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SMALL FIELDS RACE AT DOWNS Enough Horses Remain for Final Days of Meeting — Plucky Byrd Wins the Opening Dash. LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 26.— Although small fields took part in a majority of the | races and seven of the eight events were under claiming conditions suiting platers of the cheaper grades, interesting contests were the rule rather than the exception at Churchill Downs this afternoon. The largest field under silks got into action for the second race, ten hardy old sprinters doing battle here while others of the fields ranged down to as few as five. With the Chicago major season opening at Lincoln Fields Monday and other racing points including Detroit, where the season will be ushered in on Saturday, attracting horses from this section, many stables have shipped away from Churchill Downs and Douglas Park in the past few days and large fields are out of the question as the local spring season nears its close. Ample material, however, for the final few days was seen by officials. The smallest field of the afternoon had the honor of appearing in the principal roles in the featured Cherokee Park purse which was the sixth race, engaging a quintet of capable performers at six furlongs. Summerlike weather prevailed and the track was fast. Plucky Byrd, racing under the gray and black colors of Junius W. Bell local patron I whose horses are trained by F. P. Letellier I drove to a popular victory over Gay Jane, 1 Hasty Ruth and four other juveniles in the first race. The youngsters measured strides for a distance of five furlongs, Plucky Byrd winning by a little less than a length as Gay Jane led Hasty Ruth by some five lengths. i A strong ride by Charles Rollins, who sev- 1 eral times displayed real skill, prevented I the successful son of Byrd from getting away with repeated attempts to swerve to i the inside. Had he succeeded he might have ! impeded both Gay Jane and Lovely Sister, j which cut out much of the pace. After many opportunities the five-year-old mare Gay Bubble, owned by R. O. Higdon, finally scored her first victory in two years when she narrowly defeated Arianna at six | furlongs in the second race. The mare, rid-I den by apprentice C. Perkins, scored by a j head while One Night, which took down i minor honors, reached the wire only a neck back of the runner-up. l
