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KENTUCKY RACING IN THE DOLDRUMS Lexington Facing a Loss Calls for Help Causes for the Slump Latonias Stand Lexington as might have been expected was short of running expenses on the first day of Its fall meet ¬ ing last Saturday The shortage was somewhat more than SI 000 and a Lexington story says naively naivelyThe The association is already in debt and the people who own the Uiack are not the sort to stand a loss of tJiis kind for seven days If they show a losing on Saturday they can hardly hope to pull throng1 on the other days unless there is a change in con ¬ ditions It is almost a certainty that the horsemen will be asked to make sonic concessions in the direc ¬ tion of reduced purses and if this cannot he ar ¬ ranged there is a possibility that the meeting will not continue for the scheduled seven days daysTo To folks outside Kentucky It seejned certain that the Lexington meeting must l e run at a loss Sear city of money Is the chief reason for Lexingtons shortage Possibly liookmaking would yield a larger revenue than the mntuels because of bookmakers betting among themselves and their eagerness to operate But the difference would not he great It is opined Louisville will have to stand tlie same shortage though not so large as Lexinsrtous The horses bookmakers and horsemen are not this year 111 their way south and seeking employment before a winter season nt New Orleans The tide is Cali ¬ forniaward and the Kentucky tracks are out of the regular route Bookmaking might attract some of these stables however especially after the close in Canada where bookinaking rules rulesIt It would not surprise much if the Kentucky Racing Commission swing the state of affairs at Lexington its home would hold up its ruling in fa ¬ vor of the mntuels and thus assure Latonias fall meeting Possibly Louisville can do without the books In any event Iratonla will not race if com ¬ pelled to have mutuel betting The Enquirer pre ¬ sumably speaking for the Latonia management says Now saysNow it was on the cards for Douglas Park to balk on the mntuels but that idea seems to have been lost in the shuflle Douglas Park and Churchill Downs are controlled by a holding company Douglas Park was to withdraw and go it alone but did not go through so its up to Latonia now to make the fight Unless there is another Mwitch the matter will come up before the proper tribunal of the state There is no bitterness in this matter Latonia lust wants to know where it stands and what its charter is worth worthThe The contention of the Latonia Jockey Club is that betting and racing are things separate and apart That under its charter it has the right to allow wagering within Its Inelosures while a race meeting Is in progress and for that special privi ¬ lege It pavs a special franchise tax taxJust Just how tills matter will come up is not known but It will be done unless the Latonia people run out on the proposition to make a light lightThis This means of course that when the time comes Latonia will use bookmakers and enjoin the Com ¬ mission There is nothing healthy for racing in such procedure Certainly too the spoils are not worth the risk riskLexington Lexington Ky September 21 Secretary W II Letchcr of the Kentucky Association made the an ¬ nouncement Sunday that there would be only five races dally for the balance of the meeting and that the nurses would l e reduced to S25O each This is expected to reduce the dally loss of the meeting to some 00 The association owes 28000 to the Brown estate for the track with a not surplus of 1500 on hand The meeting will e finished under the conditions of reduced races and purses
