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JOHN B CAMPBELL Racing secretary at the New York tracks planed into Louisville to see Saturdays Derbymark ing his first visit to Churchill Downs since 1938 when he served as racing secretary there REFLECTIONS 1 By Nelson Dunstan Where Does Kentucky Derby Throng Come From Scramble for Transportation After the Race Farms at Lexington Attract Many Visitors Kentucky Where Hospitality of South Begins BeginsCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 3 Ten years ago on Derby Day we sat between Damon Ruhyon and Al Copeland in the press box at Churchill Downs and after a long look at the throng Runyon said This is the greatest sports spectacle I have ever seen Cope land a former athlete who had created world records in track and field asked Where do they all come from Probably 75000 people were at Churchill Downs that year and although we do not have the exact figures at least 100000 were present today A decade ago the Kentucky Derby had firmly established itself as Americas fore ¬ most sports event and since it has grown to the point where there is no single contest that can match it in national interest Last year one man flew from Bangor Maine arriving on Saturday morning and that night he was on a plane bound for home The Kentucky Derby is the greatest of magnets and a sight that is never forgotten is when 100000 people using all methods of transportation rush to get to downtown Louisville after the race and then switch to trains busses and planes that will carry them to the four cor ¬ ners of the country The journey home is often arduous for Derby fans but every vehicle is a kibitzers paradise for the fellow in the next seat was also at the race that took slightly more than two minutes to run Many fans remain in town over ¬ night and then strike out for Lexington and the farms or tour Kentucky or journey to other tracks But the vast majority travel in one direction or another an hour after the Derby has been run runLouisville Louisville which is the county seat of Jefferson County was named for King Louis XVI of France Today it is one of the thriving cities of the South but it also is a much larger thoroughbred breeding center than is gen ¬ erally imagined Many farms are on its outskirts and two that are well known are Bashford Manor and the Hermi ¬ tage Farm of Warner L Jones which is at Gosheh As the Derby visitor drives south to Lexington one of the first things he notices is the socalled blue grass but which actually is green intensely green Painters have depicted this grass on canvas and poets have written about it There is a story often told that a woman who was with theDaniel Boone expedition brought some seeds from her home wrapped in a handkerchief and spread them when she arrived in Fayette County Re ¬ gardless of the origin of the grass many parts of the Kentucky landside are blessed with it The most fertile and productive areas are in this region Limestone and water are requisites along with grass and all three are found at the farms that extend from Louisville to Lex ¬ ington Blue Grass fields are at the peak of their beauty in the spring for the seed ripens in June JuneOn On the Sunday morning after the Derby a steady stream of cars makes its way from Louisville to Lexington where the breeders in the Blue Grass region have more than a passing interest in the Derby outcome Lexington is a name that is prominent in American history This Kentucky town which is the center of thoroughbred production was formed in June 1775 and for four years it was a fort When Virginia was the race horse region of America many famous horses were pro ¬ duced there and not the least of these was Boston who was foaled in 1833 and whose career made his name one of the greatest in turf history When sent to slid Boston first stood in Virginia but in the spring of 1847 he was taken to Kentucky and it was here after a mating with Alice Carneal that he begot Bexington the horse who was foaled at Dr Elisha War fields farm He was first called Darley and then his name was changed to Lexington after the town that was to become tiie greatest production center in this country if not the entire world When retired from the race course Lexington made his first season at Wpodburh Farm in 1857 and except for removal to Illinois for safety in 1865 he spent his life at the Kentucky farm dying at the age of 25 on July 1 1875 Since that year thousands of top horses have come out of the Lexington area but Lexington the horse is still regarded as one of the great ¬ est and the link with his sire Boston between Virginia and Kentucky Kentucky is the state where the hospitality of the South begins It would take a week or more for a visitor to see the scores of horse farms with their worldfamous stallions and mares and the yearlings that are sold at Keeneland and Saratoga in July and August But there are many other points of great interest in Kentucky and one is Bardstown where Steven Collins Foster wrote My Old Kentucky Home and other immortal songs Not far from Bardstbwn is Knob Creek where Abraham Lincoln spent his early boyhood and at Hodgenville just a whoop and a holler from Knob Creek is the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park which includes part of the origi ¬ nal Lincoln Farm Kentucky has always been famous for its caves and not far from Cave City is Mammoth Cave National Park and north of that is Horse Cave where Floyd Collins the explorer met his death in a tragedy that made the front pages of newspapers from Coast to Coast In Lexington the home of Henry Clay and John Hunt Morgan are outstanding examples of early American architecture It would take columns to list the many his ¬ toric places within a 50mile radius of Lexington LexingtonKentuckys Kentuckys political rivalries have often provided material for the home folks to tell Derby visitors Ruby Laffoon was one of her favorite governors and Happy Chandler served with him as Lieutenant Governor Shortly after Flem Sampson was elected to that office in 1927 he appointed hundreds of outoftowners Kentucky Colonels and went his predecessors one better by des ¬ ignating several as Admirals He appointed one an Admiral of the Hudson River and another Admiral of the Mississippi River No republican could do that to such a staunch Democrat as Ruby Laffoon so once in office the latter appointed 2500 colonels and to even matters with former governors gave Ed ¬ mund W Taylor a diploma which made him Admiral of the Kentucky River and signed another which made Ambassador Augusto Rosso of Italy an Admiral of the Kentucky Navy On one occasion Laffoon had to leave the state for for a day or orContinued Continued on Page ThirtyOne REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONSBy By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued on Page Forty Fortytwo two and that gave Chandler the oppor ¬ tunity he had long awaited Hardly had the Governor left the Capitol Building when Happy began appointing colonels or admirals of some lake or river The rosy cheeked Chandler had more fun than he ever had as czar of baseball When Ruby Laffoon returned to his desk he was short some 500 diplomas when it came to hand ¬ ing out military ranks or naval ratings happy was Kentuckys most generous boy
