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New York By Bob Horwood Vertex Gets Acid Test in Grey Lag Today % Carries 130 Pounds First Time in His Career Seek Remedy for Small Fields in New York JAMAICA, L. I., N. Y., May 8.— New York fans will see the first demonstrated champion to appear on Long Island this year when Brunetti and Piarullis Vertex takes up 130 pounds for the first time in Saturdays 5,-000 Grey Lag Handicap. The strapping, speedy and consistent son of The Rhymer looms an odds-on choice, but a word of caution is in order. As trainer Clyde Troutt said to colleague Bill Phillips a couple of days ago, "Vertex has to carry 130 pounds and hasnt been out for a month." Its a bit more than a month, in fact, since March 28 when he won the J. B. Campbell Memorial at 1 1-16 miles at Bowie. Troutts charge, Talent Show, looms the best of the comparatively moderate opposition in Saturdays 1% miles and is in peak form, as he demonstrated in last weeks Valley Forge Handicap and in earlier races in Maryland. Mrs. Ada L- Rices horse is not in the same class with Vertex, it says here, all things being equal, but the handicap champion can hardly afford to be "short" and hope to handle him at the weights. "Topic A" on the New York race tracks, even during Derby week, has been the small fields. In the grandstand and clubhouse, on busses and trains, even in the backstretch, no conversation can endure more than a minute without someone mentioning the large number of extremely small fields, and mentioning it more often than not in tones of extreme bitterness. We are sorry to say that no immediate relief is in sight. A study of the charts for the first 30 days of last years Belmont spring meeting reveals that only 103 races other than maiden, juvenile or obstacle drew fields of eight or more horses, an average of 3.43 per day. That means, quite literally, that there were less than four betting races daily. There is no reason to suppose that the situation will be any better this year, but there is hope for the future. Additional Stall Space Necessary We discussed this situation of small fields with director of racing Marshall Cassidy and racing secretary Jimmy Kilroe. Both deplore it and both agree that the only possible remedy is to find stall space for more professional horsemen with active stables of horses racing for the most part with claiming tags of ,500 or cheaper. At present, there are approximately 1,950 horses stabled at Belmont Park and Jamaica, which might seem like more than sufficient. But approximately 45 per cent of these are two-year-olds, many of whom will not race until Saratoga or even later. No one seems to know precisely how many of the others are maidens of various ages, but there are several hundred. And there are about 150 jumpers. In addition, each of the larger stables shelters a few older horses not in condition fand race. Everyone knows, and this includes the average grandstand patron, that there are many important stables with 30 or more horses, of whom only a half dozen or less are ready to run at any one time. "" Wesuggested to CasSidy that one remedy might be for the association to build or acquire a training center within a 100-mile radius of the Long Island- tracks, capable of sheltering two or three hundred horses of various ages now cluttering the stables at the race tracks. Cassidy agreed that such a "rest area" was . needed, but both Cassidy and Kilroe declared that many owners and trainers are extremely reluctant to turn their horses out on such a place, preferring to keep them at the race track. Both also agree, however, that the situation is becoming so acute that action which may seem drastic to many owners will ultimately have to be taken. Low Claimers Most Attractive It is a fact that the only races which can be depended upon to attract large fields with any degree of consistency are claimers with a value of ,500 or less. That is the type of race that makes possible the large fields at tracks in other areas. On the other hand, the avowed aim of the powers that be at the New York tracks is to upgrade the caliber, of horses. It seems obvious from here that some compromise must be reached. We are among the last to wish for a surfeit of cheap claimers. At the same time, the average fan who wants a reasonable number of races with large fields must be considered. Incidentally, this widespread desire for large fields is not to be construed as a preference for quantity at the expense of quality. If . it were possible to get large fields of better horses, your average fan would be delighted. The public wants large fields for the simple reason that they make it possible to obtain reasonable prices on logical favorites. Up to Thursday, there had been no less than 65 odds-on favorites at the Jamaica meeting, an almost incredible number, and 28 of these were beaten. Kilroe remarked that in this respect the situation was somewhat better in the old days when the New York tracks operated independently. "At that time," he said, "comparatively cheaper horses were stabled at Jamaica and still cheaper at Aqueduct. Anyone with stalls at Aqueduct except Mr. Fitz was ready to race every day. Now, the same policy of catering to the better horses prevails at all tracks."
