Evening star., 1954-05-01
Five in Field Of 1S
Get Heavy Backing
In TeIeyised Classic
BY the As.oeiosed Press


lucky Derby today.
Two hours after the gates
opened at 9 am. washington
time), the $4,000 reserved seats
were only sparsely occupied but
upward of 5000 persons were in
the infleld.
The weather man looked for
those in the inf1eld to receive a
good soaking before the field Of
3-year-olds parade to the post at
$50. His prediction was for
scattered thunderstorms and
continued hot and humid
weather.
Heavy showers during the
early morning hours dampened
the racing strip over which the
hand-picked field Of horses will
race a mile and a quarter for a
share of the $124.850 purse. To
the winner would go a record
$102.800 if all of the overnight
eIlLrleS started.
Odds Remain Unchanged.
The trainers had until IS min
utes before post time to scratch
their horses.
There was not enough early
betting to make any change in
the odds. Correlation remained
the 5-to-2 choice with Goyamo
second at 4 to ! and Hasty Road
and his stablemate. Sea o Erin,
third at to /. Determine and
Fisherman were quoted at six.
The 18 colts, whose names were
dropped into the entry box yes
terday, are survivors of an origi-
nal field of 137 nominated for
this 100000 added glamor race
starting at $50 pm. (Washing-
ton time).
The others, including two of
of the future book choices,
dropped by the wayside either
through injuries or failure to
show the speed and endurance
necessary to be a serious con-
tender at the mile-and-a-quarter
Derby distance.
Victor Gets $1O2,8OO.
Heading the field are Correla-
ton, owned by Los Angeles oil
man R. S. Lytle; Goyamo, rep
resenting the Woodvale Farm
of Royce G. Martin at Toledo,
Ohio, and Mrs. w. Alton Jones;
Hasty Road, pride of A. E. Reu-
ben's Hasty House Farm of To-
ledo; Determine from the stable
Of automobile dealer A. j. Crevo-
lin of Alhambra, Calf, and c. v.
Whitney's scrappy little Fisher
man from New York.
If all 18 of the overnight en-
tries parade to the post as the
band strikes up MY Old Ken
lucky Home" the owner of the
winning horse will bank a net
of $102,800 as compared to the
previous high of $98,O5O won in
1851 by Count Turf. The race
will gross $124,850, only a little
over a thousand short of the
high mark three years ago.
Even if there are as many as
two scratches, and the track con-
ditions will decide that, the win
ner still will take down in excess
Of a hundred grand.
The big event will be televised
nationally by the Columbia
Broadcasting System from 5 to
5:45 pm, EDIT, and broadcast
by the same company Sis to
5:45.
(The Derby will be telecast
in Washington by WTOP,
channel 8, starting at Sis
o'clock.)
Five-H0rse Affair.
The race itself-and after all
that is what annually turns this
Ohio River city into a combina-
ton of Times Square on New
Years eve. New Orleans Mardi
Gras. World Series and an
Army : Navy football game
shapes up as a fiveehorse affair.
If any Of the others even so
much as break into the money,
it'll be a surprise. But because
just about anything can happen
in a horse race Qook at Native
Dancers defeat last year,. the
owners are willing to plank down
$1,000 each to see their horses
run.
Correlation. already winner Of
two 100000 races this season.
the Florida Derby and the Wood
Memorial last Saturday, rules
the S to 2 favorite. He has been
the public choice ever since
Turn-to and Porterhouse were
sidelined by injuries.
Shoemaker Rides.
The lanky son of Free America
will be ridden by Willie Shoe
maker, Americas No. / winning
jockey last year but never closer
than third in two previous Derby
rides.
Goyamo holds down the Sec
ond spot at 4 to /. chiefly because
of his victory in the recent Blue
Grass Stakes at Keeneland. He
was second behind Correlation in
the Florida Derby and again will
be ridden by the king of all Derby
jockeys. Eddie Arcaro. who has
had five winners in IA attempts.
The contest for third spot in
the pre-race odds is just as close
as last Tuesdays race in the
Derby trial in which Hasty Road
set a mile track record of 1885
to edge the little gray Westerner,
Determine.
Hasty Road Rated 81.