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Here and There on the Turf Black Gold and the Derby. A Sadden Change. Other Strong Contenders. Louisvilles Problem. Tomorrow at Churchill Downs fifteen or r twenty three year olds will go to the post in the Golden Jubilee running of the Kentucky • Derby. Probably nearly a hundred thousand 1 people, from far and near, have crowded their way into Louisville during the last few days for the sole purpose of seeing this one race. Hundreds . of thousands of people not so fortunate, or not so willing to undergo the discomforts s of Derby day in Louisville, will await the e result of the race far from the scene of battle. L But they will be awaiting news of the outcome with all of the interest and excitement that t will fall to the lot of those who actually see B the contenders thundering down the stretch l in that heart-breaking final drive. An event of such general interest as the e Kentucky Derby is a great thing for the e American turf. Once a year, at least, many ■ thousands of people who never glance at t the racing results on other days, feel something - of the thrill of interest in the greatest t of outdoor sports which has characterized the e turf enthusiast from the days when racing was s in its infancy. The race itself this year has lost some of f the glamor which it was expected to have. The e most colorful of the leading candidates have e been eliminated through mishaps and failure e to train properly. Sarazen, unbeaten in ten a starts last year, met defeat in his first race e as a three-year-old, and his failure to improve e in training brought about his elimination. St. James met with an injury during a trial " which forced his retirement for the racing 5 season after he had demonstrated his high ■ class by defeating Zev in the Paumonok Handicap " at Jamaica. Wise Counsellor, showing a lack of his old speed in training, was not * started in the Preakness Stakes and went down n to defeat in the Stuyvesant Handicap at Ja k maica Wednesday. His elimination from the e Derby had been foreshadowed when he failed to face the starter in the big Pimlico race. Thus during the last day or two before the e running of the Derby the bulk of attention n East and West is centered on the unfashionably y bred winner of the Louisiana Derby, Black * Gold. This son of Black Toney and Useeit, constituting the one horse stable of Mrs. R. L- M. Hoots of Oklahoma, was considered one e of the "joke candidates" earlier in the year. r- Winter horses never win Derbys, said ths experts. ;" Besides, announced the breeding pundits, " his pedigree is that of the non-stayer. And yet even the experts who were making 6 these remarks a month ago are now deeply concerned with the chances of this high-class 8 scion of a sprinting line. Black Gold may or may not win the Derby, but his rush into prominence l" is a wonderful exampb of the suddenness " with which the complexion of a Derby y field may change. Of course, there are plenty of other horses in the probable field and many of them are e conceded enough of a chance to make the race de a decidedly open one. Bracadale and Mad Play, the Rancocas Stable candidates, have e been working impressively since their defeat I in the Preakness Stakes. C. Bruce Heads s Altawood is finding strong favor among the e Kentuckians and E. R. Bradleys Beau Butler, although discredited to some extent by his 8 recent defeat, is still looked upon as a dangerous contender. H. P. Whitneys Transmute, by virture of f finishing second in the Preakness Stakes, is s e e ■ t - t e s f e e e a e e " 5 ■ " * n k e e n y * L- e r- ;" " 6 8 l" " y another candidate which is not without plenty I of friends. If he can repeat his race in the , Preakness Stakes his adherents are confident that he will defeat the others that will face the barrier in the Churchill Downs feature. And then there are plenty of so called "dark horses" of which little or nothing is known. A Derby winner of such a stripe is not unkown to history. There have been several of them during the fifty years since the race was first run and just such a field as will face the bar- rier Saturday, from present indications, might make it possible for one of these outsiders to win. But whatever the result of Kentuckys fif- ! tieth Derby the thousands who have made the trip to Louisville for the race and encountered all of the discomforts and inconveniences that go with the pilgrimage will undoubtedly feel amply repaid for their trouble. Seeing a Ken-8 tucky Derby is something of an experience • for the most blase and a victory by the wrong horse is not enough to rob the spectator of the thrill that such a race can give. Churchill Downs has been enlarged to ac-d commodate the Derby crowd and Louisville has made some progress in its efforts to provide housing facilities for its army of visitors, but there will never be a racing plant in this coun- try big enough to take care of a Derby crowd without congestion and no city of the size of Louisville can hope to make adequate pro visions for housing the multitude of visitors for such an event. If the Derby was run at one of the Long Island tracks, even New York would notice the influx of transients each year and the nations metropolis is better equipped to house visitors than any other city in the country. Louis-y villes problem is too big to be solved. The Derby has outgrown the city and it has cut-r grown Churchill Downs as well. Colonel Matt Winn is to be commended for his great effort to accommodate his patrons at Churchill Downs, but even if he was to double the capacity of the stands the Derby visitors would still be crowded.
