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__ _ — J Between Races By Oscar Otis * Derby Opens Up Sophomore Situation Knebelkamp Says Derby Fiesta Success Lindheimer Charts New Path to Classic CHURCHILL DOWNS. Louisville. Ky., May 6 — Iron Lieges victory in the eighty-third running of the Kentucky Derby in a furious drive to beat Gallant Man when Shoemaker misjudged the finish with the latter, a bold showing by Round Table to be third after encountering some trouble, as we saw it. near the head of the stretch, the tumbling of Bold Ruler from his ivory tower of greatness, the knowledge that the scratched Gen. Duke will be back to the racing wars later on. all made Saturdays renewal of the classic Derby not an en-swer to the three-year-old season ahead, but rather an enthralling challenge. It makes the season ahead spicier because, unless the sidelined Gen. Duke is far better than rated — after all, hes beaten and been beaten by the same horses earlier — it not only looks an open season, but one which has ind-deed a vintage crop. You cant take a thing away from the score of Iron Liege, and it was one big effort. You may also recall that as a two-year-old Irion Liege was considered a better colt than Gen. Duke, if you take the future book wagering on The Garden State as proof. Gallant Man Will Have His Day We are certain that Gallant Man will get other opportunities to make up for his Derby loss, a heartbreaking nose to Iron Liege, and wed like to see Shoemaker, a great competitor, but certainly no alibi artist, ride him back. Round Table, to our way of seeing it. while he didnt exactly dislike the track, didnt fancy it, either. Hell do better, far better, on a pasteboard, but. even so, his sporting excursion to Kentucky was well worthwhile. Under the circumstances, it was a big effort. For instance, he beat Bold Ruler by three open lengths. And he was beaten less than three lengths by the embattled first pair. The winning time of 2: 0215 was excellent, considering that the Derby "norm" for a good horse is now considered at 2:03. Iron Liege, we might add, is a close relation of Swaps, being out of Iron Maiden, the dam of Iron Reward, in turn the dam of Swaps. Iron Maiden was bred by Louis B. Mayer, was the winner of 2,590, and was purchased for 0,-000 by Calumet Farm as a broodmare. The sale was made by her then Calif orina owner. Ellwood B. Johnston, more commonly known as "The Pie Man." Calumet, as we mentioned a few days ago. was seeking an outcross for Bull Lea. Their quest paid real dividends Saturday. Wathen Knebelkamp, chairman of the Derby Press Entertainment Committee, tells me the big brass sponsoring the full weeks fiesta in Louisville, a fiesta built around the Derby even though it included such an item as a concert by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra, feel the promotion was a success not only in getting folks here earlier for the Derby, but also in keeping Louisville in the glare of national publicity for an extended period of time. Thursday nights parade, the second of its kind, was so far. superior to last years that they werent even comparable. Next year, the Friday night fight will be changed to Wednesday, by agreement with Churchill Downs, not that a fight on Friday night made any difference, per se, but rather Bill Corum, Downs prexy, felt that the newspapermen here covering the Derby were scattering their words between fight and Derby, and he felt that nothing should be THAT newsworthy on the eve of the Derby itself. The golf tournament, which was idle last Saturday, a week, opening day at Churchill, was underwritten for 0,000, and, while the final audit is not completed, we learn it should not lose too much money. Afternoons Open for Racing Only "You will notice that all public events were scheduled either in the morning or in the evening, leaving free time every racing afternoon," comment Knebelkamp. "I think we are away to a good start, and are only making a beginning. Within a comparatively few years, this fiesta should compare with a Mardi Gras, and will draw huge numbers of non-racingvisitors. This, I feel, is all to the good of racing, for of these folks, most all probably will visit Churchill Downs at least once, and I am sure that they will like what they see and many of them will become racing fans in their own areas. Personally. I could think of no better way to encounter racing for the first time than at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, or during the excitement of Derby Week. Ive been through a lot of Derbys, and this is the one race in America that creates a noticeable tension as the running draws near, a tension that rises in a crescendo and does not lessen until the winner is crowned with the roses in the infield. No matter how many Derbys one experiences, or not matter how blase or sophisticated one feels himself, some of this ex-citment communicates itself to everyone in Louisville." The paths to the Kentucky Derby and Classic quality lead right through the winter from basic two-year-old form, and if the American racing system has any drawbacks, it might be that in many major sectors of the nation, two-year-olds of good potential lack a real opportunity to prove themselves up. This, in major part, is occasioned by the star list, which as often as not is overcrowded, with three, four and maybe five stars needed to get into a race. Belmont is the least Continued on Pooe Forty-One I BETWEEN RACES I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page F/ve troubled by such juvenile lists because it Thermits more than 20 horses to start, even though there is just one purse for the 20 or "more, as against one purse for the usual 12-horse field. Therefore, the proposed action of Ben Lindheimer at Arlington-Washington Parks this summer will be tabbed closely by rll managements and horsemen, for it may make possible the better development of a greater number of worthy three-year-olds, and this in turn has a direct bearing on a race like the Kentucky Drby, not to mention all three-year-old stakes of magnitude. . Lindhimers plan is simple. He has carded, judging by the first condition book at Arlington, a considerable number of two-year-old races where preference is given to horses that have not started in a claiming race. Purses on such races have been enriched over the pots offered for two-year-old claiming events. In quite a few claiming races, winners get preference in starting. It is quickly apparent that this phole plan is laid out to permit a good jrospect to climb the ladder gradually to stakes, that extra money incentive is pro-yided the better prospect and, while the claiming two-year-old is not snubbed, neither is he getting what in the past could ie construed as preferential treatment.
