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KEENELAND OPENS FIRST SPRING MEETING TODAY ELEVEN IN HEADLINER Phoenix Handicap Feature of Inaugural Day at Lexington. Horses More Numerous and of Bet-ter Class Than for Initial Meeting in 1936. LEXINGTON, Ky., April 16. Keenelands first spring meeting will be inaugurated here tomorrow with sports lovers of the Blue Grass eager for the return of the racing and approximately six hundred horse3 ready to provide the action at the beautiful course of rustic design constructed last year at a cost of 00,000 by local sportsmen and business leaders. Except for cool weather, prospects for the opening of the eleven day meeting are good and the track is expected to be in fast condition, although it was in slower order today. A field of eleven older horses has been named for the inaugural feature the Phoenix Handicap, at six furlongs, with ,500 added, but much interest is being shown in the Faraway Purse, which wiU bring out some of the Kentucky Derby candidates prepared in this vicinity and in the Owners Handicap engaging several good performers over the one mile and a sixteenth distance. COUNT MORSE AT TOP. Heading the Phoenix field is Count Morse, four-year-old star of the Calumet Farm stable, which raced with distinction during the Hialeah Park meeting. The son of Reigh Count and Nellie Morse will carry 120 pounds and will have Irving Anderson in the saddle. Second in the weights, with 117 pounds is Capt. Cal, capable sprinter from the Tranquillity Farm stable, which will have Wha Hae as a running mate. Basil James, leading rider last year, will have the mount on Capt. Cal. Bow to Me, a member of the E. R. Bradley stable, which has been prepared at Idle Hour Farm, was named by trainer H. J. Thompson, and will carry 112 pounds. Appealing, the Motor City Stable runner, will have an impost of 113 pounds. Others in the field are Howard Oots Marica, which raced well in California and Arkansas; Hal Price Headleys Pelerine and Preecminent; James W. Parrishs Proph, E. W. Duffys Sir Jim James and Adolf, owned by J. HL Gaines. Proph is the only three-year-old in the field. With all starting, the Phoenix will have a gross value of ,4000, of which the winners net share will be ,425. Second money will be 00, third 50 and fourth, 00. Count Morse is expected to rule the favorite with Marica also coming in for strong support because of their winter records. KENTUCKY DERBY ELIGIBLE. Six of the eight three-year-olds composing the overnight field for the Faraway Purse, a dash of six furlongs, are eligible to the Kentucky Derby, although none are considered among the more prominent can- Continued on twenty-seventh page. KEENELAND OPENS FIRST SPRING MEETING TODAY Continued from Irst page. dictates for that race. Solar Hawk and Proph are the non-eligibles, the others being Albubble, Chigre, Candlelight, Kermay, White Tie and Valted. The last named colt is a mate of Solar Hawk in the Valdina Farm. C. V. Whitneys Black Look, Calumet .Farms Gosum and Hal Price Headleys Old Nassau are Derby eligibles among the nine three-year-olds named for the third race, also at six furlongs. Black Look, which displayed good promise in his four starts last season, beating a fine field at Belmont Park last spring, has been training at the Whitney Farm, while Gosum has been working right along with Galsun at the Calumet Farm. Old Nassau did his training at Keeneland. This event is fashioned for non-winners of two races. OWNERS HANDICAP. Six horses are in the Owners Handicap, for which the imposts are named by the owners, being limited to the weights of the riders who are engaged. Brush Hook, Giant Killer and Whipowill each will carry 105 pounds, and Stocks, Compensatory and Black Gift 100 pounds each. Every department was pronounced ready for the opening and the plant itself was in spick and span order, appearing much more attractive than for the opening last fall, because of the growth of grass and shrubbery, while the infield lake holds a large amount of water. Luncheon reservations will tax the capacity of the clubhouse. With a much larger list of horses than was available last fall, large and representative fields of horses are expected throughout the meeting, with principal interest being centered in the Derby candidates. The most prominent of these are due for an important qualifying test in the ,000 added Blue Grass Stakes, which will be offered on Thursday, April 29, the final day of the meeting. OTHER KEENELAND STAKES. The other stakes to be decided are the Ben Ali Handicap, ,500 added, for three-year-olds and upward, to-be run next Saturday over the one mile and one-sixteenth dis- tance. On the following Tuesday the Lafayette Stakes, with ,500 added, for two-year-olds, at four furlongs, will be staged. All of the Keeneland Stakes are revivals of features formerly offered at the old Kentucky Association course, which has been dismantled and is now the site of a government re-housing project. The Phoenix Handicap field is as follows: PP. Horse. WL Jockey. 1 tPreeminent ....110 H. Dabson 2 Marica 110 B, Dotter 3 Adolpf 98 4 :Capt. Cal 117 B. James 5 Sir Jim James. ..103 J.Rosen G :Wha Hae 113 B. James 7 Proph 103 8 Count Morse 120 1. Anderson 9 tPelerine 110 10 Bow to Me 112 11 -Appealing 113 H. Louman tH. P. Headley entry. JH. H. Cross entry.
