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Here and There on the Turf ; Pandera Proves Herself. r McLennan s New Berth. i Preakness Possibilities. v ♦ f A great finish came out of the running t of the Pimlico Oaks on Thursday, when Harry Payne Whitneys Pandera just i •won over Fair Star from William x l u Ponts Foxcatcher Farm Stable. But « it was only a great finish between the two fillies, for it really amounted to a i two-horse race when the swift-running t pair drew away in the lead early and | battled along lengths clear all the way. Aside from the importance of the race itself it had value in showing Pandera as something more than a mere sprinter, i ] Fair Star had proved herself last fall in both the Selima Stakes, at Laurel, and 1 the Pimlico Futurity, two mile races, ] and in the Selima Stakes, at an advan- | tage in the weights, she had beaten Pan- i dera soundly. In fact, in the autumn j days of racing Mr. Du Ponts good filly i had won three races over the mile dis- • tance. But Pandera had been kept busy sprinting, with the exception of her defeat in the Selima Stakes, so that there was necessarily some question of her : racing the mile and a sixteenth of the ! Pimlico Oaks with Fair Star. But Pandera settled the doubt gamely by her victory. Both Fair Star and Pandera are eligible for the Preakness Stakes to be run Monday at Pimlico, and it may be that Fair Star will be started, for she is the only Foxcatcher Farm horse eligible at this time, with The Satrap retired to the stud. As for Pandera, there is no chance that James Rowe will send her to the post when he has such colts as Bostonian, Whiskery and Valorous on his eligible list. The Oaks gives Pandera a new importance and with this beginning she is sure to adequately represent the colors of Mr. Whitney in her other filly engagements. Chicago is to be congratulated on acquiring Joseph McLennan as one of the racing officials at the tracks under the control of Colonel Winn and his associates. Mr. McLennan is to officiate as racing secretary at these courses and there never has been a better liked or a more respected official of the American turf. An indefatigable worker, McLennan has ever striven for what was best in racing and his force and energy have brought success wherever he applied his talents. The moving of McLennan to Chicago will occasion changes in the official family of some of the Canadian courses, but in his long years of turf usefulness he has educated others in the arduous duties of his offices, and doubtless his graduates will fall into his shoes on those tracks. No racing secretary inspires more confidence than Joseph McLennan. He is respected and liked by the horsemen and is a big asset to any racing organization. His association with the Winn racing enterprises in Chicago is just one more evidence of the wisdom of the genial Ken-tuckian in at all times gathering together the best official family possible. The running of the 0,000 Preakness Stakes of the Maryland Jockey Club, at Pimlico, Monday, may tell much or it may tell nothing of the probable outcome of the Kentucky Derby, to be run Saturday next. Never have these two big spring races seen so many of the best three-year-olds of the year before ready to race and never before hare there been so many that are apparently close together in the matter of quality. It should be a modest estimate to predict that fifteen will appear under colors, and fifteen are easily picked from the eighty-five eligibles that have earned the right to race for the rich purse. Should this number go to the post the Preakness Stakes will have a net value of 6,100 to the winner — rather a nice start for a three-year-old which aspires to a money championship, to say nothing of the more glorious sporting championship. Several of the eligibles for the Preakness Stakes are awaiting the Kentucky Derby rather than start at Pimlico on Monday, but a considerable number of the candidates for each will race in both. At this time it appears that few candidates will be shipped from Kentucky, with the exception of Edward R. Bradleys Be-withus, but many of those that race at Pimlico on Monday will be shipped to Churchill Downs to try for the Kentucky Derby the following Saturday. Each year when dates permitted of a colt filling both engagements the Preakness Stakes field has sent many to Kentucky after the running, but Sir Barton was the only colt to win both classics. His year, 1919, the Kentucky Derby was run ahead of the Preakness Stakes and he came from the Churchill Downs victory to win at Pimlico. It has been the usual order that the Preakness Stakes is run ahead of the Derby. At this time some of those considered certain starters in the Preakness Stakes are: Whiskery, Bostonian, Scapa Flow, Point Breeze, Justice F., Saxon, Bewithus, Rip Rap, Black Panther, Kentucky II., Sir Harry, Jopagan, Fair Star and Bois de Rose, while there are others that are less talked about which will surely put in an appearance. Just now Harry Payne Whitneys hand appears to be a particularly strong one and possibly the best three-year-old of the establishment will prove to be Valorous, also an eligible for both the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby. But looking over those that have ■ been named it is readily seen that the , Preakness of 1927 should be one of the most notable runnings of the famous old race. .
