view raw text
EARLY DERBY DAY SCENES Comments and Forecasts LOUISVILLE Ky May 17 Derby Day broke gray and chilly with over cast skies that threatened rain and this after delightful summerlike weather for the sport of Friday From early morning there was every indication that the rain that had prevailed for the last three runnings of the great classic would again mar the biggest racing day of all the year And there was some lack of the usual Derby riotous bedlam about the hotels that lias obtained in other years though every hotel was filled to its capacity and the streets of Louisville were thronged with visitors until long after midnight midnightThere There was some reason for this change in the scenes of the eve before the run ¬ ning of the great race and probably the chief one was that the various excursion specials that come in for the big event afford such comfortable accommodations for patrons in housing as well as the trip that it took some of the weight from the hotel lobbies Of course there could be heard the usual dis ¬ cussions of the probable outcome and while William Woodwards Gallant Fox remained the most talked of candidate many an argu ¬ ment was offered against his repeating his victories of both the Wood Memorial and the Preakness The Kentuckians had lost none of their confidence in their candidates and E F Prichards Tannery and E R Bradleyspair of Breezing Thru and Buckeye i Poet had a strong following though no wagers of importance were reported reportedThe The fact that Ray Ruddy recent trial i horse for T M Cassidys Crack Brigade was winner of his race Friday made it appear that the trial of the son of Light Brigade was not so bad after all and that heartened some of the supporters of that colt And from the beginning there have been those who I have stuck steadfastly to Gallant Knight as the strongest Kentucky threat threatALWAYS ALWAYS IX LIMELIGHT LIMELIGHTBut But it was a notable fact that in all of the predictions of the probable result and in all the discussions of the merits of this or that candidate Gallant Fox was used as the standard All seemed to agree that the son of Sir Galahad III was the one to beat and 110 matter what degree of confidence was shown in extolling the qualities of this one or that it all returned to his comparison of coltThere quality with that of Mrr Woodwards colt There were many late arrivals from the East and almost to a man they were for Gallant Fox although some had high hopes for Crack Brigade though his final for the running was decidedly disappointing Then the confidence of Buck Foreman in his gelding Ned O gave him a place in the discussions while the fact that Gone Away the William Ziegler Jr candidate had t worked exceedingly well after making his trip from New York attracted some atten ¬ tion in his direction directionBut But it was Gallant Fox and the belief f that he would be returned the winner that t brought most of the eastern visitors on for the running These are about the only ones that were conceded any remote chance in the running High Foot the candidate from the a Valley Lake Stable had long since been i lost sight of as a possible winner though i earlier in the spring he was the most talked of horse in training in Kentucky The W T Waggoner pair Broadway Limited and Xil kerry were not looked upon as any menace 3 and the same might be said of Longus Dick i OHara Busy and Uncle Luther though the a la t named had whipped Ned O in the a trial of a few days back The recent good 1 race run by Alicibiades the lone filly in the e Continued on twentyfourth page EARLY DERBY DAY SCENES Continued from first page company gave her some friends but there was a doubt if she would be raced The opinion seemed general on the eve of the Derby that she would be reserved for the Kentucky Oaks OaksBut But there have been occasions when the Kentucky Derby has furnished a surprise and that was reason enough for the starting of some with no past performance line that would warrant their presence in the field while others were to be started in order that a sportsman could show his silks in the dis ¬ tinguished company That is always a rea ¬ son for some of the starters in each of the big American classics but it appears to apply with more force to the Derby than any other race raceEach Each tale of the Kentucky Derby crowd is virtually the same except in the matter of weather reports The crowd always comes early and no matter what provision is made by Col Matt Winn to comfortably take care of the great gathering there is sure to be the usual congestion This year was the same as all the others Before the gates were opened before S oclock in the morning there vere many waiting to come through At that hour there was a pronounced threat of rain but as the forenoon wore on the sun strug ¬ gled through the clouds and there were occa ¬ sional bursts of sunshine that held out prom ¬ ise for ideal conditions conditionsThe The campstool dealers did an Immense business with early arrivals who were not supplied with reservations and hours before the horses were called out for the first race the outer rail was lined with the stools Of course as usual a goodly number of these brought lunches along and they established themselves as comfortably as was possible to await the big event for which they had made sucli preparation preparationEvery Every available inch of parking space was crowded to the limit with automobiles while for a mile surrounding the course others had parked All of this has happened before and it would not be a Kentucky Derby with ¬ out just such a crowd crowdJ J B Respess Busy among the sixteen overnight acceptances for the race was de ¬ clared out just before noon Arthur Goldblatt trainer of the colt tendered the scratch scratchHigh High Foot the Valley Lake Stable hope ¬ ful was indulged with a brisk threeeighths as his final preparation while others of the array were galloped during the morning pe ¬ riod of training High Foot well in hand was sent the short distance in 35 the quarter in 23
