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JUDGES STAND By Charles Hatton " Fresh Philosophy on Claiming Keeping Cases on Derby Hopes Flyweight Flashy New Starlet Tracks Now Bidding for Riders LOUISVILLE. Ky.. April 17. The alcove in which we amuse ourselves t and annoy our readers writing these effu- g sions was christened "Dead End" by a jour- J nalistic wit whom we s suspect of double en- I tendre. It is tastefully I furnished with four s walls and a ceiling. And 1 there is an intermina- t ble queue of visitors who give it the quaint pungent atmosphere of the stables. But if Dead 1 End is not an ideal 1 workshop, it has its i compensations. For in- i stance, the weather-beaten old gaffer who just departed brought us a cracker-barrel 1 philosophy on "the claiming race question." I as well as a quantity of loam with which 1 he resurfaced the carpet. Remarking on I the unusual number of horses — more than • 1.000 — quartered at Churchill Downs and Douglas Park this spring, he said: "I believe a good many horsemen shipped here instead of to New York, Maryland or New England, where the purses are larger, because they wish to replenish their stables in the claiming races. Horses they claim here automatically advance 00 in value when they are shipped to Chicago or the East. Some of these men lost horses in claiming races at Miami or New Orleans. They did not themselves make claims there because they could avoid shipping expenses by awaiting the spring season in the North. "There is a lot of claiming; this year, and there would be more except for the shortage of stable help. Then, too. one must have a starter in the race in which he files a claim, under Kentucky rules. In Illinois it is necessary only to have run a horse at the meeting. I am inclined to agree with your premise that the 25 per cent clause should be abolished." And our visitor continued: "Like graded handicaps, it makes for unformful racing. If I buy an automobile, for instance, it is my property. I can run it where I please and place upon it whatever valuation I choose. Further, if it has defective parts, the manufacturer replaces them. And if I drive it 50,000 miles, he does not want a 00 bonus because he did not think it would go that far!" The Derby prospectus was not altered in any remarkable degree by the results ofj week-end racing, Warren Wrights very British colt, Pensive, scarcely discredited himself in finishing second to the older | Tola Rose in the mud that obtained in, Pimlicos Bowie. Especially, if he wore his J protective bar. Also at Baltimore. Director J. E.. entered the Chesapeake picture with • splash, literally capturing the Finite. I Here at Derbytown, By Jimminy gave I earnest, if futile pursuit, to Roman Sox in • I the Phoenix, in which he was swathed in 1 j j bandages. As the field was marshalled I postward. Major Beard noted: "By Jim-| I miny looks well and has furnished out as j j a colt should from two to three." A few moments later, we chanced upon Alfred | Parker and Jimmy Smith, who said "We ; j are pleased over the way By Jimminy has done this spring, but we are trying not to | entertain any false hopes." Most railbirds ! funcy Pharamond II. s glossy son will require a great deal of beating in the Blue ; Grass a week from Wednesday. Col. C. V. Whitney has bred another talented runner in the diminutive Flyweight. This saucy sub-eb is a daughter of Firethorn — Fly Swatter and aired a quarter in :22 .-. around the turn, four and a half in :53-, while picking up her third purse in as many sallies postward. The going was "good," which is turf parlance for "not so good," and Coldstreams :52?5 track record remains intact because Flyweight did not find it necessary to exert herself. The Judge must confess he feels flattered by Flyweights showy form, having described Fly Swatter as the pick of Colonel Whitneys broodmares a couple of years ago. Whitney also bred Traffic Court, another clever winner as Keeneland-at-Churchill opened. Traffic Court disappointed when she was retired to be bred, as we recall, and was sold fur some such marked down sum as S1.500. The paucity of jockeys has created a demand . for their services which is quite as 3 extraordinary as the demand for grooms j and exercise boys. When the season attains 5 its height and numerous tracks are functioning . simultaneously, this shortage will 1 become acute. Thus the spectacle of tracks r. bidding for riders is not so surprising as it L is unusual. Sportsmans announces a program • of War Bond prizes for jockeys. The ; Randall Park Association, at Cleveland offers • as a decoy ,000 in awards "to be distributed • to the top four jockeys on an i aggregate point basis."
