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REFLECTION S BY DUNSTAN NEW YORK N Y May 4 While the majority of racing fans expected the Calumet entry of Citation and Coaltown to run onetwo we cannot recall when a DerBy result caused so much comment Citation has restored that old argument that he is the best horse since Man o War In fact one sports writer went so far as to say that he will probably prove to be the best American horse of all time No one at the Derby admired Citation more than this x writer but we are going to wait for quite a spell before joining in the chorus that he is the best since Big Red We heard that argument when Crusader came along and it popped up again with the appearance of War Admiral It has always been our opinion that in any such argu ¬ ment Count Fleet was entitled to consideration But it still remains that you cannot compare horses of different periods and although Citation may join the list of American greats we would hesitate at this time to declare him a better racer than either War Admiral or Count Fleet Another debate of Monday was whether with earnings of 332930 Citation would eventually pass Stymie on the moneywinning ladder With purses what they are today there is no telling how high Citation might climb A A A AThat That director of the Maryland Jockey Club who con ¬ tended that the Derby was Tun too early but that it was quite all right for a horse to start in the Preakness 10 days later was made to look even more ridiculous by the result of the Blue Grass classic Ben Mones is now credited with having saddled four winners of the Derby and everyone df those winners were tightened for their victories at Churchill Downs in preliminary races at Hialeah dunhg the winter mohths Whirlaway started twice at Hialeah twice at Tropical Park and twice at Keeneland before he was sent over to Louisville for the Derby Trial in which he ran second But from the Derby on he was every inch a champion winning six races before he was beaten by Attention in the Arlington Classic of 1941 In 1942 he raced 22 times and then Citation to Prove Best Since Man o War Its Long Long Trail1 to Stymies Ben Jones Prepped Winners at Hialeah Bull Lea Also Created New Derby Record as a fiveyearold ran twice in 1943 A threeyearojd must be given a breather at some time during the season but the training of Ben Jones refutes the claim that winter racing or the Kentucky Derby is harmful to a horse horseA A A A ACol Col Matt Winn has come in for plenty of criticism for the reason that there was only a win pool for the Derby with six horses starting Our beef against Louis ¬ ville is the prices charged by the hotels for those attend ¬ ing Americas greatest sports spectacle The betting on the Derby is not important but it is a crying shame that the average sports lover cannot attend that event due to the prices which are charged by the most moneyhungry hotel managers to be found in this country At one hotel a guest waited two hours for his breakfast of ham and eggs coffee and toast to be brought to his room and then was handed a bill that was five times what the same breakfast would cost in periods other than the three Derby days that is Thursday Friday and Satur ¬ day of the Derby Week Colonel Winn has done a great job in building the Derby but the owners have also done a great job in building up the Louisville hotels to the poorest service for big money that has ever been handed the American sporting public who support such events Regardless of reports to the contrary the Derby throng of this year was not as large as last years and if these hotels continue their holdup tactics it is only a question of time when outoftbwners will refuse to pay the out ¬ rageous prices that must nowxgo with viewing Americas No 1 sporting attraction attractionA A A A ABen Ben Jones tied the record of Derby Dick Thompson in saddling four Derby winners and Eddie Arcaro es ¬ tablished a new record as the only jockey ever to win four renewals But there was another record established andsurprisingly enough we have not seqn it mentioned in any summaries of the Run for the Roses But Bull Lea must be credited with a record for he is the first sire in history to send forth horses who ran onetwo The onetwo feat as you know was accomplished only three times prior to last Saturdays renewal Commander J K L Ross was the first to accomplish this double in 1919 and ColrE R Bradley duplicated in 1921 and 1926 But the six horses who ran onetwo for the same owners were all by different sires Both Citation and Coaltown4 were sired by Bull Lea so to that famous stallion goes the honor of being the first to score with that feat featA A A A ADespite Despite the optimism of some New Jersey lawmakers the Garden State Park meeting has now progressed far enough for them to realize that the play is definitely of a downward trend This year the state received 46578420 in mutuel commissions and breakage during the second sevenday period for a total of 58917458 The corresponding period of 1947 netted the state 49971458 in commissions and breakage The track however is not doing nearly as well as the state under the new law and it has some of those in the Skeeter State alarmed In a recent editorial the Newark Star Ledger stated The new race track revenue law was touted by its sponsors as a measure that would produce 5500000 in additional revenue We expressed doubt before its adoption that it would produce anywhere near that sum The StarLedger has learned that the first week of racing at the Camden track resulted in an actual loss of revenue of more than 26000 The loss in volume at Camden does not unfortunately tell the whole story of the harmful effect of the new bill The prospect of diminishing revenue may cause the tracks to lessen purses This would in return further reduce the volume and bring the states income still lower It may still be too early to convince the legislature that a serious mistake was made Many of the men who made the laws in New Jersey said they would revert to the old tax if the new one proved to be harmful Apparently it is harmful and the sooner they do something about it the better it will be for both the race tracks and the state
