Evening star., 1962-06-19

horses and jumpers as well as
thoroughbreds. And, unlike
most horsemen who've had a
taste Of the runners, he prefers
harness racing.
ITS an avocation as well as
vocation with me-" he said last
night during a bull session at
Laurel. II really like to- call
harness races, and I like
auctioneering."
Ralph is on the Fasig- Upton
Co. staff, and since the late
Mrs. Isabel Dodge Sloane's
Brookmeade Stable went under
the hammer for more than 81
million recently his pals around
the raceway have been calling
him "the guy with the Million
dollar voice."
Retler, who attended old Gen.
tral High School here, figures
he auctions off q horse every
two and one half minutes when
the going is good. But on one
occasion it took him 26 minutes
to get rid Of a filly during a
horses-in-training sale at Sara
toga.
"a couple Of guys were in
their cups" he recalled, land
they were mad at each other.
The bidding went to $18, 900 be-
fore everybody but these two
dropped out-then it went the
rest Of the way at 500 a crack.
Every time I'd get ready to
bang the gavel one or the other
would raise it another 500. I
don't think the filly ever did
anything as a racer or a brood
mare"
Oddly enough. the demand
for race horses grows with each
passing year. Fasig Upton had
one Of its best sales a few days
after the recent stock market
crash when everybody was sup
posed to be broke. Ralph can't
figure it out, except that every
body seems to want horses.
II
Ralph's auctioneering work
takes him all over the Nation,
from Canada to Florida, New
York to California. Today he
is in Baltimore looking over
some animals which will be In
an imminent Maryland sale.
Tonight he'll call the 10000
1nvitational Pace featuring
Adora's Dream VS.. Lieutenant
Gray in a return match at
Laurel.
When Fasig Upton schedules
an auction it's part Of Ralph's
job to play advance man,
handle local advertising, ar
range for a tent, chairs, rest
room facilities, etc. On the
day Of the sale he and John
Finney usually take turns on
the roStrum. You get hoarse,
Ralph confesseS. but you also
get a second wind that seems
to carry you over.
tits easy to auction off the
stable of a dead man." he said,
because everybody knows
nothing viii be held back.
When you're selling the stable
Of a living person the bidders
have the idea that he's holding
back two or three good ones
and putting the rest on the
block. Sometimes they're
right"
Retler also has branched out
into standardbreds in auction
eering. It's all right with
Fasig- Upton, as long as it
doesn't interfere with their
sales. Ralph notices a healthy
increase in standardized bid
ding. The sport is growing and
he thinks harness horses are
getting to look more like thor
oughbreds. Rarely, he says, do
you see one of the old mule
head" trotters.
u y 4
The late Roy Routt. whose
two sons, Randy and Francis,
are award-winning Evening
Star photographers, first in
terested Retler In training
thoroughbreds. Routt gradu-
ated to horses from dogs and
was rather successful on the
half-mile circuit.
Retler thanks Dick Hutchison,
Laurel president, for his chance
TO call races. Hutchinson, an
old friend, heard him announc-
ing at various horse shows and
liked the crisp authority of his
voice. But it was Roy Schutt
veteran harness caller, who
educated" Retler in the ways
OF the sulky set. It accounts
for the similarity in their
"heeeere they come :" that
informs the crowd a field is
about to leave the barrier.
Ralph stood on the roof al
Rosecroft while Schutt was
calling a race. He had a tape
recorder in one hand and a wad
OF cotton in the other, He
stuffed the cotton in his ears
to keep from hearing Schutt's
G0IIC than