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Star-Studded Field of 1 6 Goes In 63,000 Kentucky Derby Tim Tarn Is Favored to Defeat Jewels Reward, Silky Sullivan Most Interest Centered on Performances of Big Three in Mile and One-Quarter Churchill Classic; Calumet Colt Aims To Give Stable Seventh Success,- 18,900 Purse to Victor By CHARLES IIATTON CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 2. — Mrs. Elizabeth Grahams pluckj Jewels Reward, Mrs. Gene Markeys polished Tim Tam, Ross and Klipsteins stirring stretch runner, Silky Sullivan, and 13 others of the nations finest three-year-olds have a date with destiny in the 83rd renewal of the 63,000 Kentucky Derby this week end. A net purse of 18,900, the second richest ever, a dramatic gold trophy, and a permanent niche in the pantheon of Derby heroes awaits the winner at the end of this roaring 1 1-4 miles. Jampacked with contention, partisanship and interseptional rivalry, this "Battle of Roses" has evoked such widespread and irresistible appeal it is expected that some 100,000 will attend if the cordial spring weather con- tinues. The 16 assembled from coast to coast to respond to "My Old Kentucky Home," the traditional Derby call to colors, are the pick of a crop of 9,195 foals of 55. the top 17 per cent of their generation after three years of the inexorable processes of elimination. That this Derby may develop a rousing horse race is implicit in the sharp difference of opinion concerring the probable post time 4:30 CDT favorite. May Rule 8-5 Choice Experts in such occult matters fancy Tim Tam may be the publics preference at perhaps 8-5. with Silky Sullivan and Jewels Reward 5-2. The record attests the fans have arrived at their favorite with a high frequency of accuracy, their choices winning 46 per cent of the time since the classics inception in 1875. This is well above the national average of 33 per cent. The Downs club reports an unprecedented crush of demands for Derby accommodations, and the light-hearted thousands have been converging on old Derby-ville all week, by air. rail and highway from Canada to Cuba. The late Irvin S. Cobb has said that to- describe the agreeable effects of the "Derby Fever" one would have to have the tongue of an angel annotated with mountain dew. This Derby presents to the colorful throng a fairly open race, and it is possible the wagering will shatter previous marks. The largest total for the day was a golden stream of ,360,252 which broke over the dam of the tote board in 1956. The previous year, an all-time high of ,677,178 has established for the Derby itself. The big three of this history making 10 furlongs are Tim Tam, Jewels Reward and Silky Sullivan. Many are supremely confident Tim Tam will extend Calumet Farms array of Derby cups to seven, enabling this establishment to further its own record. As the witching hour approaches, there is a growing sentiment in many quarters to favor Jewels Reward, ridden by the cerebral Eddie Arcaro, who already is the Derby winningest jockey with five of his 19 mounts. He has made no secret of his confidence he is on the best horse. It is estimated that some 75 per cent of the Derby crowds come from Louisville and environs, and in this area they seem almost unanimously Silky Sullivan fans, which could have a notable impact on the odds. It is comforting that Tim Tam, Jewels Reward and Silky Sullivan are impartial Continued on Page 22 D 63,000 Kentucky Derby Draws 1 6 Tim Tarn Is Favored to Defeat Jewels Reward, Silky Sullivan Big Three Attracting Most i Attention in Downs Classic; 1 8,900 Purse for Winner Continued from Pcge One in the matter of track conditions. Also that for nine consecutive years the going, has been fast. Park Avenue doctors have charged S50 for less thorough examinations than the Derby contenders have been subjected to this week, and none of the scores of rail-birds who flock to the Downs at sun-up to see them go through their calisthentics has carped about their condition. Tim Tam, winner over Jewels Reward in the Flamingo on a "TKO," and of the Florida Derby, was most impressive winning the. Derby Trial, overcoming interference in going like chewing gum. He brings to his effort, the most important of his burgeoning career, much that is satisfying to sophisticated horsemen. He has breeding, by Tom Fool from Two Lea, an imperturbable temperament, the instincts of a dedicated race horse, and action that is sheer poetry. Bill Hartack cannot ride him in this Derby, but "Milo" Valenzuela handled the colt competently in the Trial to indicate he will be missed. Disqualified in Flamingo Jewels Reward, a colt of unremitting courage, was headed by Tim Tam at mid-stretch in their one encounter Flamingo day, but fought back so bitterly in a slam-bang finish that he was a neck in front at the line, only to be disqualified. Since then, he has won the Wood in stylish fashion, and worked the full Derby distance in soft going here in 2:10. A wrenched leg, incurred in his skirmish with Tim