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Show j SPOR J UGH T . Winter Book Odds Not All Fair I By GRANTLAND RICE qiHE WINTER BOOK on either racing or baseball hits you with a chunk of low-priced odds on many favorites that seem far from inviting. in-viting. The Winter Book, as you know. Is supposed to offer advance odds on in horses or teams that give you a better break than if you wait until the race gets underway. un-derway. They are not giving anybody a better break in making Cleveland 6 to 5 and Boston's Braves many bad backs and sore arms to consider. The Winter Book figures on Cleveland Cleve-land in the American League are clearly out of line. The Indians were 11 Vi games ahead of the Red Sox last June and had this big lead shot away. The Indians and the Red Sox should each be 2 to 1 or 2A to 1. The Yankees can have the best pitching staff in baseball. Their infield and catching is still their bis problem. They need more infield power. Connie Mack is quite sincere in believing his Athletics can win. And they might It is the first time in 18 years that 86-year-old Mr. Mack is extremely optimistic. The Racing Side Racing is now ready to break out in a wild rash from Maryland to New England not overlooking New York. A number of questions will soon be answered: How good is Blue' Peter? How good is Capot? Mr. Busher? Old Rockport? How will Citation look on his return to action? ac-tion? What horse will beat Coal-town? Coal-town? What overlooked racer will suddenly pop up as Assault did in 1946? Who will take over the Triple Crown? How will the Triple Crown look without a Calumet challenger chal-lenger of class? Will there be one? Blue Peter, owned by Joseph Roebling, trained by Andy Schuttinger, is at least partly a mystery horse. Andy Schuttinger Schut-tinger ranks Blue Feter, at this stage, over Citation at the same spot on the calendar last year. There are many who believe Blue Peter is well ahead of the other three-year-olds. There are other horsemen who don't think Blue Peter has the ruggedness to be ,a great three-year-old. They keep darkly hinting at uncertain legs over a distance. There has been no proof that anything is wrong with Blue Peter's legs except their winning speed. Blue Peter won six stakes in a row, including most of the big ones, as a two-year-old. But there can be a swift and decisive change from a two-year-old to a three-year-old. Also there will be other horses running in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont Greentree's Capot, a certain threatener Mr. Busher, if in shape Old Rockport, with the blood of Equipoise and Man o' War in his vein s Ben Whitaker's Prince Quest one or two John Hertz possibilities and Fred Hooper's Olympia and Ocean Drive. 7 to 5. Grantland Rice They have Blue Peter at 3 to 1 In the Derby, and I'm not sure you can't do better on Derby Day. Col. Ed Bradley, the departed horseman and gambler, whose advice ad-vice was highly valued, used to say it was 4 to 1 or maybe 5 to 1 against any certain nominee even starting in the Derby. Out of more than 100 early entries, only 10 or 12 go to the post. Who can say what fine horses will or will not be present pres-ent on the big day? Sun Briar never went to the Derby post. Stagehand didn't, when he apparently had the big race sewed up on the Tuesday Tues-day before the race. Ocean Wave didn't, after wrecking the Derby Trial. Getting back to baseball's Winter Book, I would say the Braves, Cardinals and Dodgers are extremely ex-tremely close that the Pirates have a good chance that the Giants are not clearly, out of it, but not too threatening either. The Braves, Dodgers and Cardinals Cardi-nals are all ranked well over the Giants by Florida-trained ballplayers ball-players who remember the Giants from last year and can see little or no improvement. I still think the Cardinals are the best ball club in the National Na-tional League by six or seven games. But no one can say how many Cardinals will be on the ball field, and how many in the hospital, after mid June or early July. They are an eight-year-old club, dating back to 1940, 1941 and 1942. They have many more good ballplayers ball-players on their roster than either Braves, Dodgers, Pirates or Giants. I mean such stars as Musial, Slaughter, Marion, Brecheen, Pol-let, Pol-let, Schoendienst maybe Kurowski and Munger. But they have too |
