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Sonde Frankly Explains Instructions to Riders Noted Ex-Jockey Reveals What Boys Do in Derby, Other Stakes CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 1. — Many persons probably wonder what instructions riders receive from trainers and owners before a big race, such as the Kentucky Derby, and how much of this advice is heeded. Earl Sande, who rode three Derby winners and generally is acknowledged as one of the all-time "greats," knows the answers both ways. He has trained a couple of Derby starters, too. Sande said the instructions are given, to be certain, but few jockeys remember much about them after they leave the paddock for the post. For instance, instructions never were In his mind while at the post in 1923, the year he rode Zev to triumph, nor were they in 1925 when he won with Plying Ebony, nor in 1930 when he was astride Gallant Fox. "The only thing I thought about while I was at the post was getting away from there," Sande said, and he doesnt believe the other boys though about much else, either; no more than they do today. "Once away from the barrier," Sande continued, "a rider must rely pretty much on his own judgment, for,, while trainers give instructions designed to afford horses their best chance, they are unable to anticipate situations which horses and jockeys must face during the actual running of a race."
