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— — — — — — — ■— —— — — — — —— ■ — — — ™ I The Derby Marches On! Three Score of Years Have Come and Gone and the Kentucky Derby Still Marches On, Leaving Pleasant Memories of Great Men, Gallant Horses, Fearless Riders and Others Playing Important Parts in the Glorious History of Americas Outstanding Horse Race. I The majority of racing enthusiasts know that Col. M. Lewis Clark was the founder pt the Kentucky Derby, but few are acquainted with the names of the men associated with that noted sportsman in the establishment of the Louisville Jockey Club fcnd Churchill Downs. Such as J. Hunt Reynolds, Isaac Caldwell, W. H. Thomas, John E. Green, Luke P. Blackburn, H. Victor New-comb, Gen. H. E. Murray, E. H. Case, Daniel Swigert, J. Russ Butler, J. M. Womack, John Churchill, J. P. Johnson, T. J. Martin, Hon. Charles D. Jacob and G. Spratt were names that figured in the early days of the race. The subscribers to the first Kentucky Derby included Gen. Abe Buford, F. B. Harper, H. P. McGrath, Gen. W. G. Harding, A. Keene Richard, J. Hunt Reynolds, Daniel Swigert, G. H. Rice, Chas. A. Lewis and others well known throughout the country but especially in Kentucky. H. P. McGrath was the owner of Aristides, the first winner. In 1876 a ladies committee was appointed, of which Gen. Eli H. Murray was chairman. In those days Colonel Clark entertained on a lavish scale at the club house, the fashionable element of Louisville making the Derby a gala affair. When it was proposed to build Churchill Downs some difficulty was encountered in raising money to build the grandstand and necessary stables. It looked mighty bad when Major W. H. Thomas, one of the leading merchants of Louisville, came to the rescue and loaned the club sufficient money. I The Derby of 1879 was a turf duel between Tennessee and Kentucky, with victory perched on the first mentioned state, when G. W. Darden and Co.s Lord Murphy beat Hunt Reynolds Falsetto. C. H. Pettingill, later famous as racing official on numerous tracks, was the starter in the Derby of 1895 when Halma won. Col. Jack Chinn was the starter the following year when the marvelous Ben Brush won only after a great race with Ben Eder. It may be news to many that the late H. D. "Curly" Brown, who later made a reputation as a builder of race tracks, such as Oriental Park in Havana, Arlington Park in Chicago and others, was the starter in the Kentucky Derby of 1900, won by Lieut. Gib-eon. C. R. Ellison, the "Blonde Plunger" from Chicago, carried off the Kentucky Derby of 1903 with Judge Himes, named after a pro-bate judge of Chicago and purchased from Johnson N Camden for ,700. Col. Robert Johnson, one of the best known of Kentuckians, was the starter of the first Derby. Billy Walker, the noted colored jockey, who rode Baden Baden to victory in the third Kentucky Derby, was given a purse by the manegement as "the best behaved jockey on the track." Walker rode the famous Ten Broeck in all his races against time. Boundless, winner of the Worlds Fair Derby at old Washington Park in Chicago, finished third in the Kentucky Derby of 1893. Frederick Johnsons Quatrain was the favorite in the Derby of 1923 on the strength of his success in the Louisianna Derby. He was unplaced. Paul Jones, the winner in 1920, was the first to carry the present arbitrary Derby weight of 126 pounds. Cleopatra was the only filly which ran that year and she was far out of it. The Whitney entry of Upset, Damask and Wildair was the betting choice of that year. Just look at some of the things accomplished by some of those that were beaten by Clyde Van Dusen in the Derby of 1929: Blue Larkspur won the Belmont, Withers and Classic Stakes; Windy City won the American Derby, Karl Eitel won the Fair-mount Derby, The Nut won the Latonia Championship Stakes, Ben Machree won the Latonia Cup. Zev surely is entitled to rank among the greatest of Derby winners. For seven long years he "was the worlds greatest money-winning horse until another great Kentucky Derby winner, Gallant Fox, exceeded his deeds and his winnings by making almost a clean sweep of the great three-year-old prizes of 1930. It was in 1904 that Charles F. Price resigned as manager and secretary of the new Louisville Jockey Club and was succeeded by Col. Matt J. Winn as manager and Lyman H. Davis as secretary, Morvich was a very strong favorite when he won in 1922, paying only .20 to . The Bradley entry, consisting of Bet Mosie, By Gosh and Busy American, was second choice. Bet Mosie finished second and John Finn, a long shot, was third. Morvich was unbeaten as a two-year-old with eleven victories to his credit. Strange as it may seem, the Derby was the only race in which he was successful as a three-year-old. Display, one of the greatest money-winners of all time, was a dismal failure as a Derby contender. He finished tenth in 1926, and never was in the running. Do you remember Pompey? He was the winner of the Futurity Stakes of 1925 and the Easts leading