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CHRISTOPHER T. CHENERY— His homebred, First Landing, is the probable favorite for this afternoons 85th running of the 65,000 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Classy Field of 1 8 to Compete In 65,000 Kentucky Derby First Landing Rules Tepid Favorite In Wide Open Renewal at Churchill Arcaro Rides Chenery Colt As He Seeks Sixth Win in Mile and Quarter Classic By CHARLES HATTON CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 1. — "The openest Derby of all" has closed with a field of 18 of the classiest three-year-olds in the land and a concourse of 100,000 more or less prejudiced witnesses are assembling on the historic Downs to see the 85th running of this 65,000 mile and one-quarter. The richest "Run for the Roses" finds Christopher T. Cheneiys sleek bay First Landing, ridden by the masterly Eddie Arcaro, a rather tepid favorite at about 3 to 1 to turn back the Florida Derby winner Easy Spur, the Flamingo winner Troilus, the promising Sword Dancer and Tomy Lee and C. V. Whitneys charming filly Silver Spoon, heroine of the Santa Anita Derby. Silver Spoons acceptance, after some momentous indecision, lends the old classic a glamorous content it has not held since Regret became "the only" in 1915. On-and-On Named for Two Races Also in the lists as the spell of the Derby grips the nation in the exhilarated euphoria of "Derby fever" are Royal Orbit, Open View and his running-mate Atoll; Our Dad, Rico Tesio, Finnegan, John Bruce and the fielders Dunce, On-and-On, Die Hard, Festival King and The Chosen One. Troilus, despite his Flamingo win, is also in the field. On-and-On also has been named for an overnight event on the Derby card. The weatherman promises another glorious spring day for the presentation of this .."greatest two minutes in sports" with the temperature in the mid 70s and the unprecedented crush of requests for reserved seats presages the largest crowd to see a horse race in America. If all the 18 named actually face the starter and their destinies at approximately 4:30 CST, the winner will earn a net purse of 20,900, a ,000 gold cup, the felicitations of Kentuckys Governer, A. B. "Happy" Chandler, a niagara of acclaim from the welling crowd and a niche in the sports Pantheon of memorable thoroughbreds. The local airport is crowded to the runways with private planes and extra sections of regularly scheduled planes bringing the lighthearted Derby crowds from every state in the Union. Some 20 special trains are roaring into Derbytown. Surrounding highways are choked with mo- Tomy Lee and Sword Dancer Threats; Silver Spoon First Filly to Compete in 14 Years torists, and hotels and motels are doing a convention business from Indianapolis to Nashville. There are 30,000 musicians parading about the village. The governors of North Carolina and South Carolina are exchanging the latest intelligence from shedrow with the governor of Georgia. Moviedom is represented by Oscar winner Susan Hay ward. The 250 newsmen on the scene include correspondents from other nations. In fine, it has all the elements of a Derby day in its most carefree traditions, only bigger than ever. In addition to the 20,900 net to the winner, the Derby provides 5,000 second money, 2,500 third, and ,000 fourth. A flat 00,000 is guaranteed the winner. Under the terms of the Downs classic all the field will carry 126 pounds except the giant filly Silver Spoon, who gets a five-pound sex allowance. Geldings once were entitled to three pounds allowance but Easy Spur carries 126 in accordance with the revised scale. It is, incidentally, interesting that Regret, who raced for C. V. Whitneys late father, T. P. Whitney, carried only 112 pounds when she earned her For late developments on todays Kentucky Derby see page 3. Complete past performances for the Derby entrants appear on pages 38 D and 40 D. isolated splendor as the only member of her sex to win the "Battle of Roses." Silver Spoon is the first filly to compete since 1945. Parenthetically also, is should be noted that the Derby day program provides a redundancy of high class competition as the Debutante for two-year-old fillies will be offered as a supporting number. As usual wagering on the Derby will begin at 8:30 a. m., with post time for the first race at 11:30. Mutuels manager E. A. Weidekamp has indicated the official program will quote First Landing the favorite, though this brilliant champion of the 1958 two-year-olds lost the Flamingo and Wood before giving his polished performance in a division of Tuesdays Derby Trial. The record is encouraging, as 45 per cent of Derby favorites have finished under the blanket of roses. Moreover Eddie Arcaro has won five renewals of the sports "Blue Ribband" and knows the Derby course like the palm of his hand. He, incidentally, had the mount on First Landings half brother Hill Prince when that horse was beaten by Middleground in the 1950 running. In the draw for post positions, First Landing had the good fortune to gain the number 3 station, just outside the comparatively sluggish Our Dad and Rico Tesio, and just inside Silver Spoon and the speedster Atoll, who is expected to be sacrificed on the altar of pace if need be. Open View is the stretch running one of Continued on Page 25 O I FIRST LANDING— Favorite for the 85th Kentucky Derby. 