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WET WEATHER PREVAILS . Cold and Rain Mars Charity Day Program at Louisville. Promising1 Affair Ruined by Adverse Conditions Final Day of Racing at Churchill Downs. LOUISVILLE, Ky May 20. Cold, wet weather, as disagreeable as ever enveloped this section at this time in years, reduced todays second annual one-day charity meeting, which otherwise might have been one of the most successful events of its kind, to small proportions. Considering an all day rain and a temperature in the forties, it was surprising, indeed, that more than 3,000 persons were on the grounds when the benefit program was decided. With the track deep in mud, and the rain at times during the afternoon approaching a cloudburst, the horses and their riders encountered conditions far worse than had ever prevailed here. In spite of the treacherous track and heavy rains, the program stood up well and, everything considered, the racing was interesting. The program was sponsored by the Louisville Junior Board of Trade, with net proceeds going to the Community Chest. A large advance sale of tickets, hundreds of which were not used, helped swell receipts. Churchill Downs donated the use of the track and its facilities, and racing officials and other track employes served without remuneration. Mr. J. Byron Hilliard rode Mountainy Man, owned by Mrs. Hilliard, to victory in the Gentlemens Cup Race, which shared feature honors with the Axton Memorial Handicap. The Hilliard triumph was pop- Continued on twenty-eighth page. WET WEATHER PREVAILS Continued from first page. ular, and Mr. Hilliard rode well to place the five-year-old Selim gelding in front at the finish of the six furlongs. Darkest Hour, owned by A. N. Dalton and ridden by C. J. Cronan, Jr., and R. L. Bakers Yantis, with Mr. Earl Major in the saddle, finished second and third. It was the first race for gentlemen riders here in twenty years. Mr. Hilliard allowed first Parade Step and then Darkest Hour to make the pace, patiently waiting until he had straightened his mount in the stretch before calling on the winner. Mountainy Man raced into command before the final furlong was reached, then held sway for a handy win. The Hilliard five-year-old, carrying 167 pounds, ran the distance in 1:18. The runner-up shouldered 181 pounds, including sixteen pounds overweight. - The winning rider received a handsome silver cup presented by the Vic Lorch Jewelry Company of this city. Ralph C, maiden unsexed son of Blackwood, furnished by the L. E. Komorous stable and ridden by A. Martinez, opened the sport with a big surprise when he accounted for the first race, for juveniles. Racing next to last in the field of seven in the last three-eighths, the Komorous gelding overtook the leaders in rapid succession near the end and was going away as he went under the wire a length before Maintenance. There was a margin of four lengths between the latter and Gray Jack, which finished third, a nose before Whipo-will. The early leaders, Norado and Run-amuck, tired badly after reaching the last three-sixteenths. E. Taliaferros Prince Sulieman made every post a winning one over Just Buck, Rare Ben, Billies Orphan and seven others in the second race, at six furlongs. T. Vercher hustled the successful Royal Canopy gelding into immediate command and he enjoyed a good margin in the final five furlongs, during which Just Buck followed in nearest pursuit. Closing strong on the inside, Rare Ben wore down Black Miss and Billies Orphan for third. El Puma, a 3 to 2 choice in the betting, and under a well-timed, patient ride by Willie Hanka, scored his second victory in three appearances here as he turned back a small field over a mile and one-sixteenth in the third race. The smallest of margins decided second place, when Respect arid High Diver finished in such close alignment that the verdict of the judges had to be awaited for patrons to know the outcome of their bristling finish. Hanka rated the victor close to Princess A. O.s early pace and, after racing to the front on the stretch turn, the J. Emery gelding easily protected his lead through the final straightaway. Albert D., also a son of Blackwood, but three years old, completed a double for the Komorous stable and its Cuban rider, Martinez, with a victory over eleven other maidens of his age or older in the fourth race, over six furlongs. The Chicago-owned victor was one of the choices, and his victory came in handy fashion by two lengths over Real Jam, which barely lasted to lead Pony Up past the judges.
