Evening star., 1953-01-14
Laurel 10 Move
MeetingtoBui|d
New Clubhouse
Bowie Repuys Favor;
Preukness Officially
Scheduled May q

Inc EreakneSS Will Oe run May
% at Pimlico. three weeks after
the Kentucky Derby. and Laurel
is making plans to run it's spring
meeting at Bowie in two new
developments of interest to area
.horse racing enthusiasts today.
The Preakness in recent years
has been held two weeks after
the Derby but the Maryland
Jockey Club announced the
switch in the date this morn
ing because of a shift in the
States racing schedule.
At Laurel, President John D.
Schapiro announced his track
plans to start construction on
a new So million clubhouse
this month. Schapiro said
the facilities at Bowie had been
offered Laurel for it's spring
meeting during construction of
the clubhouse, scheduled to be
completed before Laurels fall
meeting, October 26 to Novem-
ber IT.
Last spring Bowie's meeting
was run at Laurel while Larry
MacPhail was rebuilding his
track. This year Laurel has a
13-day meeting scheduled from
April Is through May 2, follow
ing Bowie's March 27-April II
program which opens the mile
track racing season in this area.
Elaborate Setup Planned.
Schapiro said Laurel was plan
nlng a "super-de luxe" three
story clubhouse which would ac-
commodate 5000 customers. The
old clubhouse, attached to the
grandstand, will be turned over
to general admission, making
room for 10000 to $4,000 GUS
toners on big racing dates.
|, Plans call for the new struc-
ture to be built where the pad
dock and track offices are located
now. The top floor will be an
exclusive turf club limited to
about 200 members. The second
floor will have dining terrace,
restaurant and betting windows
while the ground floor will have
bars, lounges and the main row
of mutual machines.
Many Ideas Combined.
"Tl1is new clubhouse will put
us in a better position as far
as major racing is concerned
Schapiro said today. Il have
been looking over plants in this
country for the last year and a
half with the idea of building
new clubhouse. We combined
the best features of many tracks
and then sat down and worked
out how much it would cost. 1t
comes to a lot of money but
we are going to give the public
the best"
1.-THE turf club will be the only
one know of in the East. Santa
Anita and Hollywood Park have
similar clubs"
In addition to the outlay for
the new clubhouse, an additional
$500.000 will be spent to move
the paddock and provide better
housing for the grooms, Shapiro
said.
The National Production Au-
thority has given Laurel permis-
sion to use $50 tons of steel, it
needed, in the new clubhouse.
Schapiro said contracts will be
let within a week and ground
will be broken later this month.
Preakness Nominations Changed.
At Pimlico the running of the
77th Preakness will be held with
the longest gap between it and
the Derby in history. The two
classics once were held on con-
Secutive week ends.
The added value this year has
been upped to 100000 for the
first time since 1948 and a diff
ferent policy on nominations will
be followed. Closing date for
nominations will be February 16,
instead of in January, and own
ers will not have to make three
payments, totaling $135, as in
the past.
This year one fee of $50 will
cover the nomination, but an
other payment of $500 will have
TO be made by those entering
horses, with $500 more extracted
for starters.
The supplemental fee, in effect
after the February Is. deadline
for nominations, has been raised
to $500. -