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. Hoop Jr. Wins Kentucky Derby Easily With Pot o Luck Second EDDIE ARCARO— Equaled the record of j Isaac Murphy and Earl Sande of riding three Kentucky Derby winners when he ] guided Hoop Jr. to a front-running tri- I ,1 umph in the seventy-first running of the Downs classic. Outruns Rivals by Six Lengths To Give Arcaro Third Triumph Hooper Colt Takes Early Lead on Muddy Strip and Never Is Headed; Calumet Homebred Closes Fast to Overtake Darby Dieppe; 75,000 Witness Stakes Richest Renewal LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 9. — To the accompaniment of the cheering of an enormous and enormously excited crowd of nearly 75,000. jockey Eddie Arcaro rolled Fred Hoopers Hoop Jr. to a six lengths victory in the seventy-first and richest of the Kentucky Derbies at Churchill Downs here this showery afternoon. "Junior" took the track at the outset of the history-making mile and a quarter and just about drowned his 15 rivals, flaunting the Alabamans red, white and blue over the distance in the mud in 2:07, a rate of speed that had Calumets stretch-running Pot o Luck driving to wrest the place a half length before Mrs. W. G. Lewis Darby Dieppe. Another head away and Air Sailor was a receding ►fourth. The Hooper colt earned a net prize of 4,850 and gave Arcaro his third victory in the stake, enabling the Newport. Kentuckian to equal the feats of Earl Sande and Isaac Murphy. There wa» no visible excuse for any of the beaten horses, and Hoop Jrs conquest was immensely popular, as the throng made him a strong second choice to Pot o Luck. The son of Sir Gallahad III., a 0,200 yearling, is the third of his sires get to win the "Run for the Roses." and his was a more emphatic triumph than either Gallahadions or "The Fox of Belair s." Running over the first muddy track since 1929 he bettered Clyde Van-Dusens time in that renewal by three and four-fifths seconds. I Raced in Firmest Footing The running of this Derby can be adequately described as "try and catch me, if 1 you can" race. The 16 lined up abreast at ! the quarter pole, starter Ruby White pulled j the tripper, and the Hoop began to roll in I front. He left the gate from the twelfth po-I sit ion, remained out in the firmest footing in the sprint to the clubhouse turn, and shook off Sea Swallow and Alexis without apparent effort through the backstretch. He suffered Bymeabond to remain a length and a half of him swinging around the Continued on Page Seven Hoop Jr. Annexes Derby With Ease Outruns Opponents by Six Lengths to Give Arcaro Third Success in Event Continued from Page One crucial final bend, then sallied down the alley, opening up six. Pot o Luck, last to be loaded into the gate, was last heading into the first turn, picked up tired horses while racing on the rail around the "hot corner." and withstood Darby Dieppe for the place by a resolute half length. He had the stamina to finish on. but insufficient speed. Darby Dieppe was another who ran lack-adaisacally for the first six furlongs, then gathered momentum. He improved his position steadily curving for home, well off the rail, but was hanging when Pot o Luck went to him. Air Sailor ran a fair race. He looped a ! • part of the field after rating to the last j quarter mile, but was on a treadmill from the sixteenth pole home. Jeep was perfectly placed in the early running, lost some ground on the back-stretch, moved up momentarily when Kirk-land called on him leaving that lane, then tired. Except for the proximity Bymeabond and Alexis enjoyed to Hoop Jr. early, none of the others were really ever "in it." A combination of the following fractions and the going tell the tale. :23%, :48, 1:14, 1:41 and 2:07. The size of the crowd becomes all the more remarkable in consideration of wartime transportation restrictions, limiting attendance to those within the area, and the dismal weather, particularly during the early morning. Indeed, the sun did not shine so brightly on the home folks Kentucky Derby, all day. But the crowds did not seem to mind when the rains came. The attendance was creditably near the Derby record, and its enthusiasm was in the true holiday tradition of past renewals. This was especially true of those collecting .40 for on . "Junior." Trainers and Breeders Share in Purse In addition to the record winners award, there were prizes of ,000. ,000 and ,000. respectively, for the next thre* at i the finish. Trainers and breeders also shared in this opulence, those who saddled the first, second, and third horses receiving awards of ,000, ,000 and ,000, respectively, and these horses breeders collecting ,000, ,000 and 00. All this not to mention the elaborate gold trophy presented Mr. Hooper by Governor Simeon Willis, of Kentucky, in the pomp and ceremony within the "charmed circle" following the race, a ceremony punctuated by flowery speeches and the usual wreath of roses. Mew Derby Handle Record The handle on the race, 76,408. was a Derby record. The winner seemed i fresher than any of his rivals upon returning to the enclosure, accompanied by Trainer Ivan Parke and the first Southerner . to win a Derby since Mrs. R. M. Hoots Black Gold in 1924. Hoop Jr. ships tomorrow to Pimlico, where he doubtless will be a prohibitive [ favorite to add the Preakness to his Louisville laurels. Howard Wells Equifox carried top weight of 122 pounds to a hard earned victory in | the eighth running of the mile Churchill Downs Handicap which was the days secondary event. Jockey Al Bodiou drove him 1 to the finish just the merest nod in advance of B. J. Baxs Sigma Kappa, the ? pacemaker, who held on stubbornly in the - drive when Equifox swept up from last t place on the turn to challenge. The Wells stallion conceded her 22 2 pounds and it was a good handicap so far r as concerned this pair. T. C. Melroses s Mina J. was beaten off in taking third i from Sentiment Sake and Marchon, who d completed the field. Equifox was a staunch . favorite and paid , going over the distance in a flat 1:40 out of the chute. This . marked his second appearance and second victory of the season. Woolf Astride Artillerist The Fort Knox, as the fifth event was called, was decided in the rain and found i George Woolf winning astride M. J. r. Hogans Artillerist in a field of six others s meeting at one mile. Artillerist was rated i along in front to the stretch, where he e began to tire but still won by three and i a half lengths at the direct expense of f Nostalgia. Two lengths farther back, Ro- ; mance Boy was third. The race was a i procession, but compensated the favorite e players for whatever it lacked as a spectacle by yielding them .40. The first indication of just how muddy _ the track was, was given in the first race, -. when Manipulate, the .60 favorite, ;- needed l:16s to complete the six furlongs. Although only a ,000 selling plater, Manipulated time was five and four-fifths s seconds off the track standard of ltlOs. Ridden by George Hettinger, Manipulate e beat Johnnie Ehret by five lengths, with h Lady Duane third. Queen Jody became a repeater at the e meeting when she beat five two-year-old d rivals, going five furlongs in the second ri race to pay .60.
