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j JOCKEY AVELINO GOMEZ — Leading rider at the Fort Erie meeting, with 26 winning rides. / i — — — — _ # Fort Erie Figures Show Slight Drop; Play Averages 13,214 c 0 2 s j c f c * i , J j , I • : l J • • 7 7 7 " i s 3 r 3 ■f ; e e 5 5 y s e ., e as s g e e g •_ of if ;_ d y in n Riz and War Eagle Tied for ♦ Money-Winning Honors as Each Earns Sum of ,450 By Staff Correspondent Fort Erie raised the curtain on the 1959 Canadian season April 4 and during a run of 25 days ,830,341 was wagered on the 200 races presented. Daily Racing Form statistics also show a total attendance of 142,277 for the session, making for a per diem average gate count of 5,691 and mu-tuel play of 13,214. The attendance was down 460 per day and the handle 4,573 from last years spring meeting. However, on 10 of the 25 programs the racing was presented on tracks other than fast, so the weather had a decided effect on the final figures for the meeting. Opening day saw the largest crowd of the meeting on hand, 14,127 fans witnessing the program. This figure is just short of the record 14,502 who saw the August 30 program last year. High mutuel handle for the session was 96,919, the amount wagered by the * 11,939 fans on hand for the April 25 pro- gram. Although it was an early-season meet- i ing, form held up very well, with 79 fa- 1 r-A vorites registering for 39 per cent winners. tie developed for leading money-win- ] ning honors among the horses with D. A. Connys five-year-old mare Riz and the ] five-year-old gelding War Eagle owned by P. Del Greco, each earning ,450. Riz listed the Bold Venture Handicap among her successes. Lanson Farms Anitas Son, -victorious in the Queenston Stakes, ranked : third with ,865. ] Halliwell Tops Two Lists A. J. Halliwell headed the owners list, : his colorbearers taking down 8,425 in purses.- The stable had 11 wins, 9 seconds and 7 thirds. Windfields Farm, owned by Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Taylor, ranked second with 4,955, while C. H. Hemstead was next with 1,940. Avelino Gomez, among the leaders at any Canadian track where he rides, carried off jockey honors with 26 winners. He had the remarkable percentage of 32 per cent winners, accepting only 82 mounts. D. Hale and Hugo Dittfach tied for sec- ond place with 18 saddle victories apiece. Hale was the leader at the 1958 Fort Erie spring meeting, booting home 39 winners at that session. A tie also developed among the trainers for top honors, with A. J. Halliwell and Frank H. Merrill Jr., each sending out 19 winners. Merrill, who was the leading American * trainer in number of winners in 1958, led at last years spring meeting with 30 winners, while Halliwell ranked fifth with 12. There also was a tie -for third place, with G. McCann and W. Thurner each having eight winners. When Our fashion and Shadow Bound won on the April. 21 program they com-e bined for a Daily Double return of 20.20, highest of the meeting, Fort Erie statistics follow: April 4 to May 2 — 25 Days Gross distribution 08,815 Net distribution , 06,800 Daily average net distribution 6,272.00 Attendance — 142,277 Daily average attendance 5,691 Mutuel handle ,830,341 Daily average mutuel handle 13,214 Leading Money-Winning Owners Owner. 1st 2nd. 3rd. Won Halliwell, A. J. . 11 -9 7 $ 18,425 Windfields Farm 8 2 2 14,955 Hemstead, C. H. 8 3 5 11,940 Del Greco, P. 5 11 10,430 Maloney and Smythe 5 4 3 9,455 Gian, R. 3 8 4 8,175 Merrill, Mrs. F., Jr. 5 2 0 7,325 Shermanor Farm 3 3 5 7,230 Dew Valley Farm 5 2 0 7,195 Lanson Farm 2 13 6,815 — _ — — — ■ 1 I * i 1 ] ] : ] : Leading Money-Winning Horses Horse. 1st 2nd. 3rd. Won. Riz 2 2 0 $ 5,450 War Eagle 2 10 5,450 Anitas Son 2 0 0 4,865 Nearctic 10 1 4,645 Black Satin 2 11 4,010 Teddy Joe 2 3 0 3,655 Better Venture 3 0 0 3,550 Peter Spice 2 0 0 3,250 Chain Lightning 2 10 3,150 Biscayne 2 10 2,950 Leading Winning Jockeys Jockey. Mts. 1st. 2nd. 3rd. Unp. PC. Gomez. A. 82 26 • 14 12 30 .32 Hale, D. 105 18 18 13 56 .17 Dittfach, H. 128 18 22 20 68 .14 Sorensen, B. 96 16 12 13 55 .17 Viola, A. 66 15 11 9 31 .23 Potts, C. 97 13 9 9 66 .13 Warme.E. 60 12 7 6 35 .20 Stauffer, J. 67 12 10 14 31 .18 Cosentino, S. 126 11 24 24 67 .09 Clark, CM. 79 9 7 9 54 .11 Leading Winning Trainers Trainer. Wins. Trainer. Wins. Halliwell, A. J. 19 Starr, J. 7 Merrill, F. H., Jr. 19 Lawson, C. W. 6 McCann, G. 8 Couch, S. 5 Thurner, W. 8 Mann, E. 5 Cavalaris, L., Jr. 7 Silvestri, L. 5 Fisher, R. 7 The following stakes were decided: Slake. Date. Winner. Value. Bold Venture Handicap, April 18; Riz $ 2,920 Queenston Stakes April 25; Anitas Son 3,240 Vigil Handicap, May 2; Nearctic 4,395 The percentage of winning favorites was above normal, as shown in the subjoined tabulation: Number of races 200 Winning favorites 79 Percentage of winning favorites .39 Dead heats, for win 0
