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ThistleDown By J. R. Batty i Ohio Derby Possesses Interesting History Has 0000 Purse for Saturdays Running ThistleDown Attendance and Handle Up THISTLEDOWN, North Randall, Ohio, June 18. Lou Pondfield, a man of rather progressive ideas had not been in command of Cranwood. a Cleveland half- miler, for more than a few months before he began to plan the revival of the Ohio Derby. The records showed that this particular event had been inaugurated in 1924 at Maple Heights and had subsequently been renewed either there, at Bainbridge or at ThistleDown until 1935. After its ninth running in 35 the race was discontinued either for lack of interest or for financial reasons. Some pretty fair runners had started in the first nine Ohio Derbys with Black Gold taking the Inaugural. Black Gold was a story book horse, owned by the R. M. Hoots family of Oklahoma, and only the second thoroughbred in history to account for four Derbys. Other name horses of their era who scored in Ohios best known race were Col. E. R. Bradleys Boot to Boot and I. J. Collins Paradisical. Pondfields purpose in reviving the Ohio Derby for a modest purse, ,000 added, at Cranwood was to annex the race for future meetings -at ThistleDown then about to be rebuilt. The single Cranwood. running was billed as the tenth, but in the interval between 1952 and the reopening of ThistleDown in the fall -of 1953, John OKeeffe, public relations director here, stumbled across some interesting information on the Ohio Derby while doing research on another race. At the time OKeeffe was also serving as presiding steward at the Blue Bonnets meetings in Canada and was very interested in the history of the Quebec Queens Plate, probably the oldest stakes in North America. Checking through the libraries of the New York Jockey Club and at Pimlico, OKeeffe, uncovered evidence that the Ohio Derby was a great deal older than previously believed. Track Publishes History of Stake ThistleDown now publishes a very condensed history of the stake which shows that the race was inaugurated in 1876, just a year after the Kentucky Derby. The first winner was Bombay, one of the best three-year-olds of his era and his share of the purse was an even ,000. The first eight runnings were contested at Chester Park in Cincinnati continuing through 1883 when racing temporarily died out in that area. So adding these renewals to the nine contested variously at northern Ohio tracks, one at Cranwood, the 1953 Ohio Derby at rebuilt ThistleDown was properly advertised as the nineteenth. An. excellent field turned out for this event with victory going to Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilts- Find. The Vanderbilt gelding ran the nine furlongs in 1:48, fastest time for that distance at any American track during Ihandt year. The purse for the Derby has varied considerably during the years with the low winners share at 50 in 1881 and a high of 8,998.75 for Find in 1953. The added money has been upped from 5,000 last season to 0,000 for this years-running next Saturday. To date this is the richest race ever presented in the Buckeye State, certainly it is the oldest, and the publicity departments advertise the event as "Ohios most famous horse race." There is an unconfirmed rumor circulating that jockey Eddie Arcaro is expected to make a ThistleDown appearance aboard Clifford Mooers Traffic Judge in next Saturdays renewal of the Ohio Derby . . . Attendance" and handle are both considerably up over comparative figures last season, according to the management . . . Art Layne, who conditions five horses for Mrs. Anthony Cannuli, received word this morning from Lutheran Hospital in Baltimore, Md., that his wife Millie is doing fine after giving birth to an eight-pound, four-once girl early Friday. Their first child, the addition has been named Deborah Lee . . . Frank Waldock is making the riding engagements locally for veteran Joe Valenti, who checked in from the Chicago circuit and plans to free lance through the remainder of this session . . . Illinois racing commissioner William Miller attended the meeting of the Ohio .State Racing Commission held Thursday at ThistleDown. . Jockey Mayer Arrives from East Jockey James Mayer joined the riding colony, having arrived from New York. Mayer rode successfully at Tropical Park and Hialeah during the winter-months. Incidentally, he rode his first winner at neighboring Cranwood Park in 1953 and so is no stranger to local fans . . . Jockey Russell Stein was released Thursday from St. Thomas Hospital, in Akron, where he had been confined for seven weeks recuperating from injuries suffered from a spill at Ascot Park. Stein lost his rigth eye, but reports vision in the other eye was not impaired. -He announced his riding career as ended. Future plans, although he must remain here for additional treatments, include a visit with his parents in Pittsburgh . . . The dockers tabbed 23 horses at working out of the starting gate on Thursday morning. Some have missed gate schooling because of the wet underfooting which has prevailed the past week, or more. Only two horses attempted to work over the newly reconditioned Randall strip on Thursday morning . . . The stewards cut in half the 10-day suspension handed jockey Roberto Gonzalez recently. They reconsidered because the offense was committed on a "green" two-year-old
