The Indianapolis times., 1936-05-04

horses to win with Top Row. In
the Derby there was so much rough
ing at the post that one jockey was
knocked completely off his horse,
and the favorite, Brevity, was
slammed sideways. 1t looked like a
pier free-for r-all on horseback.
Apparently the stewards lave
adopted the unfathomable attitude
that in an important race where
the public interest is so keen no
severe penalties, such as disquali-
fications or heavy fines, shall ever be
imposed whereas it would seem
that the attitude should be just
the reverse. I mean to say the
more important the race, the more
stern the discipline.
AS a result, the thought has be-
come fixed in the minds of some
jockeys-and some owners, too-that
everything goes in the big races,
that the stewards are too timid to
act, and that the most effective
strategy is to gain an advantage
at the unfair expense of the other
fellow.
VXTHERE and what this will lead
w to ultimately unless correc-
tive steps are taken Is plain enough,
The more sporting owners will de-
eide to shun the events regardless
of their importance, until they be-
come convinced that the stewards
serve some purpose other than that
of stuffed stooges.
1 am inclined to agree with the
experts who say Brevity would have
won the Derby If the race had
been truly run, but that is all
water under the dam by now. He
lost four or five lengths in the
rodeo mix up at the post and then
was beaten only by inches. When
this is considered it seems reason
able to suppose he would have won
under different conditions.
While expressing a detached SYM
pathy for the continued hard luck
of Joe E. Widener in these Derby
runnings, 1 can not help but be
slightly amused at the ironic turn
of fate which made Mr. Wright
one of the principal goats in the
turmoil at the post. The boys gave
him a large and unappetizing dose
of his own medicine, and from his
reactions he didn't like it at all.
The Jocks room after the race
resounded with the anguished walls
of Mr.. Wright, a rider who will not
hesitate to knock another horse
clear over the rail if it suits his
purpose, and it was noted that his
groans of misery were enthusias-
tically ignored by all and sundry,
1t being the quite general opinion
that the young man got precisely
what was coming to him.
TINE victory Of Bold Venture was
a a personal triumph for the
Max Hirsches. To be specific, 1t was
a victory for the veteran trainer
who had never won a Derby, and his
daughter Mary, one of the few wom-
en- trainers in the country, and ad-
mitted even by her masculine rivals
to be an eminent expert at the
business. a. ,
Bold Venture is a real good horse,
but not a great one. He is horse
that can not stand much work and
there is a suspicion that his ankles
lack soundness. 1t is difficult enough
to bring a perfect horse up to top
form for a mile and a quarter test
early in May and naturally the
problem becomes more difficult when
the material in hand is somewhat
inferior.
Hirsch knew Just how much work
his horse could stand. He didn't
campaign him in the winter races.
He refused to start him in the Wood
Memorial a week before the Derby,
fearing it might take too much out
of him. Like a man that must 60
through the week on two bucks,
he conserved every ounce of the
horses strength-and the running
OF the Derby proved Bold Venture
needed every ounce he had