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REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunsta Origin of Derby Saying Run for the Roses Berry Wall Wanted to Buy Chinas Leonatus No Sale But the Horse Won for Turf Dandy Wall Gave Party With American Beauty Roses RosesCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 2 In recent years the expression Run for the Roses has been heard often as it was popularized by Bill Corum who is now Mr Kentucky Derby Racing like all other sports has many prac ¬ tices ana expressions wnose origins are un ¬ known to sport fans The seventh inning stretch in baseball is a common occurrence and no one has been able to definitely state how and when it started The late coach Miller Huggins originated the crack Never judge a ball player in Florida It was the late John E Madden who first said Opin ¬ ions die but records live That is but one of the many of his maxims that have lived on For the origin of the Run for the Roses we must go back to the year 1883 when Leonatus a son of Longfellow caused Jack Chinn father of the Kentucky breeder Col Phil T Chinn Wall was one of the most colorful characters of society and the turf Individual in thought and in dress he was called King of the Dudes He dressed as he liked and not as fashion dictated He was the first American to wear a dinner coat Indeed he de ¬ signed it When at the track he would often change his necktie between races to the colors of the stable he favored in the race coming up He would be put of place today He came in the era of men like Betcha Million Gates Diamond Jim Brady and others who have not counterpart in these times Wall was a way of life and living to be over 80 he enjoyed every split second of it itThere There were times when the social life and the constant merrygoround of dinners became boring to Berry Wall Early hi 1883 he went to Lexington Ky to visit a friend Wickcliffe Preston At dinner he met Col Jack Chinn who invited him to his farm the following day The mo ¬ ment Wall laid eyes on Leonatus he declared him one of the best looking race horses he had ever seen and he had owned and seen many He asked Chinn to put a price on the horse who was then 8 to 1 in the future books on the Kentucky Derby The Colonel replied that he did not really wish to sell the horse but if Wall would pay 10000 he could have him The New York dandy immediately wrote out a check In the twinkling of an eye however Chinn changed his mind and called the deal off The next day Wall went to Louisville and started wagering on Leon ¬ atus to win the Derby the favorite for which was Ascender When Wall returned to New York he wagered with every operator of a future book he could locate Then he made individual wagers that Leonatus would defeat Ascender Word was soon spread in sporting circles that Berry Wall was acting not only for himself but also for a group of New York millionaires who had faith in his judgment and were backing it itWhen When Jack Chinn heard that Wall was playing his horse he asked that he be allowed to take 50 per cent of all wagers that had then been made Wall told him YoUvWere within your rights in changing your mind about selling me the horse and I am within my rights in refusing to sell you half of my wagers Two days before the race Ascender and Leonatus were selling as equal favorites in the auction pools and the town was buzzing with the incident between Wall and Chinn On the morning of the Derby the New Yorker drove to Churchill Downs with Col Lewis Clark On his arrival at the track Wall was asked by re ¬ porters if it were true that he had had words with Chinn Years later he admitted he was sore at the time but he told the news ¬ men there was no illfeeling on his part and he hoped there was none on the part of Chinn On the day of the race the auction pools had changed Leonatus was 800 Ascender 500 Drake Carter 450 and the field 500 Derby Day breakfasts at the track were becoming popular and after Wall has excused him ¬ self from Colonel Clarks table he was still endeavoring to place wagers on the Chinn threeyearold threeyearoldAs As a twoyearold Leonatus had started only once and that was hi the Maiden Stakes at Churchill Downs in which he finished second He first appeared as a three yearold hi the Blue Ribbon Stakes at Lexington and under 105 pounds was an easy winner Seven went to the post in the Kentucky Derby six days later and carrying the silks of Chinn and Morgan Leonatus won by three lengths from Drake Carter with Lord Ragland third The heavily supported Ascender was out of the money I never had any doubt that Loenatus would win Berry Wall said to friends as they showered congratulations upon him When pressed to tell the true amount of his winnings all he would say was I have a lot of money to spend That was typical of Berry Wall Consistent with his elegance in dress he loved a party especially if he were footing the bill Parties were his life and hi his memoirs he declared that we moderns in the sustained battle for socalled success had lost the ability to relax and enjoy life To get rid of the money his own words he had won he determined to give a dinner for about 30 couples at the Penfennis Club in Louisville to be followed by a contillion at the Gault House for about 60 couples To Wall no party could be a successful party unless the gifts were unusual and contained an element of surprise for the ladies ladiesWall Wall had the rooms beautifully decorated and for his sur ¬ prise he sent to Klunders at 18th Street and Broadway for American Beauty roses the first ever seen in Kentucky These roses originated in France in 1875 and were named Madam Ferdinand Jamin Roses They did not make their appearance in this country until 1880 They were greatly admired by the ladies in Kentucky and also by Col Lewis Clark who was then president at Churchill Downs The following year the rose be ¬ came the official flower of the Kentucky Derby The first few years the winning jockey was handed a huge bouquet of the beautiful flowers This was changed to a blanket of roses to be thrown over the neck of the horse when Pink Star won the re ¬ newal of 1907 American Beauties are no longer so highly prized but roses still make the Derby blanket one of the most beautiful of floral pieces in racing or any other sport In the breeding sec ¬ tion of Kentucky are many private libraries and between leaves of books are pressed roses that had been taken from the blankets of Derby winners
