The Washington times., 1936-03-26
Hope Lost
Ford. T..
Track
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor

"Goodtime" Walter 0'Hara,
the man who would revive rae
ing in the District of Columbia,
has informed intimates here
that he is about convinced a
bill cannot be legalized locally,
and has given up the trail as
cold.
The Johnny Come Lately"
of thoroughbred racing, as the
Whitneys and Vanderbilts look
upon O'Hara, however, may
wind up with Mexican standoff,
in his efforts to expand his racing
interests beyond his magnificent
Narragansett Park and in the gen.
eral direction Of the District Of
Columbia.
Holds Laurel Option
He has an option on the Laurel,
Nd, track, 18 miles away, which
will not expire for several weeks.
Should he decide to exercise 1t,
his ambition to cater to the tastes
of Washington race enthusiasts
will at least have been partly tul-
filled.
For a good many months it has
been known that Young James
Butler, who inherited the lovely
Laurel plant from his father sew
eral years ago, would consider
parting with the nearby establish
ment, as the junior Buffers tastes
do not run nearly so strongly for
conducting race track as did
those of his distinguished dad,
The son wishes to devote all OF
his time to the immense chain
grocery stores which he also In
herited from James Butler, Sr.
Laurel founder.
O'Hara, recognizing the posSr
bilities of Washington and vic1n
ity from a racing viewpoint, SCENT
to have backed-up his bid for In
vasion of the field within the city
gates, by securing the refusal OF
the Laurel track for q sufficient
time to determine what luck local
legislation might have in Cor
greSS
Gives Up On Washington
Within the past couple of weeks,
O'Hara has made no secret Of his
belief such legislation cannot be
brought into existence during the
current session Of Congress. His
thought is that the measure has
q $3.50 chance in the House, but |
that it hasn't a ChlnamanS |
chance in the Senate.
Meanwhile there is no little
speculation in racing circles as to
whether the colorful, if cratic |
New England operator, will decide
to buy Laurel, considered a first
class layout in every respect.
Racing folk are pondering, too.
the relationship that might exist
between the eccentric Good Time
Walter" who has hired and fired
racing secretaries and other Off
cials by the wholesale during his
brief splurge in the sport, and
General Manager Andrew j. Cum
mings, Of Laurel.
It was Cummings, you may re-
call, who threw verbal brickbats
at the proposition Of racing for
washington, during the recent
two days Of hearings on the local
bill before the House judiciary
subcommittee.
Couldn't Figure 1t Out
OHara left those hearings prac-
tically In a daze. He boarded
train for New York in the same
state Of mind. He was trying to
figure how the position could be
taken by a man neck deep in rae
ing in Maryland that what was
good for the grand old Free State
couldn't possibly be good for the
people across Maryland's border in |
Washington who largely support
Maryland's tracks, including that
supervised by the witness, Mr..
Cummings.
Such paradoxical positions, do
not seem to add, in the particular
kind of arithmetic O'Hara, was
taught in his native Boston. Least
wise, O'Hara has given up on rae
ing in Washington, for the time
being, and If he should buy the
Laurel track, he will probably
never renew his brief, out futile,
fight to race bangtails a. Benning.
Oh, Walter O'Hara is learning
the heartaches and headaches
which are a part and parcel Of
his adopted industry-racing.
Shadows Of Dizzy Dean
And speaking of heartaches in
racing, let me tell a story of this
delightful Irish character, whose
bubbling wit, ready tongue and
head-strong and often defiant
attitude toward the established
pillars of the thoroughbred
sport, make him an oddity, at
least.
One day at Suffolk Downs last
year, he experienced a disasterous
day in his speculations. He bet
Continued on Page 20, Col. p
St. John S Is Victor