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JUDGES STAND By CHARLES HATTON CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 4 The turfs tremendous vogue so much i evidence in Louis ¬ ville last week has enabled tracks about the country to post fabulous sums in purses and stakes And the distribution still is pyramiding in the intense competition for box office at ¬ tractions Last fall at Garden State Park twoyearolds raced for a prize of 269395 There are clubs offering entire series of 100000 events are be and it follows these are in the best position to attract and retain important strings Indeed 100000 events are be ¬ coming so numerous Andy Crevolin last week end won two of them the same afternoon And now it is indicated here at Churchill Downs the directors will consider mak ¬ ing the 1955 Derby worth 150000 in added monies an increase of 50000 Of course the Derby has great pres ¬ tige and tradition It is the most coveted threeyearold event of the season But actually some of the prelim ¬ inaries have become as rewarding as the main event from a purely monetary point of view And if you have been reading the papers lately you will know that an oc ¬ casional owner has not found a particular 100000 race irresistible It is a testimonial to the sentimental appeal of the Derby that it has maintained its lofty status in the midst of such plenty owners feel no compulsion to point horses for it because it is profitable This is a tribute to management And whether or not it can or does increase the races value the mere fact it is thinking in terms of 150000 reflects its hope of building bigger Derbys DerbysA A A A AEach Each spring is marked by the development of new and unexpected name horses who lend added interest to the seasons stakes events Several weeks ago when Churchill Downs Plans Building Bigger Derbys New Interest in ThreeYea rOld Filly Events Fascinator Looms Rival for Evening Out Pimlicos Progress an Interesting Study StudyTurnto Turnto bowed and Porterhouse bruised his hooves the recent Kentucky Derby appeared to many a sort of plug horse Derby But then came Correlations Wood the flashy Trial and the Downs classic itself Somewhat similarly there has been something new added to the seasons Oaks events as a result of the Kentucky version This event so coveted by breeders revealed Fascinator as a better filly than many had thought her Queen Hopeful as one who stays at least a mile and a sixteenth and Small Favor as a natural distance performer Thus the 1953 twoyearold filly champion Evening Out may find dominating the generation again this season a much more difficult matter Presumably Queen Hopeful and Jen jay will campaign this summer in Chicago and they would seem excellent propositions for such events as the Cleo ¬ patra and Misty Isle Fascinator makes her headquarters in the East so that Evening Out may have to deal with this one The same applies to Small Favor who is by the French Priam n looks like a French filly and runs like one at big distances Shp is of the greyhound type and is not brilliant but races on heartily at a route In ¬ dividually there is no more charming member of this division than is Fascinator a fairly substantial bay with a blaze and some white about her underpinning The Maine Chance filly has speed and is amenable to rating Nelson Dunstan is traveling His column will be resumed Friday tactics physical and temperamental attributes that are in her favor favorA A A A ABowie Bowie closes a successful meeting on Thursday after which the sport hi Maryland moves to delightful old Pim lico with its Dixie BlackEyed Susan and climactic Preakness Lou Pondfield and John D Jackson already have effected many improvements in the archaic Balti ¬ more course particulraly in the old clubhouse Follow ¬ ing this spring meet the little clubhouse and the stands will undergo prodigies of improvement Baltimore ranks with Lexington and Louisville as one of the most enthus ¬ iastic racing centers in this country It has a nucleus of seasoned racegoers who have enab d it to carry on in times of national crises and in late years its patronage has been uptrending steadily New and progressive policies instituted by the new owners have earned Pimlico the horsemens support so that the quality and appeal of the programs has been notably improved Pimlico was among the first clubs to offer better purses for better horses substituted stakes for handicaps and announced that any event for the better performers offering five wagering units would be programmed These things all were aimed at attracting a higher caliber of horses have succeeded admirably and still are in effect In fine the case of Pimlico presents an interesting study in the suc ¬ cessful management of a course in danger of stagnation because of outmoded facilities cramped parking areas cheap horses and conflict with enterprising new tracks Turf ana Maryland has a lively twoyearold develop ¬ ment this season in Wreck Master who is by the record breaker Bolero himself has broken track marks in his Continued on Page ThirtyNina JUDGES STAND STANDBy By CHARLES HATTON Continued from Page FortyEight FortyEighttwo two latest essays Lou Pondfield was a Derby visitor went to Clevelands Thistle ¬ Down on Monday back to Pimlico yester ¬ day Dr Charley Hagyard new head of the Breeders Sales Company is going racing here Mrs Harry Parrs Staf ¬ fordshire was winning his third race of the season at Bowie Friday is pointing for the Preakness Spy Magic had no chance at the break in the Kentucky Oaks Eddie Brennan was among those having steak for Derby breakfast It is not quite true Bryan Field couldnt see Correlation in the Rose Run Churchill Downs was among the first United States tracks to in ¬ troduce parimutuels
