Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-28
MANY INTERESTING TALES OF
GREAT CLASSIC
TRAVELLED THREE THOUSAND
MILES AND MISSED RACE
American Went Abroad to Witness
Running of Big Event and Was
Eating Lunch When the
Horses Finished
Special Catla to The Herald.


bare mention of the name sends quick
thrill through every sporting Engdshman'
In the remotest corners of the earth where
venturous Britishers are seeking fame and
fortune the result of each years race for
the blue ribbon is awaited with the
keenest interest. The great -lpsom car
nival is visited upon each anniversary OF
the most famous race In the world by
enthusiastic foreigners from every quar-
ter of the globe. The list OF the occu-
and queen downward, reads like a page
and queen downwards, reads like page
from Debrett. Every class of the COM
munity is represented. peers jostle pearl
led costermongers, and celebrities in
every walk of life are as plentiful as her
rings in October.
Some years ago a keen American turtle
journeyed from New ork expressly TO
witness the race for the Derby The oxy-
gen-laden air of EPSON Downs sharpened
his appetite to such an extent that he was
compelled to seek the luncheon room TO
appease it, So absorbed was he in his
meal that he was still eating while the
great battle of the cracks was being
fought out, and he, to his intense chagrin.
missed the desperate struggle between
Bend Or and Robert the Devil, which
ended in the head victory of the renowned
Jockey Fred Archer, on the former.
Bend Or has won, sir,' his waiter in
formed him.
rs the Derby over, then?" the Ameri-
can asked, in amazement.
"Yes, sir; Bend Or won a great race"
Triple Crown Winner
wal, holy smoke, that beats snakes.
I've Travelled 5000 miles to eat cold pork
and picked onions! Guess III have to
come again next year to see it!' He did,
and had the immense satisfaction of see
ing 1.-THE Tinman" as Archer was nick
named. ride Mr.. Pierre Lorillard's Ameri-
horse, Iroquois, first past the
post
Elaborate arrangements were made TO
cable the result of this erby to America,
a special wire being laid on to the grand
stand. Directly the horses passed the
winning post the compound word "1ro-
ertow"-representing the names of the
first three horses--Iroquois, Peregrine and
Town Moor-was flashed across the Attain
tic, and anxious New Workers, mad with
excitement were aware of the success OF
the American morse in few seconds, long
enough before thousands of people actu- |
ally on the course knew what had won, |
or the horses emerged from the paddock
on their way back to the weighing en-
closure.
Only once before had foreign horse
won the blue ribbon from England. That |
was in 1865 when 1.-The Frenchman,"
Tladiatelrr, was successful, and his heavy |
owner, Count Lagrange, won
big fortone (f70.00O) in bets This
famous thoroughbred is one of the |
select band of ten Triple Crown"
heroes, who have won the three classic
races, the two thousand guineas,
Derby and st. Leger.
French owners have made many at
-empts to win the race since Gladiateur
proved successful, but have succeeded
n running only second and third sew
eral times. Holocauste, one of the
Iallic invaders. which ran in the Derby
won by Flying Fox fell during the
ace, and had to be destroyed. His
hide was made into boots which were
advertised in the sporting papers
From the number of persons the writer
has met who are proud possessors OF
''Holocauste" footwear, he must have
been a veritable giant among horses
Rarely has a Derby been run about
which a whole volume of interesting |
anecdotes could not be written. The
most notorious of the 126 that have |
been decided is undoubtedly that of
1874, known as the Running Rein Der
by." An unscrupulous gang of thiev-
ing racing men formulated deeply
laid plot to win a great race. AS is
well known the event Is confined to D.
Rein was run by the schemers. He
finished first, but did not however, get
the race and stakes value f440. Colonel
Peel. the owner of the horse that
finished second Orlando, objected to the
winner and claimed the stakes, which
were paid into the court of exchequer
by the Stockholders.
The great turf dictator, Lord George
Bentinck displayed a detective instinct
worthy of Sherlock Holmes in ferreting
out the ramifications of the celebrated
swindle and exposing the perpetrators of
It, 1t was proved at the trial which sub
seduently took place that the notorious
Rein was, in fact, four-year-
old named Maccabeus. and the race and
stakes were therefore awarded to Or
lando. The cunning swindlers had killed
the horse, cut it up into small portions
and oiled and buried them to escape de-
lection This was a doubly disgraceful
race, as another "over-the-age" horse ran
in Leander Nemesis was. however on
the track of the conspirators, and the
impostor fell in the race broke one of
his legs and was destroyed.
Fig Money Wagered
There was some particularly heavy
gambling on the turf years ago. When
Cremone beat the 40 to 1 chance, Pell
Nell after a strenuous race by head
a noble sportsman approached one of the
leviathian bookmakers. What differ
ence did that head make to you?" he
queried. "e1OO,OOO!" replied the imper-
sportsman.
The most sensational Derby every run,
and over which there was abnormal bet
ting, was that won by II. Chaplin's Her
nit thirty years ago. 1t is known as
1.-THE Snowstorm Derby" owing to the
fact that snow was falling prior to and
shortly after the event. The winner was
reported to have broken a blood vessel a
few days before and his price in the bet
ting was 66 to / against. This notorious
plunging marquis of Hastings was Bit
terly opposed to Hermit, and laid so
heavily against the horse that he lost
e103,000 over the race, which broke his
heart and prematurely ended his life.
The late duke of Hamilton narrowly
escaped being another heavy loser, as he
had laid the huge bet of 91SO0O0 to 10000
against Hermit winning. Fortunately for
him, however, some mutual friends. a
week before the race, arranged for the