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Master of Fabulous Ranch Seeks Second Derby Score Robert J. Kleberg, Jr., master of King Ranch, whose red banner with the running "W" will be flaunted by Middleground and On the Mark in the Kentucky Derby, owns more of the good earth of these United States than any other individual-875,000 acres, to be exact. While the vast property, which comprises most of six Texas counties is known as King Ranch, from its founder, Klebergs grandfather, Texans refer to such farflung acres as "domaines." Kleberg is not a typical Texan, however. You have to approach within normal conversational range to hear him when he speaks in a pleasantly modulated voice, and that Continued on Page Thirteen Turfmen Express Opinion on Derby! — : — — — ♦ Snapshots of Kentucky Derby Personnel, Series of 1950 For Some It Represents ► New Glory; Another May Experience Initial Thrill Continued from Page Eleven which he has to say usually makes considerable sense. Kleberg, who has developed a breed of cattle all his own, involving a cross with Brahma bulls, may have caused some of his fellow Texans to look down their collective noses when, a few years ago, he acquired an extensive farm in Pennsylvania for the final fattening of his market cattle. However, the King Ranch thoroughbreds are all conceived and foaled in Texas, while the older horses annually winter in Columbia and campaign on the eastern seaboard, except for a division that races in California under the direction of W. J. "Buddy" Hlrsch, son of Trainer Max Hirsch. In 1947, he also acquired the Old Patrick Farm, near Lexington, Ky. Should Middleground prove successful in the Derby, Kleberg will be paying his second visit to the winners circle, Assault having won the gaudy classic in the King Ranch silks in 1946. Hal Price Headley Lexingtons Most Versatile Sportsman Hal Price Headley, owner of Beaumont Farm, has been in racing all his life, is in practically everything else in Lexington, Ky. He is president of Keeneland Association, directed formation of Breeders Sales Company, is director of Lexingtons biggest bank, formerly operated tobacco warehouse, one of the largest growers of burley I tobacco, owns Pinebloom plantation in Georgia. Trainer of Your Host Came On Turf from Show Rings Harry Daniels was born in Glasgow, Ky. While he was associated with horses for most of his life, he did not enter the thor oughbred field until 1941, when he purchased six horses at the dispersal sale of the estate of James F. Waters, San Francisco automobile dealer and sportsman. Daniels owned and raced the stable he had acquired for 00, and emerged as the leading trainer at the first meeting at which he raced, the L- Don,es seven-day Santa Rosa session of the Sonoma County Fair, Cali- ► I — — of San Francisco. Perhaps his best known fornia. Prior to his association with the the best known stables of show horses in the nation, that of Mrs. William P. Roth, show horse was the famous Chief of Long-view, who won almost countless blue ribbons. Daniels, his success established at Santa Rosa, raced at the major California tracks, and later, adding horses for other patrons as well as his own, became a public trainer. His first stake winner was Gay Allset, who won a minor fixture at Bay Meadows, at long odds. However, in the main, Daniels trained mostly claiming horses until two years ago, when William Goetz, son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer, decided to" re-enter the ranks of owners after an absence of several years. Goetz was impressed by the results Daniels had obtained from "run of the mill" horses and engaged him to train the horses which he purchased from the L. B. Mayer dispersal sales. Daniels assisted Goetz in selecting the yearlings newly turned two-year-olds, in fact from the last two Mayer sales. His judgment influenced Goetz in his bidding. During his association with Goetz, his task has been to develop the young horses acquired from the Mayer sales. While none of the others has turned out as well as Your Host, he has developed them into runners. Daniels, of course, has never trained a horse for the Kentucky Derby before. Max Hirsch Canny Veteran With Strong Hand in Derby Max Hirsch, the canny veteran from Fredericksburg, Texas, will be seeking his third Derby winner when he saddles King Ranchs Middleground and On the Mark. Hirsch sent out Bold Venture to win the classic for Morton I. Schwartz in 1936, and then saddled King Ranchs Assault, a son of that horse to win the Derby 10 years later. Middleground is also a son of Bold Venture. Max ■ . H.rsch U;„,i. The phenomenal suc- cess that Ben and Jimmy Jones have enjoyed with the Calumet Farm horses in recent years has given some folks the impression that no one else has trained as many good horses, as the father and son team from Missouri, but it is probably that Max Hirsch, in his more than 50 years as a trainer, has conditioned at least as many stars as any man alive. It was Hirsch who developed Grey Lag and then sold him to Sam Hildreth. He trained Continued on Page Seventeen jjjjjj Harry Trotsek ■ ■ I t** I II j Sri Veltch Snapshots of Kentucky Derby Personnel, Series of 1950 For Some It Represents New Glory; Another May Experience