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_, # ► m Hi EUGENE MORI— President of Garden State Park, which inaugurates the New Jersey racing season today. Garden State Opens Season Today Rice Duo of Talent Show, Air Pilot Top Valley Forge Field Mystic II. Seen Stout Threat; Twenty-Five-Day Meet First Of Long Stand in New Jersey By BOB McCURLEY GARDEN STATE PARK, Camden, N. J., May 1. — Thoroughbred racing makes its seasonal return to New Jersey at this track tomorrow as Garden State Park initiates the first 25 days of the 150-day stand of the sport in the state. Fifty days of racing follow at Monmouth and Atlantic City with the final 25 to be run here in the fall. With clear skies in prospect a crowd of 40,000 is expected to be on hand for the 2:30 post time. Highlighting the opening-day card of the 18th spring meeting will be the seasonal renewal of the Valley Forge Handicap. At one mile and 70 yards, the Valley Forge has drawn a field of seven including the Mrs. Ada L. Rice entry of Talent Show and Air Pilot. Should all seven go postward the race will gross 7,800 with the winner receiving 8,070 including 25 in fees. Everything is in order for another highly successful meeting and president Eugene Mori and vice-president and general manager Walter H. Donovan expect it to sur- I pass last spring when 560,241 turned out and wagered 9,785,882. A full complement J of 1,200 horses are safely bedded down in the stable area and the plant has received I its final bit of paint and polish in anticipa- I Uon of the opening day exercises. World Record Set Last Year j The Valley Forge, which was the scene of I George D. Wideners Tellarians world record shattering performance last season, stacks up as an excellent race to usher in the" new season despite the somewhat abbreviated field. The coupling of Talent j Show and Air Pilot, probably post time 1 i I choice, will have ample competition from i I C. Mahlon Klines Mystic II., Brookmeade | Stables Oligarchy, Thomas A. Caulks ! Battle Neck, Elmendorf s Day Court and j i John S. Kellys Deack Duncan. Talent Show, a four-year-old Olympia gelding, will share highweight honors of 11| pounds with Mystic II. In his last start ! : the Rice colorbearer sped to a length and j , one-quarter victory over Walter M. Jef- I I fords Piano Jim in the mile and a furlong Laurel Maturity. A sloppy track, which is just what Talent Show wants, prevailed that afternoon. Prior to the Maturity, he j was third to Vertex in the John B. Campbell at Be vie and second to Amerigo in Gulf-stream Parks Magic City Handicap. ■ Air Pilot, who gets in the Valley Forge with 117 pounds, was narrowly beaten by Piano Jim in the Laurel Handicap, previous to which he had been a galloping four-| length victor in an overnight race. The five-year-old Olympic gelding .has been consistently there or there abouts in recent efforts and is at home on any sort of a racing surface. Contract rider Jack Leonard has been named on both halves of the entry. Mystic II. reports in with excellent credentials following a four race sojourn at Jamaica, winning twice and finishing second on the other occasions. In his last efrort he was turned back by W. Arnold Hangers Whitley in the Excelsior Handicap. The French-bred five-year-old Relic horse will have the services of Mike Sor-rentino, his regular rider. Oligarchy, under 116 pounds, represents a solid threat to all of the aforementioned despite his poor effort in the John B. Campbell, which was his last start. He had no semblance of speed that afternoon and the effort can be dismissed as just one of those bad races horses turn in every now and then. Last season in a campaign of eight starts, the five-year-old Alibhai horse returned a winner four times, including scores in the Widener, Camden and Laurel handicaps. Dave Erb journeys in to handle the riding assignment. Day Court, who will carry 110 pounds in the form of jockey Walter Blum, has been in the money in seven of his eight starts this year and must be considered a threat at the weights. Deack Duncan, who will be ridden by Bobbie Corle, has notched a pair of victories in overnight company on the Maryland circuit, and Battle Neck, who will have Bill Cook up, measured allowance class horses in his seasonal debut at Laurel. Deack Duncan will carry 108 pounds while Battle Neck is the lightweight of the field under 107.