Tam, kept him out of the Florida Derby, but trainer Ivan Parke advises it has flattened out satisfactorily. "Julius" does not have Tim Tarns size nor aplomb, and has been known to "flip" under the stress, strain and blaring bands attendant on a major ; ■ event. But he is a grim rival when the heat of conflict is on him. Silky Sullivan is the pride of the West. This exhibitionist has encountered no such distinguished competition as the other two represent, but he has a smart run for perhaps a quarter of a mile. His extraordinary stretch drives have invested him with glamor, an appeal translated into box office returns whenever he appears. The Irish-American from California "make a noise" and some times hangs if his big move is not timed nicely, but there are many who believe he can foreshorten the mile and one-quarter of the Derby to a quarter of a mile. The familiar Willie Shoemaker, who has as much sang froid as the 17 hands invader, again will ride him this Saturday. May Be a Donerail Lurking Actually 80 per cent of "the populace see this Derby as a sort of three-cornered match~among the foregoing entrants, and think the others quite unnecessary. However, this threatens some necessary illusions of the longshot players, there may be a Donerail lurking somewhere in the field, they will carefully ignore the program selectors suggestion of Tim Tam, Jewels Reward and Silky Sullivan, whom he arbitrarily rates one-two-three in the order named, in pursuit of sudden riches. Jets Alibi or Ebony Pearl, the pacemaker of the Derby Trial, might have appeal to them, except they are coupled with Jewels Reward. Hasty Houses Can Trust, Bene -dicto and Red Hot Pistol will be combined in the "mutuel field," which is always backed by the; iconoclasts. There remain Llangollens Gone Fishin, /who debited Silky Sullivan with defeat, George Lewis* Experimental winner, Martins Rullah, C. V. Whitneys Trial third Flamingo," the Sunny Blue Farms, Lincoln Road, Mrs. A. Cannulis Chance it Tony, Crabgrass Farms Noureddiri and Allie Reubens Can Trust. It is possible one or several of these will TIM TAM beating Lincoln Road by one-half length in the 19,000 Florida Derby on March 29. be withdrawn by the time the silvery peal of "first call" rolls over the Downs. If there are any substractions from the original field, the purse will be reduced by ,250 for each entrant who reneges. In addition to the 18,900 it would net the winnerwere all 16 to start, there is 5,000 second money, 2,500 third and ,000 fourth. Post positions can be important, even in a race of 1% miles, with some five-sixteenths of a mile to the first turn. The determinedly old fashioned Downs has the same mile course over which Aristides, "the Little Red Horse," won the first Derby in 1875. Jewels Reward, gifted with far more early speed than either Tim Tam or Silky Sullivan, had the good fortune, to draw Number 3. Just inside him in Number 2 is Tim Tam, who customarily requires a sixteenth to settle on hl5~fluent stride, however, and Silky Sullivan, who may be 30 lengths last with 6 furlongs to go, drew an outer position, in Number. 13. Either of the Maine Chance colts coadjutors, Ebony Pearl and Jets Alibi, has dash enough to prompt a realistic early pace. Flamingo, who is of the stretch-running persuasion-, drew in Number 6. Eddie Arcaro is not quite the only jockey having a mount in this Derby who rode a, previous winner. Willie Shoemaker is the boy wlio beat him and Nashua with Swaps several years back then himself very poignantly did not win the Derby on- Gallant Man last May. He misjudged the fin ish, losing ,the Derby by inches to Iron Liege, and a chance to ride in the Preak-ness through a severe 15-day suspension. Ismael Valenzuela, who Tides Tim Tam, never saw a Derby before. He has perhaps "the best seat in the house" for this one. Nor is Calumet quite the only establishment represented in the Derby to have supplied a~previous winner. Mrs. Grahams Jet Pilot, leading from flagfall tq finish, squeaked home under her patriotic cerise, white and blue banner in 1947. If Silky Sullivan catches nimbler rivals too tired to repel him jn the stretch— "that little, little piece of dirt where the race of life is run" — he. will be the third California-bred to prevail. Swaps in 55 and Morvich in 22 were native sons. "Mayor Jimmy" Jones is bidding for a consecutive double as a Derby trainer, having sent out Iron Liege, rather disconsolately, to deputize for the ailing Gen. Duke last year. His father, Ben Allen Jones, saddled Calumets other winners, and Herbert Woolf s Lawrin. Ivan Parke who conditions Jewels Reward, conditioned Hoop, Jr. to win the 1945 renewal. There will, be the usual early wagering on this Derby, special booths opening at 9 a. m. In addition o the 100,000, more or less, expected to attend the race, it will have an unseen radio and TV audience of an estimated 50,000,000. It is the biggest show in American racing. It will begin at 11:30 a. m., which is first post. And may the best horse win!
