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WILLIAM MOLTER Crevolin Molter Determine Minded Former Successful as Owner Trainer in Second Derby Try By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky April 30 Willie Molter will be making his second Kentucky Derby attempt when he saddles the Californiaowned and Ken ¬ tuckybred Determine Saturday While not as well known east of the Rockies as on the Pacific Coast except by reputation Molter has for the past 10 years ranked as one of the top trainers of the nation in number of winners saddled Four of those years 1946 through 1949 he led all train ¬ ers in the nation although in 1949 he was tied for first honors with W H Bishop each having saddled 129 successful start ¬ ers ersIn In 1948 Molter saddled 184 winners an alltime record and which stood until last year when R H McDaniel leading trainer from 1950 through 1953 broke it During these last years Molter has seldom been any worse in the standings than second secondMolters Molters first Derby starter was Cali ¬ fornias On Trust who was fourth beaten but a length and two heads by Jet Pilot Phalanx and Faultless On Trust later ran a smashing second to Faultless in the Preakness PreaknessMolter Molter was never quite satisfied with the early or preliminary training of On Trust The colt was prepped in the spring at San ¬ ta Anita while Molter had the main divi ¬ sion of his public stable in San Francisco He flew by air every week end to superin ¬ tend the training He confessed later that it was a mistake mistakeWon Won at Meadows MeadowsThis This year with Determine he set out the training regime which included three stakes at Bay Meadows fpllowing the colts clever win in the 100000 Santa Anita Derby Determine won them all the last the Bay Meadows Derby Molter decided on the races because Determine will not extend himself in morning works even when engaged by a stablemate The stay on the coast fly in to Louisville at the last minute strategy was devised by Molter as being the best possible way to approach the Derby with this particular colt He made this decision in the light of the experience with On Trust TrustMolter Molter has one of the largest public sta ¬ bles in the nation numbering around 80 head of which about 59 or 60 are at the race track the others at a farm freshen ¬ ing up He is thus always able to keep in a supply of fit and running horses When one racer shows the need of a rest and is sent to the farm another is usually ready to return to the racing wars warsMolter Molter was born in Fredericksburg Texas came to the races as a youngster and started out as a jockey He was a fair rider but never a leader He had the good fortune however to ride for a great trainer L O Slim Lee now an official at the Caliente track in Mexico and for owner Jack P Atkin who before his death raced one of the most formidable strings on the Pacific slope slopeBoth Both taught him the fundamentals of training and when his riding days were over started him out on his own with the second division of the Atkin string Upon Atkins death Molter launched out as a public trainer and has been extremely suc ¬ cessful While he has a large stable he always has had stake horses in his barn On Trust was perhaps his best and won 554125 during his racing career the most money ever earned by a Californiabred Molter also trained Shannon IE now a successful Kentucky sire
