The evening star and Newark advertiser., 1907-07-27
STILL HOPE FOR RACE
ONLY COURSE AVAILABLE IS
AT 0RMOND.
Management May Run Vanderbilt Cup
Contest in Florida Rather Than
Abandon 1t.

There is a bare possibility that the run
ming of the Vanderbilt Cup race this
autumn may not, after all, have to be
abandoned.
The chance is a vey slim one, how
ever" said A. r. Pardington, chairman
pro tenn. of the racing board, yesterday.
Two or three of my associates before
giving up the struggle altogether wish to
make. a final effort in a direction in which
have already tried and failed.
with no meeting of the New Jersey
Senate before August and small chance of
the enabling act passing, there was moth
ing else to do at this late date but aban-
don the race. We had offers, to be sure,
from California and Missouri, but Chair
man Thompson reported that the foreign
makers refused to send cars to such dis
tant points. Besides California and Mis-
souri, merely offered courses, without any
guarantee of militia protection"
The race could have been held on the
Florida east coast. The board of gov
ernors of the Florida East Coast Auto
mobile Association arrived in New York
two months ago, and offered the Wander
bilt Cup Commission their wide and safe
beach course, with land loops. Mr.. Van
derbilt, however, has grievance against
Ormond which is three years old, but with
which the association had nothing to do.
That the grievance was largely an imagn-
ary one is contended by many who know
the circumstances; but Mr.. Vanderbilt has
used his personal influence against the
Florida tournament ever since, and that
influence has been somewhat damaging
OF course. the manufacturers who have
gone to a great deal of expense in build
ing special racing machines are not pleased
with the possible outcome as a reward for
their enterprise The American Automo-
bile Association cannot be charged with
delaying the race, as the Vanderbilt cup
commission is an independent body, and
dominated wholly by the donor of the cup
There may now, however, be a reaction
and reconstruction of the present race
governing body, which seems to have
catered largely to the one big event of the
year-the Vanderbilt cup-although ac-
cepting sanction fees and standing for the
conduct of other events for which the as
sociation has had no adequate governing
rules. That there must be national
body goes without saying; the present
rule, and that of the last three years,
has not been satisfactory. It was a great
mistake when the association failed to re-
tain the services of A. G. Batchelder, who
would undoubtedly have steered the A. A.
A. safely and avoided recent serious en-
bairassments.
1t is now up to the A. A. A. to pro-
mote and back up the proposed 300-mile
race on the Ormond-Daytona beach, which
is planned to precede a tournament of
shorter races and furnish an eligibility try
out for them The plan is to run $50
miles on two successive days only those
cars completing at least 100 miles. when
the leading car shall have finished, or
covering 100 miles within certain time
limit, to be eligible for the sprint races
following.
The importers are of the opinion that
foreign makers will consent to send over
their racing cars for exhibition at the
Madison Square Garden show, and fort
night later race them on the Florida
beach,