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! 1 | , ■ 1 ] « . J ! ! ; i ■ * ! 1 I I t I I 1 L I L 1 L " i 2 ■ i , - - J 1 * * j Derby and WeatheB Topics at Louisviilfl Visitors Swarming Into City From All Sectors Represent Cross-Section of America By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 6. — Traditional excitement of a Kentucky Derby running held this home of the three-year-old classic in its grip today as tens of thousands of Derby fans, with their pulses beating fast, descended upon Louisville. The city took on a gay and festive atmo- ; sphere. Downtown Louisville broke out in a rash of decorations, the lobbies of all I hotels were jammed. 4 Most everyone was talking about two A subjects, and two subjects only, the Derby itself and the weather. Despite the factM that Olympia is rated as the solid pre-race M opinion, a surprising amount of supports has been attracted by other starters in thefl race, and many deem the race to be quiteM open. Palestinian. Old Rockport, JohnsM Joy, Ponder and the Greentree entry of W Capot and Win£ List do not lack for sub _■ stantial backing. These fans insist that™ "Olympia may be the favorite, but hellM have to win to convince us that hes a J better horse than Palestinian," or one ol At the other horses they fancy to beat tlw ■ choice. fl Forecast Humid Weather M The weather continued hot and fair and everyone hoped it would remain so. TheB forecast is for continued humid weather, ■ with scattered thunder showers tomorrow M Perhaps these showers will pass up the A immediate Derby area. But never before I has it been so evident that entire city is I rooting for fair weather. The entire popu- I lation, it seems, wishes Col. Matt J. Winn ■ a perfect setting for the Diamond Jubilee ■ running of the race he has made world famous. a The crowds are coming by every conceiv-M able form of transportation, except thatM perhaps of an ox team and a covered™ wagon. Special trains are setting a record I for their numbers the flights into Standif erd ■ Field resemble an air lift operation, and! motorists, of course, are jamming the high- A ways leading into Louisville from all points of the compass. Even boat transportation A is being used, a river steamer being sched- A uled to arrive in the morning laden with Cincinnatians. 1 The crowd contains a cross section of 1 America, so to speak. Among the vast 1 throng were many racing notables from m other sectors, and the breeding world is 1 particularly well represented. The world I of industry, the theater and politics saw 1 many of its leading executives, entertainers J and elected officials in town and partici- m pating in the whirl of entertainment al-J| ways evident on Derby eve. | That the Diamond Jubilee running would A attract a record-breaking crowd seemed* evident weeks ago when hotels reported that reservations were at a new all-time 1 high. Box sales were at a new all-time rec- I ord also, inasmuch as improvements made J to the historic Churchill plant during the 1 past year had increased the seating capac- j ity considerably. Requests for advance res- U ervations have kept a staff busy at theB Downs for the past three months. M The crowd found emple "doings" in 1 Louisville upon their arrival. Hotels, res- 4 taurants, night clubs, many of them with j "talent" imported from New York, Chicago 1 and Hollywood, were doing a brisk busi-jJ ness. Theatres, stores, and in fact all lines | of business in Louisville felt the impact J of the Derby throng. Hundreds of citizens j made rooms available in private residences J to visitors unable to obtain hotel accommo- j dations. I