18 Vie in 65,000 Kentucky Derbyl First Landing Tepid Favorite In Wide Open Downs Stakes Arcaro Rides Chenery Colt; j Tomy Lee, Sword Dancer and Filly Silver Spoon Threats Continued from Page One the Elkcam Stable and Chester team. Easy Spur drew well in number 6 and Tomy Lee in number 9. Conversely, On-and-On departs from 12 if he accepts. Sword Dancer from 15 and Royal Orbit from the extreme outside. Riders have been named for all the principals except On-and-On. Pete Anderson is to have the mount on Miss Patrick Jacobs Our Dad, the ebullient Manuel Ycaza rides Rico Tesio, the familiar Ray York has the leg up on Silver Spoon. Baltimores Sammy Boulmetis will have the ride on Atoll, the musically inclined Karl Korte ■on Open View, winner of the first half of the Derby Trial. Bill Hartack again handles Easy Spur, whom he rode in the Florida Derby. Steve Brooks is on Dunce; the worlds winningest jockey John Long- den on Finnegan, a bang-up second to Open View on Tuesday. Willie Shoemaker, after wavering between four prospective mounts, honors a commitment to ride Tomy Lee. He was on Sword Dancer, whom he is quoted as preferring, in the Stepping Stone. - But Bill Boland will handle Mrs. Dodge Sloanes little colt. Chris Rogers handles his Flamingo mount, Troilus, with Ken Church on John Bruce, a good finisher; Johnny Sellers is astride Die Hard ; Willie Carstens aboard Festival King, Jimmy Combest on The Chosen One, and Willie Harmatz rides Royal Orbit. York. Poland and Hartack have, like Arcaro, ridden previous Derby winners. All the 18 named for this most coveted horse race in America are reported to have more or less trained satisfactorily. A hot spot on one ankle temporarily interrupted Easy Spurs training several days after the Stepping Stone, in which he was runner-up to Sword D.ancer in an electric 7 furlongs in l:22y5, just a tick off the track record. Preps Derby Route Trainer Charlie Peoples has said he could wish he had a bit more time to prepare Troilus, following that colts cold and soreness in Florida. And Bob Wheeler "plays by ear" in training Silver Spoon, who takes little work, being a filly, albeit perhaps the largest animal in the field. Some observers thought her a trifle short in the Stepping Stone, in which she nevertheless went out a mile in 1:36 after finishing third, bettering the time of both her conquerors in their works and that of First Landing in the Trial. Tomy Lee trained beautifully following i his determined last ditch stand in the Blue Grass Stakes. His mile and one-quarter I I in 2:08. unaccompanied, the other morning j was accomplished with a verve that left nothing to be desired. Dunce worked within two-fifths of the same time, but ap-• pears a less generous work horse, sporting l blinkers and urged on with two whacks of 1 Brooks whip. Rico Tesio ran a commendable race behind Open View, until he was shut off, showing a bit more lick than usual. Finnegan doubtless would have negotiated Open I Views defeat in the Trial had Longden 1 subjected him to the same desperate drive to which Korte placed the winner. In some quarters he was said not to have "pulled up," i. e., to have come out of the race in a bad way, but Neil McCarthy would not have sanctioned starting him i in such circumstaances. Royal Orbit, a languid beginner, also was in difficulties behind Open View. His people are pleased with the way he has done since, though could scarcely be expected to rejoice at his | position. Sword Dancer is a fast little horse, with the speed to compensate for his "bad lie" at the start, but of questionable stamina. Spur On outstayed him going 9 furlongs 1 in the Florida Derby. For that matter, the fancied First Landing has given no indication he is partial to our American classic distance. Our Dad runs on heartily enough, as did Finnegan, in the Blue Grass, after being prompted on the pace throughout. Different strategies may be employed to better effect in the instances of several of these in the "mil and one-quarter without any water." The battle of the sexes between Silver Spoon and the mere males is extended to the owners ranks, with six of the field representing the feminine p irons. Of j these, Mrs. Markey, who owns On-and-On, ■ and Mrs. Dodge Sloane who owns Sword Dancer, have won Derbys in the past. Among the trainers, only Plain Ben and Jimmy Jones have won Derbys in the past. Among the trainers, only Plain Ben and Jimmy Jones have posed with Derby winners. May the best horse — or gelding — or filly — win.
