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BETWEEN RACES hoscMom CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., April 30. — Horses and People: Bill Corum sets us right on our thinking anent TV and Derby attendances, feeling that TV will never hurt the crowds in good weather, but that it would affect the infield crowd on a rainy or dismal afternoon. . . . "But our infield crowd would be hurt in any event under those circumstances," says Corum, "so in reality the live TV showing has no discernible effect, one way or the other, and should even help, in the long run, by creating more Derby fans in all parts of the nation." . . . The Stevens Companys souvenir julep glasses this year are works of art, with a motif of the "Run for the Roses, and last years winner, Hill Gail, is engraved on the glass along with his wreath of roses, in color, around his proud neck. . . . The julep glasses are perhaps the most popular souvenir of the Derby carted home by the tens of thousands of Kentucky Derby visitors from all parts of the country, and some collectors have an unbroken chain of the glasses dating back for a dozen years. . . . Dwight Murphy, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, puts to rest a rumor when he tells us, "I most certainly will be at the NASRC convention in Boston in June, and, if the post of president is tendered me, I would feel most honored to accept and would be an active leader." . . . Murphy currently is first vice-president of the NASRC and custom has it the VP always steps up to the presidency. . . . Scheduling of express buses from downtown Louisville to and from the track Is expected to speed up traffic Derby Day to a considerable degree. . . . The buses will charge a premium fee, 25 cents, but the time saved for Derby patrons will be worth it. AAA The Louisville police department is an set to make the Bill Corum Explains TV Effect Upon Derby West Coast Tour Sets Derby Distance Mark Tom Young Hopes for Downs Strip of 2:04 Half-Million Words Will Tell Derby Story town as pleasant as possible for Derby Day visitors and have been given their usual orders to be "polite, but firm." . . . The city expresses a g*eat deal of tolerance on the Derby week end, but rowdyism is distinctly frowned upon. . . . Considering the remarkably large crowd which converges upon Churchill, the amount of what might be termed "trouble" is infinitesimal, and it is no secret that police departments throughout the nation regard race crowds as among the best, far superior, for instance, to the average football game. ... A few Lexington breeders are seeing the Derby de luxe, chartering buses for the trip, and equipping said buses with a bar and a buffet of Kentucky ham and fried chicken. . . . Special trains are here in abundance, but as in past years, the distinction of "having come the greatest distance" goes to the Jack Dempsey tour from San Francisco and Los Angeles, with stopovers at Las Vegas, Denver and Chicago. . . . West Coast tourists will spend Sunday horse farming in Lexington, then start their long jaunt back to California late Sunday night. . . . This tours julep breakfasts at the Kentucky Hotel the morning before the .Derby have become another pleasant Derby Week tradition. AAA Track superintendent Tom Young informs that once again, if fast, the ancient Churchil Downs footing will be a 2:04 mile and a quarter strip, and that anything under that will be a measure, to a degree, as to the inherent class of Derby winner and those who may be near to him at the wire. . . . The seventy-ninth Derby will be run over a track which has not been resurfaced for three years, but, as per custom, it is given new topsoil every third year, which will be done next fall. . . . Comments Young, "Most trainers and owners have a sporty attitude toward the Derby, and Ill never forget the year 1917, when Omar Khayyam won it. . . . After the horse had been given his final work for the race, I asked the trainer, Charlie Patterson, how his horse was, and if there was anything we could do for him. The man answered. Just give me a fast track, a big crowd, and let the best horse win it. Patterson meant every word of it, too, and it is sentiment like this which has helped make the Derby the great classic it is today." .... Marvin Gay of the Louisville Times sums up the habit of calling all spring sophomore races, no matter how important, as "Derby preps." . . . :It can work both ways," says Gay, rather sensibly, "for while races like the Blue Grass and Wood Memorial can be preps for the Derby, these stakes also can eliminate a lot of horses." ... It is our opinion that the term "prep" should be changed to stepping stone. AAA One yardstick of the importance of any event is the newspaper file, and there is an indication that the all-time high, 592,425 words sent by correspondents to their newspapers, will be surpassed this year, and, if the event continues to grow, which it wi1!, this will reach about 750,000 words within a few years, perhaps some day hit a million. . . . Bill Iredale of Western Union provided us with the figures, although last year was thrown out of calculations because of strike conditions, and huge amounts of press copy were sent by telephone. . . . This probably will be the last Derby run without benefit of film patrol pix. . . . The film patrol will be the most important technical innovation since the introduction of the automatic starting gate. . . . The first gate Derby start with closed doors was in Whirlaway s year, but in Continued on Page Thirty-Fbn J : BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Eight a few previous years the doors were open because the late Col. Matt J. Winn feared a failure. . . . The Derby start will be from a Bahr gate with modifications and latest and approved mechanical and electrical features from Puett. . , . Ruby White, the Derby starter, was an assistant on the ground when the radical changeover was made from old-fashioned barrier to modern starting gate. . . . The finish of the Derby, and all other Downs races, for that matter, is far beyond the finish line, and there have been instances where riders have mistaken the point at which the wire is located. . . . Hence, all riders are briefed about the matter, and the pole is a big one, painted green, and with the word -finish" printed on it in big black letters. The reason for this is that the Derby start is not made from a chute, but from the main track. . . . Churchill has been unable to obtain a spot of ground to build a chute at the head of the stretch because a bank and a street occupy the plot, and neither can be changed. AAA By all odds, the most popular beverage of Derby Day visitors is the Kentucky julep, and more than a ton of mint, especially grown, is used to satisfy Derby week patrons. ... It takes more than 2,000 Stevens employes to cater to the wants of the inner man on Derby Day. . . . The "Red Cross" angle on the TV of the Derby has brought Churchill Downs a tremendous amount of national good will, and we wouldnt be surprised if the arrangement became permanent: . . . Three truf and sports writers, or former writers, play an important role in staging the Derby. . . . They are Bill Corum, president; Sam McMeekin, presiding steward, and Lincoln Plaut, racing secretary and handicapper. ... All wagering records for a single race was broken at Keene-land in the Blue Grass, a six-horse field, and with two pari-mutuel standouts, Correspondent and Straight Face. . . . The Keeneland people think this is proof positive that a small field with class is a better wagering medium than a 12-horse field of ordinary horses.
