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BADEN-BADENS BIG YEAH " INCIDENTS OF A RACE IN WHICH SOME GREAT COLTS WERE BEATEN. d Lror.ard, Vera Cruz, McWhirter and Lisbon Among l the Colcbrities Vanquished by i Australians Son. j ;i t Badfa n«dra waa w t in the lit elans ] as :i !Hii..vc.:r-i Id with the remarkable filly .1 Belle of tin- Meade, still he v.mi the Ken- * tu.lv Derby of is?". Had that daughter of Bonnie Scotland lived to have been a three-year-old it is more than probable the race would i : ■ fa ii won by ;i till v and t ix-ti the winner List yiiir. Regret, would have been robbed of the high Itonor of l fi nir the Brst of her sex to capture the bine ribbon of the k- ntat l.y turi. It was ■ brilliant field that went to the post In tli- Derby of 1877. The race was witnessed by J an attendance which Included in the v;ist throng noli distinguished citinena as senators J. . S. Itlackborn and James B. Beck; governor I.. P. J Btat-kburn, the afterwards governor .1. Praetor Knott and Gen. William Preston. The Derby of ls77 s/aa rnn on Tuesday, Maj 22, and the meet- • Ing nt the Downs that spring waa of seven racing , ii is There were forty-one entries in the Derby ; that year and a field of eleven three -year-okas, one filly and t--n colts, went to the ]«.st. In the auction | I Leonard said the favorite, bringing 90 to 00 for Vera Cruz: 0 for McWhirter; 8 for Bwigerts entry. Baden-Baden and Lisbon coupled, and .sir. for the others as the . field. As ■ two-year-old [canard had been the j lending money-winner of his age, the Nursery Stakes and other rich two-year-old events of 1S70 . falling to him. Hi- was the first of the get of the mighty Longfellow to show high form and the fact , that he was In the stable of II. P. McGrath, the . owner of the first Kentucky Derby winner. Aria- . tides, and ridden l y K. Swim, the noted rider who had won the event the year previous on Vagrant, J explains how be came to be so strongly fancied j for the raee. Leonard ran a good race in the Derby, hut ; waa not equal to the task of leading Baden-Baden , heme, the latter coming with a whirlwind hurst of j peiil at the finish ;m l capturing the event with si comfortable margin to spare. Baden-Baden was J a dark chestnut eoll with a tar in his forehead „ and stood HI hands high. His dam w.i - a hah lister to tie great tour-mile and cap horse Helm-hold, while lie was a lial. -brother to another noted racer in Blue By -s. Major Viley net-d as starter in the Derby that year and had good lack with the field, each horse beginning to a fair start. After the raee Baden-Baden . cliangcd bands, being s,,!d to William Aster , for 112,500, iii whose colon the year prevhma Vagrant had won the Derby. The Di rhy of 1-77 was worth ,998 net to the winner, being an Increase la value both over the year previous, as well as in the inaugural year. The summary ol the ran- of 1S77 la full follows. tin- distance being one mile and a half. 1 Swigorts eh. c, Baden-Baden, by Australian — Lavender, by Wagner, KM . Walker.. 1 II. I*. McGraths br. e, I.eoa.u-.l. by LoagfeUow Colleen Bawn, 100 iswim 2 ■ Smallwood ft Co. a br. e, King William, by Foster—dam by Albion, loo Bailey 3 . Williams and Owiugs b. c, Vera Cruz, by Virgil— Begaa, loo Marphy 4 I Cen. A. I.ufords ch. c, McWhirter, by Enquirer I Ontario, 100 Moore B i It. Bwigerts b. c, Lisbon, by Phaeton — Lady Love, mo Douglas i r. l». Harpers gr. f. Early Light, by Longfol-|m Penny Well- :i7 lames 7 r .!. .1. Men-ells b. c. Oddfellow, by LongfeBow— Magnolia, loo Williams 8 - L. it. fieliis b. e. Headlight, by Bayonet— Olivia, loo Buchan ! l Johnson aV Mills b. c, Dan K.. by Bonnie Bent-land Jennie lane, luu McGrath Id 1 0. II. Kiees br. c, Lewis, by Melbourne Jr. — Magm-tta. 100 Jones 11 I Tina-. 2:88. Daring the meeting of 1S77 William Walker, • who rode Baden-Baden In tin Derby, was given a irarae by the Louisville Jockey club for being the besl behaved rider on that track. This is the horseman who In lati years developed the filly Itonnd the World ad In one season side, ted for ; vo different owners a pan- of wonderful racers. Old Uosi bud and Little Nephew. The season of 1877 was memorable at Louisville as la that year Tea Broeck made three of his then wonderful time records. His two miles in 3:27 1-2 and three miles In 5:26 1-2. are still track records at tlie Downs. Baden-Baden was trained by R. Brown Drown Dick, who afterwards deveteped Ben Brash, the rlnner of the Kentucky Derby of 1896. During civil war times "Brown Dick" rode many horses for the late B. A. Alexander and when be took to training, became one of the most sacces ful train-en of his color of all time. Before he died, now a fi w yean back, be raid: "Baden-Baden uras a great three-year-old and when he hit my care waa allowing every igu of Improving with age. Had be not broke* down so early 1 believe be would have been a great cup horse as a four-year-old." Baden-Baden started In the Clark Stakes In Mr. Asters colon, but ran unplaced, McWhirter wln-nith Vera Cruz secoad, both of which bad finished behind him in the Derby. The distance of that raee was two miles and it was run in 3:80 1-2. which was most phenomenal time in those, days. The • a of Australian was then taken east aad won the Traven Stakes at Baratog beatlag in that event the filly Brademante, famous in liter yean as the dam of the mighty raee horse, flu- Hard. Three at least of the colts beaten by Baden -Laden in the Kentucky Derby will always rank high as brilliant racers la turf annals. These wen Ven Ci-n::. McWhirter and Lisbon. Vera Cruz won the Louisville St. Leger and other important stakes, while McWhirter, after winning the Clark stakes. met death in a raee at St. Louis, in which, after being crippled, lie ran on under three legs and finished the- race, so badly broken dawn he had to be destroyed, it wa this colts gaBant struggle mid tragic death that caaaed the late ten. A. lluforil to write his famous tile of a great horse, in which In- advanced the Idea that a raee hone lias a soul and goes t . heaven when he dies. u*. lion Is better known to racegoers of today as a sii-e than as a turf performer. During a brilliant stud -nicer be Hired many stake- winners and rounded out bis Ktud life by giving the turf Troubadour, one of the greatest racen of the American turf. Hi- del not come to his best early, but after winning tin Suburban Handicap, became WuU-nigb lavluciblu .ml in his older turf days defeated s nli remarkable racen as Miss Woodford and The Bard. Dan K.. which ran only tenth in the Derby of ls77. became a superior selling plater, winning in his racing CUT • total of forty-nine rates.
