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1 BETWEEN RACES * «c« ore CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 6. — Tomorrow will be the day of days for Col. Matt J. Winn, the grand "young" man of the Kentucky Derby. The jubilee running will stand as a monument to a lifetime of effort to improve the turf in general and the Kentucky Derby in particular. There are many facets to the Derby structure. To the breeders it is a "breeders special," to the horsemen a great classic, and to the public it is not only Americas number one racing spectacle, but it is "their own" particular race. It might be said that the Derby is, perhaps, the only truly national ♦ace in America, in that it draws its patronage from the entire continent. The sheer excellence of the race has put it above criticism, so to speak, for the Derby has done so in the past and, we rather imagine, will continue to do so in the future. Past criticisms of the Derby have seemed rather shallow when, year after year, the Derby has merited public support that has effectively silenced a few carpers. As a matter of fact, the Derby has provided a beneficial influence over the turf as a whole, for no other race has ever been able to arouse and sustain public interest on a nationwide scale. This, in turn, has created more turf interest in the many local or regional areas in which racing is offered. AAA It might be remarked that while the Diamond Jubilee running may justly be termed a landmark of the race, the future has an even greater prospect in store. For the Derby is a race that grows from year to year, and what Diamond Jubilee Derby Running Is at Hand Qualifies at Once as Peoples Race, Classic Weidekamp Gives Insight Into Tote Operation A Compote Footing for Classic Starters it will be like 25 years hence when the Centennial running will be celebrated is anyones guess, but that guess must, of necessity, be a Derby enriched in prestige, available to the vision of more and more people and one which will reflect the dignity, the prestige and the glory of the American turf. It might be mentioned in passing that one of the items mentioned in connection with the Derby is the gala atmosphere prevailing in Louisville Derby week. This is only to be expected, with tens of thousands of out-of-state visitors on hand. The fans themselves, taking the race as their own, have created this atmosphere. It is now an accepted part of the Derby tradition. The people would not have it otherwise if they could. It long has been a theory of many that horse racing should be fun along with everything else. The Derby most certainly measures up to any standards set by anyone. The Derby is all things to all men with an interest in the thoroughbred horse. AAA Among the "key men" you will not see in person on Derby Day but whose able executive direction will enable you to wager on the horse of your choice with a minimum of effort is E. A. Weidekamp, the director of pari-mutuels. Weidekamp is a veteran at the Downs, having served Col. Matt J. Winn in the early days, when all tickets were sold out of the racks. A new all-time record number of clerks will be on hand to serve Derby patrons this year, for Weidekamp, like other Churchill Downs officials, believes the very lustre of the Diamond Jubilee running will bring out a record throng. To be exact, there will be 411 sellers and 394 cashiers. The most of the expansion in the "tote" department this season has been in the infield. The sellers and cashiers will r-ft,, sprinkled among the patrons for about half a mile. »t one time tickets were sold adjacent to the starting point, but that post has proved inadvantageous with the advent of the "tote." As in past years, fans will be able to wager on the Derby at special booths from 10 oclock in the morning until the off of the fifth. Weidekamp provides one insight into the "tote" operation on Derby Day that wouldnt happen anywhere else. The department fully expects to cash a number of winning tickets on Citation, held by fans since last years race. AAA "A lot of people wager on the Derby, it seems," says Weidekamp "and in their hurry to get to their transportation accommodations to take them to their homes most all over the country, stick their winning tickets in their pockets and wait for the next year to cash. Their money, of course, is waiting for them. Kentucky is one state where the fan is always entitled to his money. A winning wager may be cashed 100 years from now just as freely as it could be cashed immediately after the official. Strangest case I ever ran into on that score concerned Continued on Page Fourteen BETWEEN RACES It By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Sixty-Four a house painter at the old Latonia track. He purchased a winning ticket and the day being hot and he being coatless stuffed the ticket in his shirt pocket. On getting home that night he forgot it. His wife cleaned his shirt before washing it and put the ticket on a high ledge in the kitchen. She, too, forgot about it. Four years later he decided to paint his own house and thus came across the winning ticket. When he presented the ticket we all were curious and he told us the story." It might be mentioned in this respect that some states treat race track patrons rather shabbily in this regard. The "outs," as the uncashed tickets are known to the trade, become the property of the state and are declared void and uncollect-able, unless payment is demanded within a specified time, usually a short period. AAA Diamond Jubilee Derby starters will be racing over a strip "just a bit different but essentially the same" as in the previous 74 Derby runnings. Old-timers here are well aware of the fact that the Derby has been raced over the identical soil in all runnings. The track itself has not been moved, nor materially altered, since Aristides scampered around the oval in the storied year of 1874. But Tom Young, the track superintendent and another Churchill fixture, advises that this year has seen the realization of a new Derby goal, namely a reconditioning of the track each two years without resoiling. "Every other year we resurface with a compote designed and aged particularly for this purpose but we do not actually resoil the track," explained Young. "This season, our goal has been achieved. Our track is the safest it has ever been as morning trials and races bear witness. The compote has given the track life and resiliency and its safety factor is the highest in Downs history. Yet the essential qualities of the Churchill Downs footing have not been changed. We make no effort at any time to either speed Churchill up or slow it down. We like to keep it the same from year to year. This makes possible one method of comparison of the winners from season to season, other things being equal."
