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■ 1 ! ■ ___- HHiHi REFLECTIONS * *y Ne4*m Duasto* Derby Is as Open as Wide Open Spaces Jeep, Hoop Jr. Share Easts Support Arcaro, Ben Jones Hope to Tie Records Imported Sires Have Strong Chance NEW YORK, N. Y., June 8. Derby Dope: Less than 5,000 witnessed the first running of the Kentucky Derby, on May 17, 1875. ... It was worth ,850 to the winner. . . . Hindoo, 1881; Halma, 1395. and Agile, 1905, all all paid paid 1 1 to to 3, 3, while while Donerail, Donerail, winner winner in in ■ 1 ! ■ all all paid paid 1 1 to to 3, 3, while while Donerail, Donerail, winner winner in in 1913, paid 84.90 on a two-dollar ticket. . . . The Derby had only three starters in 1892. 1899 and 1905, but in 1928 there were 22 at the post, Reigh Count winning. . . . The starting gate was first used in 1930. . . . Five mutuel machines were in operation in 1908, but now there are 200. . . . Col. E. R. Bradley won with: Behave Yourself, 1921; Bubbling Over, 1926: Burgoo King. 1932, and Brokers Tip, 1933. . . . Calumet Farm won with Whirlaway in 1941 and Pensive in 1944. . . . . . . Three Three maidens maidens were were winners winners — — Buchanan, Buchanan. . . . . . . Three Three maidens maidens were were winners winners — — Buchanan, Buchanan. HHiHi Sir Barton and Brokers Tip. . . . Two favorites who finished absolutely last were Alard Scheck, 1901, and Abe Frank, 1902. . . . Pensive won 4,675 last year, this being the highest purse of all time. . . . Whirlaway established the Derby record when he ran the one and one-quarter miles in 2:0123 in 1941. . . . Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey on a mount tomorrow who previously won a renewal, piloting Lawrin, 1938. and Whirlaway, 1941. Tomorrows seventy-first running of the Kentucky Derby Is more open than the wide-open spaces. It is the East versus the West. While Arcaro, on Hoop Jr., and the skill of Ben Jones are known factors, there are many which are unknown. The biggest of these is that the eastern horses and those from the West have yet to meet, therefore there is no definite yardstick of comparison. Jeep. Hoop Jr. and Alexis campaigned in the East, while Pot o Luck. Burning Dream and Darby Dieppe were winners in the West. If they are the most likely six, it remains that Air Sailor, Bymeabond. Foreign Agent and Fighting Step are four more that must be accorded a chance to take down the long end of the rich purse. Jeep and Hoop Jr.. winners of the two divisions of the Wood Memorial, could be first and second choices with the easterners. The latter will have the services of Eddie Arcaro, who is now riding in the best form of his career. Arcaro will have an added incentive in that a victory would give him the honor of joining Isaac Murphy and Earl Sande. the only two jockeys to ride three renewals since the Derby was inaugurated in 1875. Veterans appear to feel that the eastern trio have an edge over the three who are the main representatives of those who campaigned in the West. The results of the Blue Grass Stakes, in which Darby Dieppe was the winner, apparently had much to do with this. Reading the chart, it would appear that both Burning Dream and Pot o Luck had excuses, and that, as far as they are concerned, the race must be thrown out. Further, it never pays to underestimate a Bradley horse trained by Jimmy Smith, nor a Calumet horse trained by Ben Jones. Both are masters of their profession, and you can depend upon it that Colonel Bradleys Burning Dream and Calumet Farms Pot o* Luck will be dead-fit horses when they go to the post. Ben Jones will be shooting for his fourth Derby victory, as he saddled Lawrin in 1938, Whirlaway in 1941 and Pensive in 1944. Pot o Luck has not been sensational in his races to date, but he is by Chance Play, and thus of the Fair Play line. He should show to best advantage at the mile and a quarter of the Derby route. Strangely enough, Pot o Luck and Burning Dream are the only two of the first six we named in the opening paragraph who are by American sires. Burning Dream is a son of Bimelech, who ran second to Gallahadion in the Derby renewal of 1940. Darby Dieppe, the third western hopeful, is by Foray II. The three eastern representatives are beautifully bred and the Derby victory will go far in pointing them out as stallion prospects. Jeep is a bay colt by Mahmoud — Traffic, by Broomstick, thus a half-brother to the stake winners The Bull and Roustabout. Hoop Jr. is a son of Sir Gallahad III., out of One Hour, by Snob II., second dam Daylight Savings, who produced the stake winners Recreation, Clock Tower and Gusto. Alexis is by Heliopolis by Hyperion, out of Misleading, by Sweep, thus a half-brother to the three stake-winning fillies Mislead, Idle Miss and Miss Ferdinand. These three colts are but indications of the important part that imported sires have played in the breeding structure of this country during the present generation. The Epsom Derby will share the attention of the world with the Kentucky Derby tomorrow. This is the first time in history that the two famed events have been run on the same day and, in all probability, it will be the last, for in 1946 the Kentucky Derby will be moved back to a renewal early in May. Next year the Epsom Derby will move back to Epsom, its home grounds. Dante, a son of Nearco — Rosy Legend, is tomorrows favorite for the Epsom event, at 5 to 1, while Court Martial, the second choice, is still quoted at 8 to 1. It would be a feather in the cap of Hyperion, Englands leading sire, if his grandson Alexis were to win the Kentucky Derby and either High Peak or Sun Honey were to take the English event, as both of these three -year-olds are sired by him. While England has "muddled through" during the bombing, the substitute renewals have been staged, making it a continuous race since 1780. In the years to come, due to improvements in air transportation, it may be that these two world-famous Derbies will be linked more closely, the winners of both events meeting, as Zev and Papyrus did in 1923.