Initial Thrill Continued from Page Thirteen the brilliant Sarazen for Mrs. W. K. Van-derbilt and beat the French champion, Ep-inard, with him in what was for a long time actually the fastest mile and a quarter ever run in this country. Others who will be °— — — : : remembered by old-timers include Sortie, Donnaconna, Sporting Blood, On Watch, the Futurity winner, Papp, Gladiator and last, but certainly not least, Sidereal. Failure as Rider, Trotsek Succeeded in Other Fields Harry Trotsek is one of the best known trainers in the Middle West, even though he has never led the list of conditioners in either number of winners saddled in a year, or in amount of money won. He was born in Chicago, "just a few blocks" from the Hawthorne race track, and he driftedto that course at an an early age. He started out to be a jockey, but by his own admission was "the worlds worst." He did manage to win a few races in the "bushes" but was never good enough to be successful on a recognized major track. He was so discouraged that he gave up riding to become an exercise boy, but his success here, while good enough, was not to his fancy, and he retired from the saddle to "become a trainer. His successful conditioning of horses and developing jockeys soon made Trotseks name well known. His talent for spotting good riding material was evident early. The first rider he aided was Harry Roble. Trotsek was still galloping horses when he met Roble, taught him to ride, and introduced him to a trainer. Roble was good enough to win the American jockey championship in 1931 with 173 winners. In more recent years, Trotsek conducted the widely known "jockey school" at the Detroit Fair Grounds course. While he was a bad rider himself, he had a gift of teaching promising youngsters to ride, and the number of boys who made good from his school is surprisingly large. Ray Barnett, who trains Black George, was a former rider, but; as he says, "Never a topnotcher." He is 37 years old and is not too- well known in the training ranks. He has been with thoroughbreds virtually all his life and has trained for several other owners. At times he has raced under his own silks. Out of Navy, Casey Hayes Is Shunted Into New Berth J. H. "Casey" Hayes, trainer of Hill Prince, is an amiable, keen-eyed philosopher, who is comparatively new to the thoroughbred sport, though he has been around horses, mostly hunters, all his life. In the years leading to World War II.. Hayes managed the Boulder Brook Club at Scars-dale, N. Y., whjch is maintained by Hill Princes owner, C. T. Chenery. When Hayes came back after several years in the Navy, an- himself. The son of a steeplechase rider" and brother of a trainer, Syl Veltch was for many years manager of the Whitney farm in Kentucky. Farm managers always insist that the perfectly developed, well-appointed stock they turn out is ruined by the trainers, while the trainers insist j that they do the best thev can with the in- J- ",eir nar" other manager was in his place and doing a good job, so Chenery suggested that he try his hand with the thoroughbreds. Hayes eagerly agreed and went to work as assistant to Tommy Waller, moving into the top spot a few years ago. Horsemen generally agree that he learned his trade quickly and well. Hayes makes a specialty of having his charges ready for a good, if not winning, race at the first asking when they come up from the farm at Doswell, Va.. which is equipped with an excellent training track. Syl Veitch Now Knows Woes Of Trainer and Farm Manager Sylvester Veltch, who will saddle Mr. Trouble for C. V. Whitney, is a man who could carry on a constant argument with ferior run-down or overfed animals the farm managers turn over to them. Veitch lives a sort of double life, though he hasnt been a farm manager in practice since 1946, when he took over the eastern Continued on Page Fifty-Five Prttton Burch Snapshots of Kentucky Derby Personalities, Series of 1950 Continued from Page Seventeen division of the Whitney string, which included First Flight and Phalanx. Long Time Between Drinks For Trainer Preston Burch Preston M. Burch, who will saddle Brookmeade Stables Greek Ship and Sun-glow in the Derby, will be in quest of his second victory in the Churchill Downs classic and as the governor of North Carolina said to the governor of South Carolina, "Its been a long time between." It was back in 1916 that Burch, then one of the younger conditioners, saddled George Smith for the late John Sanford and sent him out to beat Star Hawk and Franklin. Not long ago, Burch remarked that he thought George Smith, who was trained during most of his career by Hollie Hughes, was the best horse he ever saddled, but the veteran Washingtonian has had many other good horses in his care, both in this country and in France. As long ago as 1908, he placed the Chelsea Stable of Harry and Ernest LaMontagne and Russell F. Tucker eighteenth on the earnings list with a string comprised exclusively of platers. A few years later, Burch, who learned the secret* of hlr art from his father, the late William Preston Burch, took a string of steeplechasers to France for Harry LaMontagne and enjoyed considerable success there during the blackout of racing in New York caused by the Hughes ban of 1911.
