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By OSCAR OTIS GARDEN STATE PARK Camden N J May 5 With national three yearold interest now swinging toward the Preakness you might be interested to know what transpired at Churchill Downs before the Derby running in regard to the infamous unauthorized ad of one of the Mary jocKey uu uuthe the Kentucky D erby because of its carnival atmosphere Messrs John O Needles and Dave Woods made a spe ¬ cial trip to Louisville to personally apologize on behalf of the Maryland Jockey Club to Col Matt J Winn Colonel Winn it may be reported was most gracious in his acceptance and informed the Maryland people that he knew in his heart at the time and before the apology that there was something wrong somewhere just what 4 he didnt know and refused to believe from the begin ¬ ning that the disparaging remarks represented the offi ¬ cial attitude of the Maryland Jockey Club He further told the Maryland people that the unfortunate ad in a Baltimore paper did not hurt Churchill Downs or the Derby at all but may haVe been harmful to racing racingA A A A One of the most interesting phases of the American racing scene is the vast differences in atmosphere in the various sections of the country To our mind some of the most popular racing in the nation is that offered at various state and county fairs There is a free arid in formal air about the proceedings the racing is quite com ¬ petitive At Calgary for instance there are chuck wagon races to enliven the card among other extra events during stampede time Californias natty half jniler Pompona has vaudeville acts between every race and they handle so much money there that on6 year the track was the third ranking in the state being surpassed only by Santa Aiiitaand Hollywood Park in daily aver Matt Winn Understanding on Derby Slur Racing Varies Widely Across the Nation Sport Popular at State County Fairs Popcorn One Gauge of Tracks Atmosphere age handle As for the Kentucky Derby the fans come from all over the nation to see a great threeyearold classic and if said fans wish to make a merry picnic as an incidental and they enjoy themselves and are having fun why so much the better A A A AJnn Jnn Boland who rode Lieut Gibson to victory in 1900 told us in Louisville that in those years the people drove for days in carts and wagons to see the race camped nearby and jthat even then the infield was a popular place to bring out lunch and beverages for the family and have a truly grand time of it The holiday air inci ¬ dent to the Derby is a natural outgrowth of the fact that the majority of Derby patrons are from outoftown What better way than to witness a grand horse 1ace than by making a holiday of the trip an adjunct adjunctA A A A ANo No other race on the continent draws people in vol ume from away points The Preakness is a proud Mary ¬ land tradition and while it does draw considerable out oftown patronage we rather imagine that the bulk of the throng on a Preakness Day is of Marylanders The Belmont Stakes is run in stride with no noticeable jam mingxof inbound New York trains Chicago stakes cater pretty well to iChicagolanders and visitors in town on other business JThe Santa Anita Handicap annually draws quite a few people from the East and a lot of folks from San Francisco but there is no tide toward Santa Anita as prevails upon Louisville Under these circumstances it is only to be expected that the at ¬ mosphere of Louisville would be more festive than any ¬ where else A A AIncidentally Incidentally the thought given by management to seemingly insignificant items is amazing Long and lengthy discussions have been made by boards of direc ¬ tors over such an item as to or not for sell popcorn Sounds silly doesnt it However on closer inspection there is more involved to it than that Santa Anita for instance does not sell popcorn or rather Harry Cur land caterer there does not The reasons advanced by Curland are several and if you are interested here they are 1 Popcorn is messy and adds considerably to the janitoring problems as well as cluttering up the under looting for the patrons during the late races 2 Fans will according to a Curland survey take the pains to toss a paper cup in a waste basket used for beverages but a lightweight popcorn bag is tossed on the floor or lawn 99 times out Of 100 3 The sale of popcorn doesnt quite fit into the tone of the beautiful park that is Santa Anita or for that matter Hollywood Park too Hence ho popcorn At Churchill Downs one could hardly imag ¬ ine a Derby without popcorn for the puffedup grain is the favorite betweenraces snack of millions The pop ¬ corn faction always misses it at Santa Anita and new ¬ comers to the track always ask where they can get it Regardless of which side you are on in he matter it is the prerogative of management to decide for itself It is little items like this which in the aggregate add into the tone and atmosphere of any racing plant Intrin ¬ sically the running of the Derby has nothing to do with its setting You may recall that during the war it was proposed hat the Derby be run even if the track was closed and no people were in the stands Such a run ¬ ning wpuldihaVebeeri in every sense of the word a true Derby Any carping over the character of crowd and setting for any racer is quite beside the point
