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Iroquois Memorial Steeplechase Bids Fair of Becoming Top Sporting Event Horse Lovers Throng Side i Of Hill to Watch Running— Rockmayne Wins Race Again NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 14.— A steeplechase here bids fair to become one of the big sporting events of this country, namely, the Iroquois Memorial Steeplechase. In the spring of 1939 a group of horsemen here formed the Volunteer State Horsemens Association for the promotion of steeplechasing in this section. The venture was to be built around a race named for the great thoroughbred Iroquois. Already the organization has sold the Iroquois Memorial Steeplechase to Tennessee, and now its main object is to sell it to the United States. The first running, witnessed by a tremendous crowd, was in May, 1941. The second was last Saturday, and again the attendance was amazing. Middle Tennessee, heart and soul, is a horse country. The Iroquois Memorial Steeplechase has a colorful setting. Run here in the rich Blue Grass section of Tennessee, the same section which produced many champion race horses in the old days, it is decided on one of the most beautiful turf courses in the country. William duPont laid it out. No admission is charged. Horse lovers throng the side of a hill to watch the three-mile race in the valley below. The course is one and one-half miles. The sportsmen behind the race believe some day as many as 100,000 will watch it from the hillside. The course is in Warner Park, which is some 2,800 acres and is considered one of the most beautiful city parks in the country. Contestants Come From Other States The fact that horses came from other states to start in the Iroquois Memorial testifies to its appeal. P. T. Cheff shipped Bilboquet from Holland, Mich., for last Saturdays running. E. M. Jardan brought Sir John S. from Hickman Mills, Mo., and from Kentucky came Lowry Watkins with Rockmayne. It was Rockmayne s second start in the race — and his second victory. Watkins rode his bay gelding to a three-length triumph, with the Missouri horse, Sir John S., in second place. Bank Robber, a black gelding owned by John Sloan of Nashville, was third. Seven started. This section had big-time steeplechase racing more than ten years ago. It was conducted then by the Grasslands Racing Association, Inc. In 1927, the association was organized. Some of the prominent men behind it were Rogers Caldwell, of Nashville; William duPont, of Wilmington, Del.; Arnold Hanger and John Hay Whitney of New York; Col. Robert McCormick, of Chicago, and Julius Fleischmann of Cincinnati. There were many others. A million and one-half dollars was spent in building Grasslands Downs. It was in construction for more than a year. In December, 1930, and December, 1931, the Grasslands International Steeplechase Continued on Page Forty-Three. Iroquois Steeplechase Is Big Sporting Event Continued from Page Three was run. The best stables in the United States started horses. They came also from Prance and England. Only the Grand National, at Aintree, in England, compared with it in steeplechasing. Then came the depression. It killed Grasslands Racing Association, Inc. The course was sold in tracts at tremendous losses, and today almost all of it is now being farmed. The horse people here are determined. As soon as the depression was over, they organized the Volunteer State Horsemens Association the purpose being "to promote steeplechasing." The new organization is going strong.
