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p~ ......... Churchill Downs Will Be j Jammed Crowd Will Surpass 50,000 ! I* Accommodations Vastly Im- ] proved j Brevity Against the Field [ Today is the day when everyone who hasnt anything else to do will be warding off elbow jabs at Churchill Downs or gathered close to a loud speaker to learn about the sixty-second running of the Kentucky Derby. Estimates of the crowd expected at the Downs vary from 50,000 on up, but whatever it will be probably will never be known, because Col. Matt Winn never has started the practice of announcing attendance figures. However, the grandstand and clubhouse areas will be one seething mass of humanity and thousands more will be in the center field, but these arent counted in the official tabulation because they give the turnstiles a wide berth. That the principal enclosures will have all the persons they can accommodate with and without comfort, is a foregone conclusion because all boxes and reserved seats have been sold for weeks and the remaining space will be gobbled up by early comers. Churchill Downs hasnt such deep grandstands as those at Arlington and Belmont Parks, but its structure ranges from a point beyond the furlong pole down past the clubhouse turn. Another triple deck stand fronts the first sixteenth of the stretch, while a smaller structure is located opposite the first turn. Although these buildings with the boxes in front of them have a seating capacity approximating 22,000, this number will be more than equaled by the persons assembling in the available areas in front of the stands, while the magnitude of the gathering in the center field will run into the thousands, the number being determined by the weather condition. Bad weather last year, plus vigilant policing, held this crowd down to a minimum. Louisville is crowded as it never has been before, which augurs well for a tremendous assault on Churchill Downs. All are bent on seeing the Derby and the spectacle that goes with it, but many will not see the race, although they cannot help but seeing the show as well as being participants in it. No other race in this country creates such widespread interest as the Kentucky Derby and, while big crowds attend the Preakness, Belmont Stakes, Arlington Classic and Santa Anita Handicap, these events do not work up the public to a condition of frenzy. Visitors to the Kentucky Derby say they will never go back because the crowd and excitement is too much for them, but they usually are the first ones to seek reservations when the next year rolls around. Hence, the popularity of the Derby has increased steadily and the attendance is greater than Churchill Downs can accommodate even though changes and improvements are made from year to year in the old plant. Despite its advanced age the Downs plant is in better condition this year than ever before to handle the crowd and to protect its paying guests. All fences have been improved and augmented and they will be patrolled by seven hundred members of the state militia, as well as a corps of Louisville police and private guards. The horses themselves will be protected, because no persons will be allowed to drape themselves over the inner rail. It will be next to impossible for any one to crash into the reserved areas for which the holders of such accommodations will be very thankful. And, with the plant redesigned to improve wagering facilities, the betting is expected to show a sharp in- J crease over that of a year ago. One experienced mutuel man predicts a total of nearly two million dollars, which is slightly below the record. All that remains is for the Derby to be run and to be won by the best horse. Half of the people believe Brevity is the best horse, although much of his support heretofore may swing to Grand Slam if the track is other than fast. Otherwise it appears Brevity against the field. Whether the race will produce a great horse or just another : campaigner for its winner remains to be seen. Many of the other starters are rated about alike, because of the meager means of comparison. Granville, Teufel and Bold Venture went to Churchill Downs from New York; Brevity was sent from Florida; Gold Seeker and Grand Slam are Marylands representatives and The Fighter and Sangreal are the Texas hopes. California racing figured in the prepara- tion of Indian Broom and He Did. and coming out of farm training are Banister, Bien Joli and Coldstream. Out of this conglomeration of form the public is attempting to forecast the Kentucky Derby winner and within a few hours they will learn the accuracy of their predictions.
