Hill Gail Drives to Clean-Cut Triumph in Kentucky Derby: Son of Bull Lea Holds Off Sub Fleet by Two Lengths; Calumet Farm, Ben Jones and Eddie Arcaro Set New Records Through Victors Splendid Effort of 2:01 3/5 for One Mile And One-Quarter; Crowd and Wagering Also Hit New Highs, Daily Racing Form, 1952-05-05

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JOCKEY EDDIE ARCARO Rode Hill Gail to victory in the Kentucky Derby for his fifth win in the threeyearold classic He also was astride Calumets Bubbley in the Debutante earlier on the afternoons program Hill Gail Drives to CleanCut Triumph in Kentucky Derby Son of Bull Lea Holds Off Sub Fleet by Two Lengths LengthsCalumet Calumet Farm Ben Jones and Eddie Arcaro Set New Records Through Victors Splendid Effort of 201 for One Mile MileAnd And OneQuarter Crowd and Wagering Also Hit New Highs By CHARLES HATTON HATTONCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 3 Ben Jones and Eddie Arcaro continued an unbeaten team in the seventyeighth Kentucky Derby here this afternoon as the largest crowd in the history of the Downs classic cheered the favored Hill Gail to a cleancut and well earned triumph in time a fifthsecond off Whirlaways track record The handsome son of Bull Lea was the aggressor all the way and re ¬ sponded stoutly to Arcaros vigorous drive over the final furlong to beat Dixianas resolute Sub Fleet by two lengths in 201 Some eight lengths farther away the stretchrunning Blue Man from the White Oak Stable outfinished Master Fiddle for third place in a field reduced to 16 with the withdrawal of Top Blend Hill Gail returned 420 in a mutuel pool that reached fantastic proportions and set new Derby records for Calumet Jones and Arcaro ArcaroHill Hill Gail won the hard way killing off Hannibal Shag Tails and Happy Go Lucky in a sped duel in the dash first time past the stands then digging in courageously When Sub Fleet attacked him swinging for home Sub Fleet gradually whittled away the Calumet homebreds advantage of six lengths from the quarter pole to the six ¬ teenth pole and what ordinarily would be a comfortable lead became decidedly un ¬ comfortable But during the final yards the choices most formidable rival could gain no further Their skirmish in the run past the crescendo of the stands carried them many lengths before the rest of the field who followed in a phalanx battling for the minor awards awardsBlue Blue Man Finishes Third ThirdThe The favorite made 96300 in his breath ¬ less mile and a quarter sprint became the fifth Derby winner for Calumet and Plain Eddie the sixth for Ben Jones Some idea of the pellmell speed of the race may be gained from the fact Hill Gail exactly equaled his Derby Trial record with a first mile in 135 so that it was small wonder he required 25 for the last quarter quarterSub Sub Fleets 10000 second money was particularly hard earned and the same was true of Blue Mans 5000 for finishing third Trainers of the first second and third horses receive awards of 3000 2000 and 1000 respectively and their breeders 2000 1000 and 500 For the first time in Derby history the winning jockey was wasContinued Continued on Page Three HILL GAIL the Kentucky Derby winner and trainer Ben Jones who now nas six saddling successes in the Downs classic Favored Hill Gail Drives to CleanCut And Popular Kentucky Derby Triumph Holds Off Sub Fleet by Two And Runs Ten Furlongs in 201 s Blue Man Third ThirdContinued Continued from Page One Oneawarded awarded a trophy as a memento of the occasion occasionHill Hill Gail still was being cheered to the echo as he paraded proudly into the special winners enclosure reserved for Derby vic ¬ tors where Derby Bill Corum pinned a rose on him and Governor Wetherby pre ¬ sented a mammoth gold trophy to Mrs Wright who virtually spent the afternoon receiving cups An hour earlier her Bubbley had won the Debutante and the Derby was in fact the fourth stake of the week for the Chicago sportswoman This Derby the first to be telecast live was a remarkably well run race happily for the thoroughbred sport All the field had a fair shot at enduring fame and the winners fortune The only visible incident at all un ¬ toward occurred at the break when Hill Gail broke in slightly and Gushing Oil was momentarily pinched back backThe The crowd was prepared for Hill Gails show of early speed and expected Hannibal to be prominent the first time past the stands But right with them were the sur ¬ prising Happy Go Lucky and Shag Tails All were being rated going into the club ¬ house turn where Hannibal was a bit more than a length in advance of the Calumet colt with Happy Go Lucky and Shag Tails jumping right