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CHURCHILL DOWNS MECCA OF TURF WORLD » Louisville Hotels Crowded on Eve of Opening of Spring Meeting » Wonderful Array of Superb Horses Assembled at Famous Course — Most Attractive Inaugural Program Offered— Racing Outlook Bright • LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 7. — The Churchill Downs meeting, which brings a renewal of the Kentucky Derby, most famed of American races and numerous other rich and important stakes during its twenty-three days racing, will have inauguration here tomorrow. a _ — _ _ , 1 1 j ,., — . . — , . On the eve of the opening there is promise of ideal weather and a fast track, and on every side a high, unprecedented confidence and indication that the meeting will exceed in every way the numerous ones that have gone before. A splendid program for the first day was arranged this morning, when there were eleven notable acceptances for the featured Inaugural Handicap, at one mile, and entries of class and goodly number for the other races fashioned to support ; Lhe main contest. Officials of Churchill Downs, Inc., had completed every arrangement for the opening, and it was about the managerial offices that the high confidence in the outlook for a successful meeting reached the loftiest peak. Basing their predictions upon the great interest reflected in the record number of requests for reservations, crowded hotels and assurance of racing that may reach a new standard in the point of quality, officials expressed profound satisfaction over the outlook. Perusal of the lists of stables assembled for the meeting well bears out that no more extensive and finer band of racers has been assembled anywhere, and inquiry at the various leading hostelries indicates that the demand for reservations has exceeded that of previous years by a termendous margin. Local and visiting turf devotees have for some time waxed most enthusiastic over the impending meeting, warranting th? prediction that it will be the greatest ever. While the zenith of the meeting will not be reached until Saturday, May 19, on which day the 0,000 added Kentucky Derby will be run for the fifty-fourth time, the combination of interest and quality racing is expected to establirh the earlier days of the meeting as above the corresponding ones of previous springs. DERBY REMINDER. The stirring of public mindfulness of the coming Derby running will begin with the opening days racing, which brings under colors a number of Derby hopefuls. Such races, regarded as preliminaries for the Derby horses, will be offered almost dailv during the ten days of racing that precede the coveted race itself. Then, too, there will be renewals of such noted and important fixtures as the Clark and Grainger Memorial Handicaps. Kentucky Oaks, Debutante Stakes and Bashford Manor Stakes, which are designed to bring out the best available performers of all ages and sex. The racing will be under the finest possible conditions within human control, the many thousands of dollars worth of improvements made to the plant since the previous meeting having lifted it to a state of perfection and completeness unexcelled, If equaled, anywhere. Among the outstanding improvements are the new gardens, with their flower beds. The most notable are those within the enclosure given over to the clubhouse patrons and Continued on thirteenth page. LOUISVILLE INAUGURAL Continued from fir«t page. which include a sunken garden of picturesque beauty, a pool surrounded by a fountain, thousands of blooming plants, shrubs and vines that cover a goodly portion of the clubhouse. The beauty of the grounds has won the admiration of all visitors. One hundred and fifty boxes have been added to the many hundreds that stretch along the front and additional ground has been added to the lawn that rolls out in front of the clubhouse to the rail. The setting out of plants and shrubs was not limited to the clubhouse grounds. The entire plant has been renovated and major parts are brilliant in their dressings of paint. Approaches to the track have been improved at no small cost and new thoroughfares to the parking space are fashioned to eliminate much of the traffic congestion of other years. Today found every improvement completed and the plant and great force of men required to operate it in readiness for the opening. Those in charge of the various departments assembled their assistants for final instructions. Col. M. J. »"inn. executive director, who has been here for many weeks overseeing preparations for the meetin,., expressed himself as eminently -atisfied with the outlook for a successful season ot some of the finest facing in the history of the sport. "We are going to have the greatest Kentucky Derby ever." said Colonel Winn, "and with all our stables filled with the horses of some of the most noted owners in the country, our racing, throughout the meeting. is going to be of better quality than ever before. "As you know, all of our reservations for Derby Day were disposed of months ago. I venture to say we could have utilized three times as many boxes to take care of our Derby demand. This year will find more racing patrons here for the meetings opening than in previous years, which all means that we are on the eve of what probably will prove one of the greatest meetings in the history of American pacing. Tomorrows opening program is exceptional, considering that Tuesday is sort of an off day and altogether new as the day of a meetings inauguration here. The featured Inaugural Handicap, at one mile, brings out such stalwarts of the handicap division as Flat Iron. Rolled Stocking. Genial Plost, Barbara. Feu Follet, Flattery and others that include the Derby eligibles Martie Flynn, Hiram, Round Trip, Stamfor". and Cartago. Horses of like quality are ar.-.ong the eight entries of the South Louisville Purse, or sixth race, at six and a half furlongs, and a number of the most highly regarded two-year-olds are probable starters in the Spring Trial Purse, at four and one-half furlongs. The field for the first race will be called to the post at 2 oclock. Jockey Tommy Root, who returned here from New York to ride for the stable of M. Goldblatt, has been called to New Orleans by the serious illness of his sister. »
