major domo of the track force and his job was to keep the grounds and racing strip in apple pie order Needless to say he did didEnglish English Customs Discarded Gradually GraduallyBelmont Belmont Park in 1904 blossomed out with a whole flock of English racing ideas which were not received with open arms by the locals As the years passed the importations were done away with such as running the wrong way the old straightaway chute the twin grandstands one designated as the field The latter section is now occupied by the socalled clubhouse This move followed a fire which razed the field stand and then brought about the merging of the two struc ¬ tures as they stand today Many stables were built the old ornate clubhouse was given over to storage rooms and what have you Today Belmont Park stands as a monument to a group of farseeing men who believed in racing to the fullest extent extentMrs Mrs Ashley T Cole wife of the chairman of the New York State Racing Commission narrowly escaped severe burns on Saturday at Jamaica A match or lighted cigaret was tossed away and lit in her fur stole The fire smoldered for a few seconds and then flared up igniting a veil on her hat Rescuers rose to the occasion the flames were extinguished and the hat was saved but the fur stole bears signs of what could have been a nasty and painful accident Allie Sylvester four score and ten enthusiast was on hand for the afternoon The visit was his first since Hialeah where he was taken ill Mr and Mrs John R H Thouron came up from their Wilmington Del home for the opening and some racing Harry F Guggenheim inspected hishorses over the week end and was present for the opening J Warfield Rogers of Memphis Tenn he has a draft of horses with Monte Parke was a final day visitor at Jamaica and on hand for the opening here Mrs W Thorn Kissell came out for the opening and heard reports from trainer Dolly Byers that the twoyearolds were recovering from the coughJacksons cough Jacksons Due Back From Europe EuropeTrainer Trainer Buster Millerick reported that owner Rob ¬ ert Lehman was forced to pass up the opening at Belmont Park He was called to Washington D C on business but expects to be among those present on Wednesday Mr and Mrs Howell Jackson of Balti ¬ more Md are due back tomorrow from a European trip a racing vacation They will remain in these parts for a few days before returning to their home Butts Fairbrother one of the riding stars of a few generations ago is on hand at Belmont Park He is attached to track superintendent John Goldens staff as an indoor aviator That to you would be an elevator operator Frank C Rand the Santa Fe N M patron reported that Waterford which he acquired in Australia had left that land on May 7 The invader from Down Under is due at San Diego Calif along about Memorial Day He will be turned over to Buddy Hirsch to acclimate and introduce to American racing in California General William T Young Jr president of Arling ¬ ton Park was on hand to note the improvements com ¬ pleted during the winter months He plans to remain in this region for a few days Trainer Sherrill Ward returned from Garden State and reported that thatContinued Continued on Page FiftyThree 5 J W t i I CONNORS CORNER CORNERBy By CHUCK CONNORS Continued from Page Six SixIdun Idun the unbeaten filly who races for Mrs Charles Ulrick Bay is back at Belmont Park and is awaiting the running of the Acorn to be contested on Saturday May 24 Charles A Wacker H of Chicago planed in from the Midwest for the closing at Jamaica and the opening here He re ¬ ported that everything wasokay Benny Wasser the Tropicana fruit man from Mi ¬ ami Beach came out for the opening He reported that the weather in that area had turned warm and was really delight ¬ ful However he is moving on to Las Vegas later and then to California and Texas to look over the fruit crop Col E P Bixer came over from New Jersey He has sev ¬ eral horses with Sol Rutcjhick RutcjhickHarry Harry Heiman the Utica N Y patron planed down from the upstate city for the closing of Jamaica and the opening here Christopher T Chenery who week ¬ ended at his Doswell Va farm reported that the foals are growing steadily and the weather is nice George Odom after fighting off a siege of the flu came out this morning He was immensely pleased with the condition of the three yearold filly Poly Hi owned by the New Yorker Mrs S George Zauderer Poly Hi is back galloping following a number of equine ailments such as an injured hock lack of calcium and a few other assorted ills A sharp contrast in the number of entries between Jamaica and Belmont Park was noted with the opening day over ¬ nights The first race a claimer at 7 fur ¬ longs attracted more entries than the en ¬ tire Jamaica card on several days during the rainy spell In addition to the full number of starters the also eiigibles a couple of dozen were tossed overboard no room Trainer Herb Fisher came up from Pimlico He is here on a business trip and stated that he had eight horses in training at the Hilltop course Trainer Ivan Parke was a Belmont visitor yesterday and inspected the Maine Chance Farm horses stabled here He plans to re ¬ turn to the Baltimore track some time this evening and supervise a training move on the part of Jewels Reward for his Preakness engagement Jockey Manuel Ycaza will do the exercising chores
