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Nelson Dunstan REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan Metropolitan Draws Fine Field Fine Tribute to Beverley Broun Bostonians Use Trolley to Suffolk Burgoo Parties at August Sales NEW YORK N Y May 14 14Ending Ending a busy week tomorrow Belmont and Suffolk Downs will offer inviting stake events while the successful meetings at Churchill Downs and Sportsmans Park will come to an end A huge throng will be on hand at Belmont Park as the Metro ¬ politan Handicap has drawn a fine field Shut Out who made his seasonal debut in the Toboggan on the opening day is a certain starter and will be thoroughly tested by a group of older horses who have distinguished themselves in the eastern season to date Suffolk Downs will stage the 5000 added Governors Handicap the first of many stakes which will be contested at the long meeting now under way at the Boston course The most important race of course will be the 50000 Massachusetts Handi ¬ cap for threeyearolds and older to be run on July 5 The Suffolk Downs olficials are deserving of praise for staging the race on that particular day for as July 4 falls on a Sunday July 5 will be the day on which all tracks opening have been asked to give the proceeds to War Relief Bolh Churchill Downs and Sportsmans Park were mediums of fine contributions to the American Red Cross and to local charities charitiesThe The Metropolitan dating back to 1891 has been a mighty fine race down through the years Back in 1905 it resulted in a deadheat between Sysonby and Race King In 1913 Whisk Broom II performed a feat that has never been duplicated winning the Metropolitan Brooklyn Handicap and Suburban in that one season Mad Hatter ridden by Sande com pleted a double in 192122 and the feat was duplicated by Sandes rival Sonny Worliman who rode the mighty Equipoise to victory in 193233 Ekky finished first in 1934 but was disqualified But a glance at the roster reveals many more famous performers and some fast miles One in particular was that in the renewal of 1930 when the fouryearold Jack High defeated the speedy Balko and Questionnaire in 135 then a new American record To this day many maintain that the late W S Vosburgh confused Jack High with HiJack and in so doing assigned the 110 pounds which made the record possible Two years later Equipoise won the Metropolitan in 137 but it was also in 1932 that the Chocolate Soldier went to Chicago and in the Delavan Handicap ran a mile in 134 a hew American record In recent years Eight Thirty and Attention have been Metropolitan winners the latter taking the 1942 renewal from Pictqr and Market Wise hi 136 136Suffolk Suffolk Downs released some amazing figures when they stated that of the 21875 persons who attended the track there in two days 19594 used trolley cars We have no idea of the percentage who used trolley cars from Baltimore to Pimlico but having ridden back and forth every day ourselves we do know it was the most comfortable form of travel A fan could read his paper on the way out to the track and within a half hour he was in the grounds at Old Pimlico At the commissioners dinner on Wednesday evening Luke OBrien of Empire City assuredus there were plenty of trolley cars to carry the fans and that the officials had definitely decided to stage the meeting at the Yonkers course OBrien knows more of the situation than we do and states that the officials made their decision due to the fact that so many residents of Westchester and Connecticut attend the Yonkers meeting We feel however that the vast majority of Empire City fans come from New York City and that a trans ¬ fer of the meeting to Jamaica or Aqueduct would be more satisfactory for everyone concerned Belmont should be drawing many thousands more fans than they now are and it is a foregone conclusion that Long Island fans will continue to find the walk from Queens Village to the course just too much for them as a daily proposition We certainly hope that the Empire City officials will look into the transportation problem thoroughly before their popular track is opened openedKentucky Kentucky breeders plan quite a show when they sell yearlings at Keene land in August With no racing there they will give spectators a picnic atmosphere with Burgoo parties to those attending With three sessions daily they might be able to complete the vendues in twodays They have not given up the idea of asking the associations to suspend racing for two days so that prospective buyers could make the trip without missing anything There seems little chance of the racing associations agreeing to a halt of the sport how ¬ ever Breeders are naturally encouraged by New York adopting the payment of a bonus to the winning and second horses of every race Should the plan become nationwide and it has a splendid chance of so doing they can face a weak market much better than has been the case in recent years But it would not be surprising if the market for yearlings was better than that of last year for many people are now of the opinion the war must end some time in 1944 Well some Kentuckians have long held that the sales should be staged in Lexington and now they are to realize it Eastern breeders are slow to get started with their plan of sale but it is likely they will soon meet to discuss the matter That dinner tendered the1 National Association of Racing Commissioners at the WaldorfAstoria on Wednesday night was one of the finest turf gettogethers we have ever attended When we endeavored to congratulate George Widener he promptly stated that all credit was due Lee Olwell Informal as such affairs should always be it was a fine and well deserved tribute to Beverley Broun the retiring president but more a man we are all proud to know Further it was a crosssection of opinion from those in many phases of the sport The net result was a solid front and a desire to play the game as thoroughbreds play it We did not hear Mr Stone president of the Thoroughbred Club of America as he spoke at the morning meeting All present were solidly with him in his plea for breeders awards But the suggestion that we fight left this writer cold It has not always been as we of racing and breeding would like it But when you come right down to it we have not been hurt to the point where we should carry a chip on our shoulder and holler fight like the Irish ¬ man who yells Fight you devils I hate peace The only time for light is when there is nothing else to do and racing is a long way from that Aggressiveness and fighting are two entirely different things If there is any fighting to be done lets fight for the common cause
