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GROOMING FAMOUS GELDINGS Parade of Past Greats Planned for Keeneland April 20; Handlers of Old Champions Taking Great Tains In Preparing Their Charges for Parade. LEXINGTON, Ky., April 9 No trainer of, any Kentucky Derby candidate Is exercising more meticulous care in the preparation of his horse than are the men who are getting their charges ready for the showing of famous geldings during the spring race meeting at Keeneland race course here. The gelding show, which will be hold Tuesday, April 20, promises to be one of the brightest attractions on the entire spring program of Lexingtons races, which opens Saturday, April 17, and closes eleven days later, Thursday, April 29. Ordinarily farm managers drop into the background once they have sent their young horses off to race tracks after carefully bringing them to racing age. At that time the stables trainer steps into the picture, gives interviews on the possibilities of his horses while the farm manager goes about his chores of preparing more young horses for the trainer. FARM MANS CHANCE. The Keeneland show, however. Is offering farm men their greatest opportunity in a long time to parade the fruit of their efforts before race track fans and get full credit for their work. Each farm man is making the most of the opportunity. A visit to the Blue Grass farms, where the noted geldings were retired at the end of. their racing careers, reveals the pains to which farm managers are going in order to have the veterans of racing in perfect trim for the show. .Mike Hall, Sarazen, Os-mand. Jolly Roger, Clyde Van Dusen and Cherry Pie, all included in the entry list, are being galloped daily to work them down to a keen edge for the show. Thirty-four-year-old Merrick is not being worked under saddle but he is receiving ample attention. Stable grooms have been given instructions not to spare the brush in putting a sleek coat on their horses. At feeding time the old fellows get extra rations to add to that sheen. PRAISE OLD SARAZEN. Derby candidates may be working on the same farm, but to those stable grooms the Derby eligible is just another race horse while "this fellow is a real champion." To hear the grooms talk there isnt one horse in the current crop of three-year-olds that would have a chance in a race against the veteran geldings not even today. "Huh," grunted the stable boy as he looked up from rubbing Sarazen, "thl3 old mans still got mo stuff than a handful o them three-year-olds you newspaper guys is toutin as Derby hosses. Me n you could ride ol Sarazen n hed still win." As a matter of fact, each of the geldings Is rounding into- perfect trim, seeming to. sense that he is about to return to the race track. Except for the added weight packed up during retirement, each one of the. veterans appears fit enough to run, what the boys who are exercising them are itching to. do in the parade.
