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! k 1 [ ! Whirlaway Holds Derby Time Mark Mr. Longtail Sped Route Of VA Miles in 2:01% In 1941; Also Track Record CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 1. — Whirlaway, who carried the famed silks of Calumet Farm, holds the distinction of having turned in the fastest Kentucky Derby of them all. On May 3, 1941, "Mr. Longtail," as he was familiarly known to thousands of racing folk, stepped the mile and one-quarter in a scintillating 2:01%, shattering the track record, too. Whirlaways Derby and track marks still stand. However, Hill Gail, another Calumet "comet," came within a fifth of a second of tying his illustrious associates record last year, as did King Ranchs Mid-dleground in 1950. Four Horses Have Bettered 2:025 Only four horses ever have negotiated »-the Derby distance under 2:02%, which Count Turf required in 1951. The fourth member of this quartet is the famed Twenty Grand, who won for Mrs. Payne Whitneys Greentree Stable in 1931, beating Sweep All and Mate, respectively, in 2:01% to establish the Derby and Churchill Downs track mark for the distance at the time. Whirlaway defeated his Derby rivals by a wide margin of eight lengths. His fractional times were :23%, 46%, 1:11% and the mile in 1:37%. While the running time for the last quarter mile was :24, it must be remembered that the original Calumet Comet was two lengths off the then lead-[ ing Dispose at the end of the mile and that he actually sped the closing quarter in :23%, a performance without parallel at the time and a feat that likely will stand for many years to come. Some other fast Derby times were achieved by War Admiral, 2:03% in 1937; Old Rosebud, 2:03% in 1914, and Donerail, 2:04% in 1913.
