Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-03-22
Favorites Trail;
Crowd, Betting
Marks Broken
Slim and Jumie K.
Finish Deud-Heuted
For Third Place
By Chorles N. Eeon
Sports Editor Of The Stur

sports CoIoE OF me StoI
MIAMI, Mar. 21.-Money Bro
ker, a $4,000 bargain purchase
owned by a couple of Detroit
automobile dealers. Allie GriSSom
and Ed Grosfield, took down the
big money in the $100,000-added
Florida Derby today on a warm,
sunny afternoon when a new
crowd record was set and several
betting marks were shattered at
Gulfstream Park.
Money Broker, whose Irish
bred sire, Half Crown, was a
Maryland favorite not so many
years ago? hung on like grim
death in the stretch to beat
Louis B. Mayors Blaze by a head.
Mrs. Wallace Gilroy's Slim and
Jim Norris Jamie K. finished
two lengths farther back in a
dead heat for third place. The
rest of the big field of II was
well up the stretch. 80
The winner may or may not
be a factor in the Kentucky
Derby. but he certainly has
shown a decided preference for
the Churchill Downs track as
three of his victories as a two
year-old were scored there last
fall. His colorful trainer, Vester
Wright-better known as Ten
nessee Wright-is plenty high
on the horse, even though the
time today was anything but
impressive.
Five Seconds Over Record.
Money Broker. all out to stave
oil Blaze, field horse, ran the
mile and one-eighth in 1884,
five full seconds slower than Bat.
tlet1eld's record-equalling time
OF three weeks ago.
Money Brokers time may have
been slow, but there was nothing
wrong with his mutuel price.
The crowd of 23,547 made the
Maryland-owned Ram O. War
the 3-to-1 favorite, while Money
Broker went off at. better than
Is to / despite his good second
In the Louisiana Derby last Sat-
urday. Money Broker paid $50. 80,
$3.50 and $3.50, while Blaze.
coupled with four others in the
mutuel field at 6 to l, returned
$50 and $500. Jamie K. paid
$3.50 to show and Slim $500.
1t was hardly a representative
field for a race that crossed as
much as $133,750, of which
$4,000 went to the winner.
The absence, due to injuries,
OF such big names as Straight
Face and Royal Bay Gem, hurt
quite bit, but President Jimmy
Dom put on a whale of a show
and it was a good horse race.
Little-Known Jockey on Winner.
The winner was ridden by a
l1ttle-known jockey named AL
fred Popara. who does most of
his work around Detroit and at
one time was a Michigan Golden
Gloves boxing champion. Little
Popara did good job of keep
ing Money Broker out of trouble.
but he had to hustle plenty to
Stave of Blaze because Conn Nc
Creary was riding that outsider
as though he thought movie
magnate Mayer needed the
money.
The big disappointments of the
race were Ram O. War, owned
by Bruce S. Campbell of Tow
son, Md, the Cain Hoy Stables
Dark Star, second choice at 4
to l, and Joe w. Browns Mata-
gorda, winner of the Louisiana
Derby.
Ram O. War, who wound up
eighth, had some excuses because
ne was forced to take up sharply
midway of the final turn and
this killed any chance he might
have had. Dark Star, third in
the Belmont Futurity last fall.
showed good speed early in the
race. but fiattened out badly and
finished 18th. Matagorda, the
pride Of New Orleans, never was
close to the leaders and was dead
last at the wire.
One of the more interesting
sidelights of the race was the
New Orleans angle. Confident
that Matagorda would add the
rich Florida race to his Louisiana
Derby victory, Owner Brown
(See FLORIDA. Page C-7.)