Evening star., 1953-06-14
Gray Convinces
Last ofSkeptics
By Stretch Win
RoyoI Boy Gem Third
10 Lengths Behind
Belmont Leaders
By ChorIes M. Egon
Sports Editor Of The Sfur

aren't any questions left Tor Ma
tive Dancer to answer.
The last Of the skeptics who
have been doubling the Wander
bilt gray's right to be ranked
with such super horses as Man
O. War, Count Fleet and Cita-
ton surrendered this cold. rainy
afternoon at Belmont Park
They had just seen The Dancer
score his greatest triumph in the
85th Belmont Stakes in a bitter
stretch battle with his arch
rival, Jim Norris Jamie K.
Native Dancers margin at the
end Of a gruelling mile and one
half was only a neck-just as il
was in the Preakness three weeks
ago-but this time it was enough
to convince Eddie Arcaro. Jamie
KS great rider. Eddie has been
the most outspoken of those who
questioned The Dancers great
ness but he recanted, in a sort of
a left-handed way, after today's
thriller.
my horse just wasn't good
enough to beat the winner, even
though he ran a swell race" was
the way Arcaro put it in the
jockeys room.
Ran Swell Race.
No one will take issue with
the statement that Jamie K. ran
a swell race. For the Norris colt
"a bit of a crackpot as horses
go until Arcaro started riding
him not long ago-hung on like
grim. death during that long
stretch drive as he made Jockey
Eric Guerin and Alfred G. Van
derbilt's gray champion go all
out to beat him.
The quality of today's first
two f1nishers is obvious, but the
fact that as good a horse as
Eugene Constantine Royal Bay
Gem finished 10 lengths back OF
them is additional evidence. And
this stout finisher lost at least
three lengths to them during the
stretch run, too.
The time of the race-run in
a cold drizZle that started several
hours before-also tells a lot
about this years three-year-old
champion. The Dancer finished
the grind in 2:283s, just two
f1fths Of a second over the Bel
mont Stakes record set in 1943
by Count Fleet and equaled five
years later by Citation. Only two
others - Middleground in 1850
and War Admiral in 1937-have
equalled Native Dancers time in
the q years since the distance
was changed from a mile and
three-eighths.
Runs Speedy Last Quarter Mile
One apf the most impressive
things about The Dancers race
today was his time for the last
quarter of a mile-the one that
was supposed to kill any son oi
Polynesian. The Vanderbilt gray
handled this quarter in 242s
faster than any of the other five
except the fourth one, which was
run in the same time.
The crowd of 1885 was the
smallest Belmont Day gathering
since 1914 when 34,233 turned
out. In the previous year, 1943
Count Fleet, at / to 20, was such
a cinch that only 1912 came
out.
Today's crowd made Native
Dancer a 9-to-20 favorite and
the mutuel return on the cham
pion was $3.50 and $2.1O. Jamie
K paid $3.50 to place. There
we're no show mutuels, although
there were six starters after Bas-
sanlo and Bob o Boy were
scratched.
The Belmont was worth a
total of $118,600 and Native
Dancers victory earned him a
record $82.500. It boosted his
bankroll to $522,745 and made
him the ninth horse in history
to pass the half-million mark in
earnings. He has now won IA
out of Is starts. Citation didn't
pass the half-million mark until
his Goth race. also the Belmont.
The decision not to sell any
show tickets in the Belmont was
a fortunate one for the Belmont
management as there certainly
would have been a large minus
pool. AS it was. the track had to
put UP $134.68 to take care of q
minus place pool.
$2,114 Bet On The Preem.
But there must be plenty o1
money around somewhere be.
cause some misguided souls bet 9
total of $2,114 IN the win poo
on The Preem in the Belmont and
If he isn't the worst horse ever to
run in the 86-year-old stake
he'll do for a while. The Preem
whose owner is the publicity
conscious band leader, Louie
Prima, went off at 122 to / and
didn't run last only because
Benny Green's saddle slipped or
Kamehameha and the rider de.
cided the King Ranch colt nac
had enough after forcing the
pace for the first three quarters
(See BELMONT. Page C-5).