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I ~-_ - „- I 1 Connors Corner By "CHUCK" CONNORS Chief of Chart Correspondents JAMAICA, L. L, N. Y., May 1.— So you think the Kentucky Derby has just become a carnival of confusion in the last few years? Boys and girls, I ~-_ - „- I if if you you only only came came if if you you only only came came around in the past ten years or so, you aint seen nothin. Frank Hackett, whos been with the horses for 54 years and is now equine room clerk at Belmont Park, recalls the year he went to the Derby with Sam Hildreth. who had Bracadale and Mad Mad Play Play in in the the race. race. 1 Mad Mad Play Play in in the the race. race. Hildreth saddled Bracadale and Hackett saddled May Play, who was at the other end of the saddling enclosure. They were to meet in Col. Phil Chinns box after they took the horses to the track. "You know when I saw Hildreth next?" Hackett declared today. "Right Here at Belmont Park the next morning. He got lost in the crowd and never did see the race, which was just as well, because Bracadale finished third, but the judges mistook the colors and put up Beau Butlers number. There wasnt any camera in those days and it was a natural mistake, because Bradleys silks didnt have the hoops on them at that time and both horses carried white with green collar and cuffs. "After the race, Howard Oots, a good friend of mine, came to me crowing, Well, the hard boots ran one, two, three, four this year. I didnt say anything," Hackett said, "but it was tough on the stable boys who had all backed Bracadale at 60, 20 and 10 in the winter books. That wasnt all," the old-timer added. "I had a taxi waiting, rented it for 0 for the day, and I took Fator and Sande down to the station, where there were more than 30 special trains waiting. Sande went to buy a paper and the next time I saw him it was Monday morning, here at Belmont Park." Hackett, who always travels first-class as a first-class man should, boasts that he is the only man who ever could get a room to himself in the Brown Hotel in those days. "It was a double room, too," Hacket recalls with pardonable pride. Dan Chap-pell, president of the HBPA, came into Hacketts office while the veteran was reminiscing. Asked if he was going to the Derby, the* Florida attorney said, "Ive been to the Derby. Ill go again when I have a horse in the race, or when they pay me a fee, and I mean a fat fee. Why the last time I was there, we had to set up a table in the corridor outside the room and get our supper from room service. There were 20 of us sitting there making a dining room out of the corridor and other folks had tables set up on every floor. Nobody who stayed to see the Derby had a chance to get into any dining room in town before midnight." Note to Don Fair at Louisville, you know by this time that the boys who shipped down from New York are on no wild goose chase. They have a better chance than a whole lot of people think of picking up those marbles and the bunch of roses. Whatll they do with the roses is anybodys guess, but that coldwinners check will come in pretty handy. The. boys in the press coop toasted Hill Prince to a fare-the-well the other P. M. Owner Chenery sent up a case of grape after he won the Wood. You know that stuff that bubbles. Dont you remember when the second division was moving up to the Chemin Des Dames, the road of the ladies, when some guy out of the Ninth Infantry, found a cellar-full of the stuff and the headaches that resulted? And by the way, Max Hirsch is pretty high on his chances. Hes better than a green hand at that game. Tell the "Old Scot," Alec Gordon, that Tom Shaw said hello. And another thing, tell Jack and Anna Howard that I can still eat ham and eggs, that is country cured ham. Hows old Joe Keefe, still holding down that corner? He might have a good line on the local stuff as far as Derby chances are concerned. Another thing, call up old Pete Spalding, you know, the guy who washes everything but the baby. Tell him the "foreigners" from New York are moving down, and theyll bet him until the tows come home that he cant fill a flush or a straight, even if he uses his own cards. Theres a lot of guys I want to say hello to. When the old choo-choo thats pulling the George Washington comes into your town this week Ill be getting off. Hold everything until then and forget that saying that old soldiers never die. -They are too busy trying to figure out the Derby winner. Connors Corner Continued from Page Five Will see you soon. There will be a lot of guys from this mans town on hand when the big day comes around, some guys youll like. Major Albert Warner braved the elements to witness the running of Saturdays Jamaica card, but his thoughts were at Baltimore where his Fighting Fan was in competition . . . Mrs. Evelyn L. Hopkins made the trip from Cleveland to see her Three Rings perform Saturday. The track was muddy and her pet stayed in the barn. . -T. B. Martin was on hand for the afternoon. . .Jack Bridges, he is press relations officer for the Australian government, flew in from England and made the pilgrimage to Jamaica. His first visit. Joe Donoghue did the honors during the afternoon.. Bill Gargan, of the screen and footlights, played a -star role during the afternoon. He turned out a winner. Harry LaMontagne compared the weather in sunny France to the mists of Long Island. A well known trainer just back from Keeneland was asked for a description of the Derby favorite. Your Host. After considerable thought, the man said: "You know, he looks a heck of a lot like jockey Jimmy Nichols". . .Miss Katherine Healey, the teen age daughter of "Big Jim" the well known trainer, returned to Miami following a pilgrimage to Rome for Holy Year. She, with other communicants, had an audience with the Holy Father. . .Bill Gallagher made one of his rare appearances, as a matter of fact, his first, since Hialeah during the afternoon. . .Jockey Eric Guerin will take off for Derbytown on Friday. He is slated to ride On the Mark for the King Ranch. . .Murray Gross, the insurance executive from Boston, Mass., deserted Back Bay for the afternoon. Jamaica was too enticing ..Jockey Eddie Arcaro will fly to Louisville Friday evening. He will ride Battlefield for George D. WIdener in the Youthful that afternoon. . . John Swersey, the candy manufacturer, just returned from a business trip to Rio de Janeiro, in that fabled land of Brazil down South America way. He will be a one day host, during the Belmont Park meeting, to 150 women of the National Candy Association during the convention of that body in this city... Baron Long of San Diego, prominent figure in Southern California racing circles, was among the afternoons visitors. . .Dave Englander and Tommy Meade, a couple of veterans from the saddle ranks, compared the riders of their day to the present generation. The selections for tomorrow. Well, here they are: LOVELY HARDIE in the second race; MELODIOUS in the fourth and BALTIMORE JIM in the fifth.