Derby candidate in 1926. Was close second choice to the Bradley entry. Finished unplaced. He is the sire of Ladysman, one of the best handicap horses of the present time. Rolled Stockings, after beating Osmand in the Derby Trial, was second choice to the Whitney entry in the Derby of 1927. He finished far back. Old Rosebud, ridden by J. McCabe in the H. C. Applegate colors, ran the Derby mile and a quarter in the record time of 2:03-i, and that mark, established over a water-soaked track, stood until Twenty Grand low ered it in 1931 to 2:01%. Many of the old-timers are sanguine in the opinion that on ! the day he accounted for the Derby, Old Rosebud was the greatest horse this country has known. Churchill Downs derives its name from the owners of the grounds, on which the famous course was built, John and Henry Churchill. The first race ever run at Churchill Downs — ths day of the first Derby, Saturday, May 17, 1875 — was run at a mile and a | quarter and won by Bonaventure, ridden by Billy Lakeland. Hindoo and Ben Brush, first in the Derby j of 1881 and 1896, respectively, were the most successful of all Derby winners in the stud. i Hindoo sired Hanover, while Ben Brush was I the daddy of the immortal Broomstick, fame enough for both without mentioning others to their credit. Remember Flying Ebonys Derby? He won in 1925. Gifford A. Cochran had won I the Preakness with Coventry and remarked that he was "too lucky not to win the Derby." To make it a sure thing, Cochran engaged Sande to ride Flying Ebony, with the satisfying result that the New York I sportsman made good his boast. Charles F. Price, presiding steward on I Kentucky tracks for many years, has played an important part in the history of Churchill ; Downs and the Derby. He succeeded Maj. I B. G. Bruce as secretary in 1892 and filled that office during the remaining existence 1 of the old club. In 1894 the New Louisville I Jockey Club was organized, with Charles Price as secretary, and he also was associate judge, with Colonel Clark presiding. Upon the death of Colonel Clark in 1899 Charles I Price succeeded him as presiding judge. In i 1904 judge Price resigned as secretary and manager and was succeeded by Colonel | Winn. Bubbling Over, one of the quartet of Kentucky Derby winners to the credit of j Col. E. R. Bradley, could easily be listed | with the greatest Derby winners, though his meteoric career was all too short. The late I J. L. Dempsey, for many years one of the j best of Daily Racing Form track corre- I spondents, often said that Bubbling Over l was one of the fastest horses he ever saw , and remember Dempsey had called over 50,-000 races during his long association with this paper. Ben Brush, small but mighty, will never be forgotten. He won the Derby of 1896 and was ths sire of the immortal Broom-stick, and the connecting link to the potent ; Bonnie Scotland, whose blood, flowing through his modern descendants, made the 1 name of Whitney one to conjure with on the turf. Omar Khayyam, winner of the 1917 Derby. I was a bargain horse. He was purchased for Billings and Johnson for ,500 and in the Derby defeated as formidable a horse I as Cudgel. Omar Khayyam was bred in England. After his Derby victory he raced to still greater fame, defeating the best in America in rich stake races. Riley, winner of 1890, confounded the turf i world when he defeated the highly regarded Robespierre, which the bookmakers throught "could not lose the Derby." Los-3 it he did and in very easy fashion, for Riley was a great horse. One of Americas largest and most successful breeders, J. B. Haggin from Califor- | nia, won the Kentucky Derby in 1886 with . Ben Ali, Patsy Duffy in the saddle. Blu-3 Wing, with Garrison up, was second and Free Knight piloted by Fitzpatrick, was third. Halma, winner of the Derby of 1895, was a son of Hanover, the latter, a son of Hindoo. Halma was a great horse and sired 1 Alan-a-Dale, another winner of the Derby after having won it himself. Halma, be sides being great, was a beautiful horse. In appearance he was similar to Chilhowee, but his head gave more assurance of determination than the speedy Chilhowees. One of the sensational developments of the winer book betting on the Derby of 1935 | was C. V. Whitneys Today. In the early 1 quotations Today was listed at 100 to 1, but for a week prior to the race was the first choice, being cut to as low at 3 to 1. He failed badly, finishing in twelfth position. I Today did little to distinguish himself as a j two-year-old, winning one race out of seven starts, finishing second twice and third once. i He won both starts as a three-year-old, the ! last being an impressive victory in the Wood Memorial. Today is by the speedy but unfortunate Whichone and Afternoon, 1 the latter a daughter of Prince Palatine, a noted English horse, which met an untimely death in Kentucky, where he was stand- . ing in the stud. The well known and popular Cincinnati turfman Alex Labold, won the Kentucky Derby in 1887 with Montrose, a son of the | Duke of Montrose. Duke of Montrose was by Waverly, a son of imported Australian, I from Kelpie, a daughter of imported Bon- | nie Scotland, tracking on back to the great mare Levity. Mr. Labolds Kentucky Derby winner had the Australian— Bonnie Scotland cross, close up. It will be news to many that In addition to the auction pools sold when the first Derby was run in 1875, the pari-mutuel machines were given a successful tryout. The Kentucky Derby has always been a popular race, and even in its early years attracted immense crowds. It was estimated that over 10,000 witnessed the first Derby, while in 1885, 20,000 crowded the grandstand, clubhouse and overflowed in the field. The first appearance of the tallyho at the Derby was in 1882, at the eighth running, when CoL M. Lewis Claik, president of the Louisville Jockey Club, rode to the track with a number of his guests. At the Derby of 1883 Colonel Clark, with characteristic generosity, threw the inner field open to the public, and 5,000 men, women and children, white and black, thronged there to see Leonatus carry off the great race. Man o War did not start in the Kentucky Derby, but his son, Clyde Van Dusen, won the race in 1929. The gray colt Enlister ran a wonderful race in the first Derby, though the racing guides tell no story of his brilliant perfor-ance. He was one of those starting in the rear division and, after meeting with mucn hard luck, finished lapped on the three placed horses. In recent years as many as 150 airplanes, carrying nearly 500 passengers, have added a new and novel means of transportation to the big race. Jockeys who rode winners of the Derby, who afterwards became prominent as trainers, include Vincent Powers, W. Knapp, Joe Notter, John Loftus, Roscoe Goose and Earl Sande. It was in 1908 that Vincent Powers rode Wintergreen to victory; Goose was on Worth in 1912, Joe Notter on Regret in 1915, John Loftus on George Smith in 1916 and Sande has a triple to his credit — Zev, in 1923; Flying Ebony, in 1925, and Gallant Fox. in 1930. Hindoo was one of the greatest of the great that won the Derby. He scored his victory as long ago as 1881, but even today his name is frequently mentioned by turf followers when they wish to emphasize the speed of some horse when they say: "He is a regular Hindoo." Chance Sun, winter book favorite for the 1935 Derby, which failed to get to the post for the big race, is attempting a come-back and has been training with his stablemate Brevity, the 1936 winter book favorite, since his slashing victory in the Florida Derby. Warren Wrights Nellie Flag was the post time favorite for the 1935 Derby, but, like others of her sex, except Regret, failed to win, finishing fourth. . Mrs. Ethel Mars of Chicago, who has two formidable candidates for this years Derby in The Fighter and Sangreal, saw her colors carried into third place in the 1935 running, Omaha and Roman soldier leading home her Whiskolo. Boxthorn, the colorbearer of Col. E. R. Bradley and third choice for the 1935 race, probably was one of the worst representatives of Idle Hour Farm, finishing in six-I teenth place after quitting badly. Col. Matt Winn is the authority for the statement that the paid attendance at Churchill Downs on Derby day 1935 established a new record. The estimate was more than 70,000. Both Coldstream and Bien Joli, prominent eligibles for the sixty-second running of the Derby, won races as two-year-olds on Derby j day of 1935, the first mentioned in new track record time of :52-s for four and one-half furlongs. Roman Soldier, second in the Derby of 1935, was a winter racing sensation of 1935, winning five out of seven starts, including a notable victory in the Texas Derby. Lord Derby, scion of English nobility, after one of whose ancestors the worlds famous Epsom Derby was named, and after which the Kentucky Derby was patterned, was the guest of honor at Churchil Downs on May 17, 1930, when the fifty-sixth Kentucky Derby was run and won by Gallant Fox. Lord Derby had intended being present on May 2 this year, but the death of King George and his duties in connection with taking over the racing of King Edwards horses prevented him from accepting the invitation of Col. Matt Winn. The late Harry Payne Whitneys Whichone and Boojum, the best two-year-olds of 1929. were not entered in the Kentucky Derby of 1930. New Broom, the highest priced yearling of 1928, which brought 5,000 at the Saratoga sales, was entered in the Kentucky Derby of 1930, but did not start. Broadway Limited, another high priced yearling, costing 5,000, was entered In the same race and started, but finished unplaced. A total of 101 sires were represented in the 196 entries for the 1928 Kentucky Derby and twenty-one were foreign-bred. Of the sixty winners of the Kentucky Derby, forty-five have be m direct descendants of the line of Eclipse. The Herod line has produced ten. the last of which was Alan-a-Dale, in 1902. The Matchem line produced six, Clyde Van Dusen, son of Man o War, being the most recent.
