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DERBY FIELD IN FORMATION Wood Memorial, Chesapeake and Other Stakes Determine Starters. El Chico Continues to Reign as Favorite, With Challedon Well Liked Others Esteemed Highly. LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 15. As the leading candidates for the Kentucky Derby begin to emerge from their quarters to participate in pre-classic engagements, the order in which they are admired by the public remains just as it was weeks ago, with the exception of Benefactor, who a few days ago was withdrawn from his spring engagements because of an injury. El Chico, unbeaten juvenile champion, owned by William Ziegler, Jr., continues to reign as the popular choice, with W. L. Branns Challedon still held in second highest esteem and William Woodwards Johnstown and Herbert M. Woolfs Technician close behind. Others not wanting for supporters are Hugh W. Jacksons Ariel Toy, William E. Boeings Porters Mite, Joe W. Browns T. M. Dorsett, A. G. Vanderbilts Impound, Mrs. Ethel V. Mars No Competition and Mrs. Bessie Franzheims Xalapa Clown, though the latter may not be regarded as highly today as he was a short while back. MOVING INTO SPOTLIGHT. While these colts are monopolizing the attention of the racing world as it prepares itself for its biggest annual spectacle, still Continued on twenty-seventh page. DERBY FIELD IN FORMATION Continued from first page. others less highly publicized are bidding for favor by the manner in which they are coming up to the sixty-fifth running of the Derby. Nice things, for instance, are being said of Emerson F. Woodwards Viscounty, Mrs. Payne Whitneys Hash, W: N. Potter, Jr.s Deil, Junius W. Bells Steel Heels, R. J. Klebergs Equestrian, Our Mat, stable companion of El Chico, and several others. While adverse breaks may beset some of the leading hopefuls before May 6, the excellent fashion in which most of them have come through the long spring training grind definitely indicates that their condition at this time is all that could be desired. Some important racing before the Derby is in store for several of the leading colts, with the Chesapeake Stakes down for decision at Havre de Grace a week from today, the Wood Memorial at Jamaica the following Saturday and the Derby Trial Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 2. The Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 22 is another test for three-year-olds, but its prospective starters will not include any of the top-notchers. The results of these races may juggle the order of rank among the principal Derby j threats, but they may not affect their starting in the Churchill Downs special. With the exception of El Chico, which stood head and shoulders above his rivals last year, eight or ten others appear to be evenly matched off their racing records. INTEREST IN TEST RACES. The -running of these races will be watched with keen interest and the winners of them will come in for greater distinction among the three-year-olds. It doesnt always follow that horses successful in the Chesapeake and Wood Stakes triumph or even prove contenders in the Kentucky Derby, but those races do give an early line on the respective merits of many of the candidates. The same can be said of the Derby Trial Stakes, which, however, was only an overnight race until last year when Lawrin, the Derby winner, was beaten a head by The Chief, who failed to place in the 0,000 feature at the longer distance of a mile and a quarter. In the meantime, Churchill Downs, presided over by Col. M. J. Winn, is in readiness for the Derby throng, which this year may be the largest in the history of the race. The Louisville meeting opens a week before the Derby and visitors coming from all parts of the country for that race will begin to arrive as the curtain goes up on April 29. All reserved seats for Derby day have been sold and the increased capacity of the plant will make it possible for more persons than ever before to view the race.
