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Here and There on the Turf Meaning of Derby Day Belmont Still To Gome Natural Final Test Troubles of the Starter Derby Day will always be one of the greatest days of the racing year This is Derby Day and a day when thousands who only go racing one day each year have a glimpse of the thoroughbred in action at beautiful Churchill Downs It is the one day of racing for which Col Matt Winn built a wonderful race course It is for Derby Day alone that year after year it has been found necessary by the Kentucky Jockey Club to enlarge its capacity to take care of the constantly increasing attendance It is the one day of racing in all the year that has shown the sport in a brighter guise than any other day dayIt It is fitting that the Kentucky Derby should have this tremendous appeal and it is fitting that Col Winn should have made these constant additions to Church ¬ ill Downs for the one race At first really a Kentucky institution it has long since become a national institution and its sporting importance has grown with each successive year and that impor ¬ tance promises to continue to grow It will ever be a race for which horses will be carefully bred and reared and it will ever be a sporting prize that will give the winner a priceless reputation reputationAnd And while the Derby has become national there remains that delightful sporting rivalry among the different sec ¬ tions with candidates that bear colors The East will ever strive to wrest the prize from the West New York will al ¬ ways send its delegation against Ken ¬ tucky while Maryland Illinois Virginia Canada and everywhere else where the best horses are bred and raced will seek to carry off the honors honorsThat That is shown this year as much as in any other year when the number of starters from the East are considered At this time the call goes to the East but not because the Kentuckians have not been striving earnestly but by reason of last minute misfortunes the ranks of the Kentucky eligibles were thinned But the Kentuckians are not beaten until the red board is displayed and right up to post time it will be found that the Ken ¬ tuckians will be loyal to their own After the decision of the Kentucky Derby this afternoon there still remains the famous old Belmont Stakes of the Westchester Racing Association to be run next month This race is one that has always brought out the best of the threeyearold crop and its roster of winners contains the names of a greater number of champions than any other turf fixture This year while more of the best twoyearolds of the year before i iwere were trained for the Prcakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby than has been the usual custom there remain possible champions that have not yet been shown shownTwo Two of the most notable are Joseph E Wideners Chance Shot and Harry Payne Whitneys Valorous Both of these ster ¬ ling colts have been coming along fa ¬ mously for a considerable time and the Belmont Stakes is the goal of each Chance Shot was trained with others of the Widener string at Churchill Downs and he repeatedly demonstrated that he was easily master of both Osmand and Kiev his stable companions Valorous has been fitted at Mr Whitneys private course at Brookdale Farm and it was on trials with the prospective champion that Bostonian was fitted for his victory in the Preakness Stakes StakesThe The Preakness Stakes narrowed down the threeyearold division a bit and the running of the Derby this afternoon will probably eliminate some of the others from the championship but it will take the Belmont Stakes the last of the three stake races to tell the com ¬ plete story It is known that both Chance Shot in the Widener Stable and Valorous which is to bear the Whitney colors are considered better than the ones that have been raced thus far and if this estimate is right it is easily un ¬ derstood that the BelmoHt Stakes of 1927 will be a renewal to be remembered rememberedAnd And it is fitting that the Belmont Stakes should be a sort of final spring test of the threeyearolds It comes far enough after the running of the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby to afford starters in both of those going to the post and the fact that it is over a mile and a half distance gives it additional importance It is a supreme test for a June race the same month in which the Epsom Derby is decided in England EnglandIt It may be that the winner of the Bel ¬ mont Stakes has already been seen in the Preakness Stakes or that he will be seen this afternoon at Churchill Downs but until the running of that big mile and a half at Belmont Park it is impossible to definitely crown any one of the new crop cropThere There never will be a starter that will at all times please all of the patrons of racing There never will be a starter that will not come in for a full measure of censure no matter how earnestly he shall strive to excel in his chosen calling No matter how brilliantly he may preside at the barrier one bad start will make the crowd forget all that he has done before and altogether there is no racing official that comes in for the same amount of abuse abuseHardly Hardly a racing day goes by that some horse does not suffer a serious handicap right at the barrier and nine times out of ten it is all charged against the starter Every grandstand is full of men who to hear them tell it could do better themselves but still this official must carry on and do the best he can and all the time hope for the best One of the most frequent criticisms that is hurled at the devoted head of the starter comes from the handling of horses at the post There will come times when the horse so handled or held in position is away so badly as to have no racing chance chanceThere There was an occurrence of that kind at Churchill Downs on Wednesday when Brown Silk was held at the post and when the barrier was released she was virtually left and her every chance for victory gone And there are times when this holding at the post works just such a handicap but it must always be re ¬ membered that the starter is only con cerned in obtaining a good start If in his judgment it is only possible of ac ¬ complishment by the holding of a bad actor there is nothing else to be done doneBut But the blame really should be placed where it belongs on the trainer It is the fault of the trainer that the horse has bad post manners and a rule that should be rigorously applied on all race courses is that requiring that all horses be properly schooled before being sent to the post A horse is not held if it be ¬ haves There are some trainers who never give their horses this most neces ¬ sary education and the just punishment would be that usually handed out by the late A B Dade when instead of sen ¬ tencing a bad actor to the schooling list he barred him from starting for the rest of the particular meeting at which he misbehaved