in their tracks tracksMoving Moving down the backside Shag Tails was first to crack and Happy Go Lucky began losing ground near the end of that lane Meanwhile Hannjbal stuck tena ¬ ciously to his task and Arcaro asked Hill Gail for it as they swung for the last turn His mount responded killing off Hannibal in a sixteenth and began opening up Curv ¬ ing into the long quarter mile homestretch he had moved off six lengths and appeared the easiest sort of winner but the race was changing rapidly behind him Sub Fleet began his surge forward from a position midway the pack while Blue Man was running around the outside of the field like a wild horse horseThrough Through the bedlam of the homestretch both Arcaro on the winner and Brooks on the Dixiana colt were driving with whip hand and heel Slowly the Count Fleet gained whittling away Hill Gails lead and coming to the sixteenth pole it ap ¬ peared he might make it as Hill Gail obvi ¬ ously had about enough enoughBut But down near the finish Sub Fleet too was becoming leg weary and he could gain no closer proximity than two lengths in the final historic few yards Far behind them Blue Man and Master Fiddle were looping beaten horses in a neck and and neck drive for the minor awards with Blue Man downing the gray a halflength Both these stretch runners ran well especially con ¬ sidering that they broke from far out in the track lost many additional lengths gaining contention when they inaugurated their moves None of the others was ever really in the hunt huntThe The fractional breakdown for the Derby vere 122s 23 34 46 59 111 123 135 148 and 201 Ail the entrants came back with no very apparent battle scars The handle on the Derby totaled 1565 901 Of this sum 854160 was wagered in the straight pool 394222 place and 317 519 show It was a most satisfactory Derby for the vast majority of a crowd estimated at about 110000 and said by the conces sionnaires parking attendants tote staff etc to be the largest in our Derby ex ¬ perience perienceIn In the jocks room following the race jockey Eddie Arcaro commented He is the best of these colts but he is no Citation nor another Whirlaway WhirlawayThe The Derby crowd began assembling out ¬ side the gates at dawn this morning streaming through the turnstiles to claim squatters rights on vantage points from which to watch the sport when admission booths open at 8 a m Derby regulars found it difficult to recall when the race was presented in quite such golden weath ¬ er and the throngs taking up positions in the innerfield far outnumbered those of last season seasonForm Form students found the racing profit ¬ able as well as enjoyable and the tote business exceeded that of last Derby Day during the earlier races Best of these was the fiftysecond edition of the 10000 Debutante of five furlongs for twoyear old fillies Calumet Farms Bubbley own sister to yesterdays Oaks winner Real De ¬ light was a punctual favorite in this stake Eddie Arcaro handriding her to the stand a length and a quarter in advance of Biddy Jane It was some two lengths far ¬ ther back to Tom Piatts homegrown Lillal who was third in a crack field of 10 Bub ¬ bley aided 11125 to earlier earnings and returned 460 in the tote going over the distance in 59 flat time a mere two fifths off the track record This incidentally suggested along with the fact platers shaded 111 that the previous days show ¬ ers had made the track as speed conducive as ever it has been beenThe The Debutante was marred when C V Whitneys heavily played Flamenco broke through the gate lost Gerald Porch and ran off a mile eluding two outriders She was blowing a bit when Porch remounted outbroke her field but then retreated steadily and came back with her muscles tied up During her extra curricular turn of the course the riders of the other en ¬ trants dismounted dismountedBubbley Bubbley broke well from the outside posi ¬ tion in the filly feature disposed of Gifted Gal in the run around the turn but the rapid Biddy Jane gave up less readily and was head and head with the favorite to well within the final sixteenth Here Biddy Jane ducked in under stress of her efforts and the long bodied Bull Lea filly moved away under a strong handride Lillal closed resolutely on the outside but it seemed unlikely she would trouble the winner were they running still Catbern was a well beaten fourth fourthGallorettes Gallorettes first foal Mile Lorette was less settled en route to the paddock than in her Keeneland races and the blaring of a band in the innerfield put several others of the field on their toes on their way to the saddling enclosure


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800