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THE AMERICAN DERBY. "When the gentlemen who founded "Wash-, ington Park selected the name American appeals to American turfmen and it is within the bounds of probability that in time it will be all to this country that the Epsom Derby is to Great Britain. It is not Chicagos "When the American Derby was first run in 18S4 interest in racing was at a low ebb in Chicago. More people go out to view the American Derby now than attended during Derby for their chief fixture for three-year- I olds, they built better than they knew. This now is more nearly a turf fixture of national concern than any other race that .j- ... race alone, but the whole wests. As soon as some plucky New Yorker comes out here with a good horse and wins it it will become the easts also. the whole course of the Washington Park Clubs first meeting. The people here were familiar enough with racing, but it had been Continued on Seventh Page. % 4 Bernays, ch. c, by Wadsworth — Modjeska THE AMERICAN DERBY. Continued from first page. conducted on the old West Side track in a fashion that destroyed public confidence in its integrity and it took several years of well managed racing at Washington Park to restore the greatest of open air diversions to its due place in general esteem. It fell to Mr. Edward Corrigan to win the first and his first and only American Derby when his splendid War Dance mare, Modesty, guided by the masterly hand of L aac Murphy, outlasted Kosciusko and Bob Cook in a thrilling and desperately contested drive to the winning line. It was short heads apart between the three at the end, the closest three-horse finish in the history of the big race. Modesty was one of the great mares of American turf history and afterwards confirmed her right to win an American Derby by brilliant successes on the important tracks of the east and west. The second running of the Derby inaugurated "Lucky" Baldwins remarkable series of triumphs in this greatest of western races. Volante, son of Grinstead and a great racehorse, won from Favor and Troubadour, also great racehorses. Oddly, enough Albert S. Gage and John E. Brewster, who were two of the founders of Washington Park, had a few years before selected two stallions for Mr. Baldwin, Grinstead and Rutherford, and it was a son of the former that now came on to win the chief honors of the track in which both were so deeply interested. It was Isaac Murphy in the saddle again. In fact the "Colored Archer" seemed to have a monopoly of winning the American Derby in its early history, he riding four out of the first five winners. Volantes Derby was easily won over a very heavy track. Troubadour won the Suburban of the succeeding year. Silver Cloud, another son of Grinstead, won the Derby of 1886 for Mr. Baldwin, the race affording a singular illustration of Jsaac Murphys genius as a rider. Silver Cloud was inferior as a racer to at least three other colts in the race, although by no means a bad one himself. When near-ing the far turn Murphy suddenly shot his mount out and soon established a long lead which the riders of Blue Wing, Ben Ali and Sir Joseph did not regard seriously, expecting Silver Cloud would soon come back to them. But Isaac nursed him so carefully out in front that he had a good run left, and wheri it came to a decision Silver Cloud was first, by two lengths, his crafty rider having literally stolen the race from better horses and worse jockeys. A big field contested the Derby of 1887. It was a very open affair on public form with hot tips afloat on neraly every starter. C. H. Todd, a rank outsider, won in fast time from the two fillies Miss lord and Wary, the best racehorse in the field. Terra Cotta, finishing fourth. C. H. Todd was a good horse, however, on the day of the race. He- was not sound, but Albert Cooper had him trained to the hour and he won on his merits that day. The Derby of 1888 fell to "Lucky" Baldwin through the prowess of the greatest favorite that ever started In the race, the magnificent Emperor of Norfolk. He was at 1 to 4 in the betting and nexer extended in the race, the only feature of which was the defeat of ;his, stable companion Lps"Angeles for second place by the outsider Falcon. The next Derby, that of 1S89, was notable from the fact that it was won by the only Illinois bred colt that has ever carried off the race, Spokane, by Hyder Ali. It was marked also by the total overthrow of Proctor Knott, Sam Bryant and the famous game cock colors. It was a sad day for Old Kentucky when Proctor Knott failed to even land in the first three. The worst field that ever contested the American Derby went to the post in 1890. Even such a little runt as Dave Waldos Jed was thought to have "a chance, but Uncle Bob was backed to odds-on and was an easy winner. It was different in 189i when Strathmeath won. The field was made up of fine colts and it was won by a wise study of the condition of the track. Before the race Green Morris and his jockey George Covington tramped over the track from end to end, it being slow and "spotty," carefully mapping out the good going and Covington, in the race, went weaving in and out on the course picked out,, the result being that .Strathmeath, while covering more ground than his competitors, was always striding on comparatively firm ground and thereby won decisively. It was in this race that the big raking Longfellow colt High Tariff fell dead. The Derby of 1892 was contested over a track about as bad as a track can be, Carlsbad taking 3:04t to cover the mile and a half. Azra stumbled at the path made by vehicles crossing the track to the infield, else he would almost certainly have won. The 0,000 Derby of 1893, the Worlds Fair year, was contended for by the picked horses of the country and one representative of England, the Duke of Beauforts Strathrose. Don Alonzo, Ramapo, St. Leonards and Chorister were the eastern representatives. How Boundless left the others on the stretch turn and came home alone is still fresh In the minds of thousands who witnessed that great race. In its running, the Derby Of 1894 was almost a duplicate of that of 1893, for at about the the same place on the far turn where Boundless began to run away from his competitors did Rey El Santa Anita begin the tremendous flight of speed that brought him past the judges six lengths before Senator Grady. In this race Domino, Dorian and Senator Grady were the eastern representatives. Domino was a 7 to 5 favorite and his defeat was a great surprise to the east, where he was deemed practically invincible. Pink Coats Derby in 1898. Sidney Lucas in 1900, Robert Waddells in 1901 and Wyeths in 1902, were all decided so recently that their varying features are fresh in the me-! mories of the majority of the great mul- titude that will tax the resources of Washington Park today. All were witnessed by enormous crowds and were memorable and * splendidly contested races. In the course of its fifteen years the American Derby has been decided over a fast-track five times, over a slow track six times and over a very heavy track four times. Four favorites have won. Emperor of Norfolk, at 1 to 4; Spokane, at 6 to 5; Uncle Bob, at 4 to 5, and Strathmeath, ;at 2 to JL Isaac Murphy rode four of its winners, Tom. Kiley two and Bullman two; they being the only jockeys to ride more than one winner of the race.
