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WINS THE KENTUCKY OAKS • Viva America Answers Expectations in An Easy Victory. ♦ Churchill Downs Meeting Ends with a Fine Attendance and Excellent Racing. • Louisville. Ky., May 25.— C. T. Worthingtons Viva America won the forty fourth Kentucky Oaks, in which some of the most highlv regarded three -year-old fillies in the country started. Fern Hand-ley lauded in second place and Mistress Polly third. Violet Bonnie followed, having tired badly and swerved out in the last sixteenth. Viva America was always in command and her early lead was partially due to Warringtons action in going acros.i sharply at the start and causing the others to get in a mix up. Violet Bonnie was a severe sufferer from it and had to race wide and make up an immense gap to get into a prominent position. On the stretch turn it ap| eared as if she would piss the leader, but after drawing level with her, began swerving out, enabling Viva America to draw-away decisively in the last eighth. Fern Handlev made a resolute effort when Violet Bonnie fell back and was going fast at tlie end. Mistress Polly also ran a gooi race. Jipsy Queen ran dis-appointingly and dropiied luck after going thn-c-qnarters. The race was worth S2.5S© net to the winner. As a result of his rough riding. Jockey Warrington was suspended for five days by the stewards. The Kentucky Oaks has a history as old as the Kentucky Derby and today was its forty-Tourli running. Its winners and other details since 1907 are here shown: Year. Winner. Wt. Jockey. Val. Time. 1907 Wing Ting 112 J. Lee f T.Wt 1 »¥ 190S F.llen a-Dale 105 V. Powers. IMIfl l:*"; 1909 Floreal 112 Heidel ... 2.410 1:49. 1910 Samaria 112 Scoville .. 1.910 l:50/i 1911 Bettie Sue 112 T. Rice .. 1.910 1:48 1912 Flamma 112 Butwell .. 1.910 1:51 and 1913 Cream 112 Ganz 1.930 U4T% 1914 Bronzewing 117 W. Obert.. 2.320 1:43~-. 1915 Waterblossoni ...117 E. Martin. 2.330 1:411% 1916 Kathleen 112 It. Goose.. 2.410 1:47--. 1917 Siinbonnet • 112 J. Loftus. . 3.033 lsMMi 1918 Viva America 112 W. Waron. 2.5.80 1:4«V-, The closing day at Churchill Downs brought out an immense throng to the course to view the sport and attending incidents. Perfect weather was again present and good sport came with the running of a diversified field and well arranged card. The sixth race, at ■ mile and an eighth, in which there was much interest, resulted in a victory for Cheer Leader over Ernest B. and Brynlimah. The race was one of the slowest at the meeting, all the starters being under hard restraint until the last quarter, when the pace stiffened a bit. Cheer Leader was tlie leader from the start and won easily. Sansyming accounted for the mile purse in easy fashion, with Valais and Snnflash fighting it out in terrific fashion for second place. X.i pan had no difficulty in landing in advance of some good youngsters that he met in the third. Kinney ran to his best recent form and outstayed a fairly good band of higher grade platers. The opener went to Ballistite. a smart-looking two-year-old. owned by Gallaher Brothers, which ran as if he might develop into a good racer. Queens Maid and Christie Holters, two-year-old fillies, were bought on private terms this morning by J. II. Rossetcr from J. C. Milam. W. Feuchter was fined a nominal sum this morning for liis failure to comply witli the rule requiring jockeys to be recorded in time for use on the program. READY AT DOUGLAS PARK. Everything is in complete readiness at Douglas Iark, where tlie racing scene will shift next Monday, and the sport will hold sway there for the next fourteen days. Tlie meeting which terminated this afternoon was by far the most successful ever held at Churchill Dow.is. Patronage throughout the thirteen days was simply wonderful. The amount of money handled through the mutiiel machines also was in excess of any previous season of racing. Manager Winn and his associates had just cause for elation over tlie splendid results achieved at this meeting. The siMirt has been interesting in most instances and wholesome on the whole. There were several form soininersaults, but the reversals can be attributed to the ordinary calibre of the horses and which frequently beat each other. Jockey E. Barham. who was astride Buster Clark, had a narrow escape from severe injury, when lie fell shortly after rounding the first turn. He received a hard shaking up and many bruises about the back. That lie was not killed outright was probably due to presence of mind on the part of Gentry, rider of Biincrana. who forced the other starters to go around the prostrate rider when he took his mount wide. J. H. Rosseter bought Choir Master on private terms from A. K. Macomber this morning and the colt ran in his colors this afternoon. Over 2.000 soldiers from Camp Taylor and two regimental bands, all under command of Lieutenant Colonel Jas. Hanson, were the guests of the New Louisville Jockey Club. The men comprised part of the 333rd. 334th and 33«th Infantry Corps nnl the 325th. 32»ith and 327th Machine Gun Battalion. The bands rendered popular selections between the races and were given a great ovation by the big throng in the grandstand and club house. Richard Andrews, one of the Pinkerton operatives employed at Churchill Downs, was sliot and killed last night by "Dago Foley," whom he had ejected as an undesirable from tlie track. Andrews was an efficient Pinkerton employee and well liked bv the racing fraternity. There was much regret over his untimely ending. Harvest King, which started in tlie second race, was claimed by J. M. Goode for ,100 from J. E. Scideuback. ♦
