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Here and There on the Turf The Kentucky Derby Keen Sectional Interest Mishaps of Preakness Why Not Mars On the eve of the running of the Kentuck Derby it is natural that there should be th big interest in turf affairs It would be un ¬ usual indeed if such was not the case Anc for this particular race there is more interest than in many that have gone before in th rivalry between the East and the West foi the big feature So often there has been on candidate that stood out over the others thai cither the East or the West as the case might be just hoped to beat it itThis This year with W R Coes Pompey to rep ¬ resent New York and the East and such a coll as Edward R Bradleys Bubbling Over tc defend the honor of Kentucky there are twt champions that seem to be so close together ic the matter of both speed and condition that tht East respects Bubbling Over just as the West respects the East EastAt At this distance from the running of the race the promise for a wonderful renewal could not be brighter And it is such races as the Kentucky Derby that does more for the turf than all the others Races that bring together the best thoroughbreds and races that awaken great sectional interest accentuate all that is best in the greatest of all sports And so long as there are such races the turf is secure secureThe The Kentucky Derby has more glamor than any of our other big races by reason of its long and honorable history From the creation of the great stake races of the turf they have been a big incentive to breeders They have done more than anything else to advance and broaden the big thoroughbred breeding in ¬ dustry They have brought about the pur ¬ chase and importation of the best blood from foreign countries and they have taught lessons in the production of the thoroughbred horse that could never be learned in any other way wayThe The one decisive test of the thoroughbred horse is the winning post The Kentucky Derby makes this test of greatest importance and the winner of a Kentucky Derby has made his reputation and has made a reputa ¬ tion that will be undying down through his years in breeding endeavor There was just a bit of surprise that Scott Ilarlan did not ship Mars the Walter M Jef fords Man o War threeyearold to Louis ¬ ville to fill his engagement in the Derby All of those who saw Mars in the running of the Preakness Stakes must have been of the opin ¬ ion that the colt qualified handsomely for the mile and a quarter race of Saturday It will be remembered that while at the post for the Preakness Stakes Mars hung himself up on the inner rail Then in the running of the race he did not have the best of fortune But he finished with bulldog gameness and gaining on Blondin as the horses flashed by the judges It was a race to suggest that a mile and a quarter might have seen Mars the winner winnerIt It was agreed after the race that Mars had not injured himself in the Preakness Stakes and it was also agreed that he was ready But Harlan at the eleventh hour decided that he would not make the trip to Kentucky KentuckyPossibly Possibly there are plans for Mars that con ¬ template Jus taking care of the winner of the Kentucky Derby later in the year but it is always surprising when an apparently fit eligi ¬ ble to the Derby of the class of Mars dodges the issue There were some others of that Preakness field that have reason to remember the contest though it was a race that was singularly free from interference Samuel D Riddles Dress Parade was jumped on at some time in the race and his was a wonderfully good perform ¬ ance considering that mishap Then there was every excuse for the poor showing of Ban ton when it was found that he spread a foot in the race Alex Gordon had Banton in rarely good condition for the Preakness Stakes as was evidenced by his public appearance shortly before its running Gordon was con ¬ fident that his colt would run a good race and then came the mishap that will deny him many another opportunity Still another colt that went amiss in the Preakness Stakes was T W OBriens Timmara This colt came out of the race badly lame and that naturally eliminated him from the Kentucky Derby His performances through the spring had given him a fair amount of importance among the eligiblcs and he was one that was looked upon by several of the good judges as having au excellent chance to win winBut But with all that it is admitted that with Bubbling Over and Pompey both going to the post the two outstanding twoyearolds of 1925 are to meet in the Derby And of course Canter in the opinion of many was the equal of either of these last year so that virtually the three best twoyearolds of the year before will fight it out in the Kentucky Derby It is not remembered in the long history of the Derby where it was found that the champions of the year before were brought together at this time in the year yearThere There is just a bit of regret that Joseph E Wideners Haste was not made ready for the Kentucky Derby but it is possible that he would not have added much interest to the running of the race The impression is abroad that Haste is purely a sprinter and just now he is being fitted for the Toboggan Handicap which is the opening feature of the Beluipnt Park meeting meetingHaste Haste has to his credit a victory over Pom ¬ pey but Mr Coes colt turned the iables cm him in the running of the Futurity Stakes at j Belmont Park last September And Haste did not seem to have a truly good excuse in the Futurity He was away well and showed the early speed that characterized his other races but he faded away in the final eighth eighthOf Of course there have been other good ones that were rated sprinters as twoyearolds and became stayers later but Haste will be rated as a sprinter until he has proved himself over a considerable distance of ground While the Thoroughbred Horse Association is seeking to bring about better conditions for the shipping of horses throughout the country Luke A Cassidy on behalf of the Miami Jockey Club is doing the same thing on behalf of his organization organizationBriefly Briefly a new rule will shortly go into effect east of the Mississippi which will limit two men to each car of race horses that are shipped This was the rule that obtained west of the Mississippi but throughout the East there were six men allowed to each carload carloadThere There is no intimation of whether or not the battle to avert the imposition of the new rule will be won but both Luke Cassidy and the Thoroughbred Horse Association should have hearty support and they are having hearty support in their campaign
