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one ne Derby Derby than than he he mass~m—~juMmm Between Races I By Oscar Otis — To Ponder Further Downs Improvements Enlarged Stand Is on the Drawing Boards Per Capita Proves Derby a Spectacle CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville. Ky.. May 7— It used to be said of the late Col. Matt J. Winn that no sooner sooner was was the the official official up up on on o one ne Derby Derby than than he he sooner sooner was was the the official official up up on on o started preparing for the next, but insofar as the present staff of Churchill Downs is concerned, plans for the 1956 Derby will not be determined for about a month. But after the spring meeting closes, an executive session will be held, and the tracks management will determine policy for the next year and any improvement work in the offing. The extent of the improvements will depend upon Churchills Churchills cash cash position, position, but but in in Churchills Churchills cash cash position, position, but but in in mass~m—~juMmm past years, capital expenditures have been anywhere between 00,000 and 00,000. One positive decision already reached is that hot water boilers will be installed on the backstretch, and horsemen will have this added convenience, as well as a theoretical extra safety measure against fires. We say, theoretical, because to the best of our knowledge, there never has been a stable fire caused by the familiar, but rapidly vanishing, fires between shedrows upon which buckets of water, and. on occasions, even a Mulligan stew, was brewing. We are not at liberty to quote Downs executives, but is is no secret that plans have been carefully studied which would make for an increase of about 10.000 over the present seating capacity. Good seats, that is. , Churchill wants no part of building just seats, as such The best plan presented by architects so far call for a building up and back, making for more decks in the grandstand, and creating a greater capacity in the present stands, all designed to give every patron in these seats a wonderful view of the whole race. The higher decks would be serviced by escalators. This is all bound to come about, sooner or later, and it might be sooner than you might imagine. But whatever is done will be architecturally in keeping with the historic old plant, there being no idea of modernizing the looks of the place just for appearances sake. Churchill feels it can best serve its public by giving as many people as possible a view seat, access to the pari-mutuel windows, plus the elimination of traffic jams, through more scientific designing. This can be done without disturbing Churchills unquestioned charm one whit. Infield Spectators Stay Put Stanley Hugenberg brought, it to our attention, and we know the man is right, when he says that the Derby, as a spectacle, is somewhat in a class by itself. Pet-capita betting on Derby Day takes a nose dive, averaging about a bit over 0, as against 0 or better on other days during Derby week. He also has noticed any number of people in the infield who get a seat early, and stay glued to the spot until after the Derby is run. These people do not wager excepting on the Derby itself. As you know, Derby wagering opens at nine in the morning, and they obviously could get a two-dollar rooting interest in a horse before taking up their fixed vantage point. The Downs is happy to have this sort of citizen on hand, for it proves that the Derby, as representative to a degree of all American horse racing, has an appeal quite apart from the "tote" end. Most racing people know this, but large segments of the American public do not. We rather think that the Derby will retain its present value, 25,000 added, for some years to come. We asked Hugenberg point blank a not very polite question, we feel sure, if maybe Santa Anita lifting its Derby to 5100,000 had anything to do with the elevation of the Kentucky Derby from 5,000 to the even hundred thousand a few years ago. "No," the man smiled, "it might look that way, but it wasnt. Actually, we lifted the Derby to 00,000 on the diamond jubilee year and the increase came as a recognitiion not only of that seventy-fifth anniversary, but also the growth of the Derby as a national institution. As for the 25,000 value this year, the reasons were two fold. First, we were just one of 21 races with a value of 00,000, and secondly, we had come in for somewhat justified criticism on our failure to provide adequate rewards for the second and third horses. We solved both problems with the one answer — 25,000 added." DOsten Takes Issue With Writer Fred dOsten wishes to be heard on our remarks of several days ago, when we quoted a man as saying that little could be told about a foals future at birth, and that it was best to wait for about five months before the true stature of a foal became discernable. Says dOsten: "I disagree. In my native Russia, I was educated to the premise that a new-born foal could be faulted, and would give a clear picture of how he would look when matured, if he were carefully observed just 24 hours after foaling. Not 16 hours, nor 36 hours, but 24 hours. At that time, you posted yourself at a vantage point at the box stall and waited for the foal to take a stance and stand straight. The foal would be bound to do this several times in the course of 15 or 20 minutes or so. Why 24 hours, I dont know, but it worked out pretty well in Europe and when tried in this country, works out too."
