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. — REFLECTIONS — By Nelson Dunstan Arcaro Concedes Crown to Hoop Jr. Maybe Pavot WiHObject Saturday Peter Pan Cap Is Caught in Middle Arcaro Learns Turf Fans Are Fickle NEW YORK, N. Y., June 13. We were riding on a train from Boston and read that Eddie Arcaro, riding home from Louisville, Ky., conceded the Triple Crown to Hoop Jr. That was very nice of Eddie, but we could not help but think that Pavot might have something to say about the Preakness — and possibly the Belmont. Arcaro is reported as having said, when asked about Hoop Jr., "None of these three-year-olds are going to bother him as long as he is sharp and the track can be cracker-dust or this deep in mud. You fellows dont seem to realize you saw a mighty good horse win the Derby." Ordinarily, Eddie Arcaro does not go overboard in rating a horse that he has ridden. It may even be that he is right about Hoop Jr. The manner in which he won the Derby | i j would indicate that he is a very good horse, but we still have a sneaking suspicion that Pavot is also a pretty good horse and if there is a hole in him, it is that he will find the mile and three-sixteenths beyond his capabilities. If we are wrong in that and he can carry his speed over a distance of ground, Hoop Jr. is going to find that he will have a speedy chunk of horseflesh running with him next Saturday. This has been a peculiar season for three-year-olds. On the lifting of the ban, little was heard but the comparative merits of Free for AH and Pavot. Then Pavot was defeated by Polynesian in the Withers and now the Preakness approaches with Hoop Jr., a horse who was not even given a rating in the Experimental Handicap, the king of his division. How many will battle the Hooper colt on the weekend is a question but our guess is that about 10 will face the starter. Sea Swallow, Burning Dream. Darby Dieppe and Bail Bond are on the grounds, along with Hoop Jr. from the West. Pavot and Polynesian have moved down from New York and it may be that three or four others will accept. Ben Jones has announced that Pot Luck will go to Chicago, while Col. C. V. Whitneys Jeep came on through to New York rather than stopping off at Baltimore. The division has thinned out quickly and we are afraid that instead of what looked in the beginning like a high-class group of three-year-olds is going to prove only average, with the usual two or three exceptions. The ,500 Peter Pan Handicap, to be run next Tuesday, is bound to suffer as a result of being betwixt and between thus Saturdays Preakness and the Belmont Stakes on the following week-end. Practically every well known three-year-old is on the Peter Pan eligibility list but it is doubtful if any of those who are now regarded as the topnotchers will be seen in the line-up. Quite a- few events have suffered due to the crowding of the stake programs caused by the ban. Ordinarily, the Withers is run between the Preakness and the Belmont, but this year it had to be run before the Kentucky Derby and yet so close to the latter event that a horse could hardly have competed in them both. There is another case which was unavoidable in the running of the Suburban in New York and the Dixie Handicap in Baltimore on Saturday So as to preserve the continuity of the "Triple Crown," it was necessary that the Pimlico management stage the Preakness this week-end and along with it the Dixie and other events which in normal years would have been spread out during the regular meeting. Even though the Dixie and Suburban clash on Saturday, both Pimlico and Belmont are due to draw large throngs. It seems that others, besides Arcaro, are conceding the second leg of the "Triple Crown" to Hoop Jr. but Pavot can hardly be discarded and we imagine quite a few in the Baltimore throng will be supporting the Jeffords champion. It seems certain that Devil Diver will remain in New York for the Suburban and. as is often the case, his absence from the Dixie will bring out a larger field than had he been present. The Dixie shapes up as an interesting race with the four highweights, next to Devil Diver, almost certain to go — namely, Bon Jour, Stymie, Megogo and Rounders. Alex Barth will probably remain in New York to battle for Suburban honors and with the Greentree star carrying 132, as compared to the 123 for the Millbrook racer, the event should be an interesting one from start to finish. It is a question now just how many of the other eligible* will face the starter in this 0,000 race. It did not take Arcaro very long to find out that the race-going public is more fickle than horses. When he came out for the first race, on Kings Feast at Belmont, Monday, he was given a rousing reception and he certainly deserved it. Prior to Saturday, only two jockeys have been able to win three Derby renewals — Eddie became the third when he piloted Hoop Jr. As he jogged back to the winners circle with Kings Feast at Belmont, the crowd broke out in a spontaneous ovation for one of the best race riders this, or any other country, has ever seen. But, a little later in the day, he was atop the odds-on favorite, Hazard. After taking a few strides with the field, Hazard suddenly bolted across the track. Instead of galloping the horse after the six who were staging the race, he awaited them and then rode back to take a brand of jeering that he certainly did not have coming to him. Day in and day out, Arcaro gives the public the best in him and his best is usually pretty good! He is as human as the j rest of us, but when a horse wheels, even the skill of an Arcaro I cannot stop it.
