Evening star., 1947-05-05
JET Pilot Seen Facing
Much Tougher Task
Winning Preakness
By Sid FEEDER
A,soeiai.d Pres. Sports Writer

LOUISVILLE, KY, May 5.-Aside
from the chances the dozen or so
others have Of beating Derby winner
Jet Pilot in the Preakness Saturday
If the track is fast, the chief. hang
over today from the late lamented
Run for the Roses is: Just how big
can the Derby get?
From all YOU hear, If the weather
is right at Pimlico, the Pilot is going
to have lot tougher time of it..
There1l be speed to run with him in
the early going to find out whether
he can take 1T when he's pressed,
like he was able to dish 1t out when
things weren't so tough.
Some of the speed shipped out
for Oh hill top yesterday on the
same train with the Pilot. King
Bay, the undertaker,s horse owned
by Louisville Funeral Director Ber-
nard Bax-was one. He whipped
On Trust and Double Jay in a
sizzling sprint nine days ago. An
other was Cosmic Bomb, the only
one brave enough to run at the
Pilot Saturday. He found out it was
too rugged, and folded to fifth.
Others Also Shipped.
Bullet Proof, the pony-sized Vir-
ginian who wound up seventh in
the Derby, and Phalanx, the favorite
who dropped out of the clouds from
last place to second with a none
too-hot ride by Eddie Arcaro, also
were riding the same rails.
This morning, Faultless, definitely
not an offtrack horse; Riskolator, q
disappointing 18th Saturday, and
Double Jay, who finished next to
last-checked out for Baltimore.
And tomorrow, the California flyer,
On Trust, gets in his swanky spec
cial plane for the trip. He, like
Faultless, ran a remarkable race
Saturday-in going that was worse
than the measles for both of them
and the Californian came home a
weakening fourth.
From Faultless' trainer, Plain Ben
Jones, and On Trusts jockey,
Johnny Longden, who had to turn
down the Derby mount on Jet Pilot
only a couple of weeks ago because
he'd already been engaged for On
Trust, you got the idea that the
Pilot also can expect both OF these
to look him In the eye and run
at him. There1l be no tagging
around In the Preakness.
With this Derby set, plus the
undertaker's horse, added to what's
already waiting at Pimnco and what
will be shipped in from New York,
1t figures up, from here, to field
Of II to is.
Want Rapid Running.
All but one will be roofing for
rapid running, instead Of the slow
stuff that was made to order for
the Pilot and Jockey Eric Guerin
Saturday. It fit the Pilot SO swell,
in fact, that virtually every trainer
tabled it as the main dish by which
he lasted by a head and a head
against the closing rushes of Pha-
Ianx and Faultless.
As for the Derby's growth-this
romp for the roses, at ripe 70
years Of age, as no longer child.
You'd figure it had reached its full
growth long before this. Yet Satur-
day an all-time record throng,
which Col. Matt Winn estimated at
a mere 115,000 to 10000 saw the
cosmetics kid lead from end to
end to pick up the 500, 2,160. Now
some folks have made 1t a habit to
place the tongue gently into the
right cheek-the left one If you're
a southpaw-when they read the
coloneps estimates.
But you can't laugh off the mu-
tuel betting figures. The boys and
girls showed $3.50, ,403s into the iron
men, 81 ,253, ,402 on the Derby alone.
Both of these were Derby day rec
ords. What's more, the amount
wagered on the Derby alone was
more than that bet on the entire
day for 19 derbies, including all
four from 1882 through '35.