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Between Races : • By Oscar Otis - Needles Does His Native Florida Proud Pizza King Made a Magnificent Gamble Downs Vetoes Supplemental Suggestion CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 7.— Needles made the State of Florida and its infant breeding industry proud here Saturday as the colt by Ponder not only went to the post the favorite but confirmed that rating by coming home in front three, parts of a length in front of Calumet Farms Fabius. Come On Red, a colt by Free France who was supposed to run only if tha track was muddy, but who decided to try his luck on the lightning strip, was the hero of the race by managing to finish a bang-up third, while the diminutive California colt, Count Chic, was far from dis graced by finishing fourth. This corner will go along with" the thought that this is a moderate year for three-year-olds, but that makes no difference in many respects-for moderate of not. this Derby field provided a whale of a horse race with contention from start to finish and the drama was not over until just yards from the finish line— when it became apparent that Needles would be the winner. Dave Erb rode a chilly race on Needles, swinging him back even after the first quarter of a mile, but when he asked him to run from the far turn, Needles had it and that is what counts in winning a Kentucky Derby. As for Fabius, he probably outran himself for he may not be a true mile and one-quarter horse, but if he isnt, hes a reasonable facsimile thereof and should go on to a considerable measure of success during the remainder of the year. The pizza king of Seattle, Dino Lozzi, and a comparatively poor man, made a magnificent gamble with Count Chic, turning down an offer of 30,000 on the eve of the Derby, saying: "I really cant afford to turn down an offer like that, but as long as Ive come this far, I think Ill see it through." - Actually, he ran a big enough race in the Derby that we dont think his intrinsic value has been tarnished very much, if at all. For Count Chic ran a big race, and while he might not have won it, he undoubtedly would have been closer had he not started to lug in at the eighth pole, which made it necessary for Steve Brooks to take time to steer him to the outside in the clear going. Plays in Morning; Pays in Afternoon A few columns ago we wrote that Needles presented something of a psychiatric problem as a thoroughbred, but whatever mental twists he has he at least now knows the difference between right and wrong — its okay to get away with temperament in the morning, but in the afternoon he can run, all right. And thats where the payoff is — in the afternoon. Terrang_ apparently wont go a mile and a quarter in top company, at least he didnt Saturday. Career Boy, whom we thought the best two-year-old we saw last year, simply could not get up in time, although he made a_ pretty good run for it through the stretch, overlooked by most whose eyes were glued to Needles, And Pintor Lea, fifth ran pretty good for a horse whose ankle troubles have been headline news for almost two weeks now. It adds up to a most interesting year ahead notwithstanding Needles superb score. Bill Corum, president of Churchill Downs, tells us that regardless of the fact that the winners of three • important tune-up Derby races, the Wood .Memorial, Blue Grass, and Chesapeake, were won by non-Derby eligibles, Churchill Downs has no thought of opening its conditions to make supplementary "nominations possible. "The Derby is a unique race," explains Corum, "and is not geared to the outcome of any other race and thats why the Churchill Downs management feels it would be a mistake to alter the present conditions in this manner. You have good years and so called average years in the Derby, and over the long run, conditions will balance themselves. We feel the Derby is of such magnitude and importance that its worth while for the owner of every three-year-old prospect to nominate, and if they do not, it is their less, not the Derbys." Corum seems to feel that the outcome of this 82nd Derby justifies this thinking, and few would care to argue against the premise that this has been a moderate three-year-old year. This in itself is not too important except maybe to breeders, for moderate year or not, the Derby running itself lost none of its traditional excitement and prestige. 48-Hour Derby Closing Very Successful The 48-hour Derby day closing rule, tried experimentally at the Downs for the first time this year, proved successful far beyond the expectations of all concerned and you may look for this procedure to be part and parcel of the Derby pattern from now on. The known status of the field from Thursday at about 10 a.m. onwards was in the public interest. "We should have been doing this years ago," commented Corum, "and everyone co-operated magnificently in this new departure from old custom." The horsemen did their part and deserve a "well done" for giving the public relations of the turf in general a real boost. And racing secretary Al Lavin, serving his first year in this post at the Downs, handled his end in a manner that stamps him as one of the outstanding men in America in his profession. He took a positive attitude toward the 48-hour project, in itself almost enough to insure success, with the wholehearted co-operation of .the horsemen, of course. Derby Day Horses and People: Ed Wilhelm of Maxon and Company which handles the sponsorship account of the Derby, tells us that while the rating tab of TV viewers wont be in for a matter of weeks, it was almost a certainty that new records were established. "We had a few more stations this year than last," says Wilhelm, "and theie are more than a million new homes in the nation with screens." . . . Derby day weather was perhaps the nicest in the 82-year-old history of the classic. It was sunny and pleasant.
