KENTUCKY DERBY 59 



every one who went on that day, saw a race, the like of which 

 they never saw before nor since. The idol was dethroned but 

 even in defeat he was greater in the hearts of his admirers than 

 was the winner. 



But the Derby this afternoon presented none of the attractive 

 features of that great event won by Spokane. The horses trained 

 here and, of course, around whom most of the local interest would 

 naturally attach had not shown any trials upon which to place 

 much faith in their prowess, with the possible exception of 

 Pearl Song. The others had been tried and found wanting, and, 

 as a matter of course, the public could not make an idol of com- 

 mon clay. Along up the line from Memphis to this meeting 

 came a horse that had run races at three other tracks with con- 

 siderable success, and whose muscles had been hardened for a 

 journey of a mile and a half by actual racing, which is admitted 

 by all trainers to be a better conditioner than private work. This 

 horse is Chant, and he won the Kentucky Derby this afternoon 

 just as he pleased. There may have been horses in it that will 

 be better than he later on, but there was nothing in it that was 

 within ten pounds of him to-day. There was nothing in it that 

 could make the son of Falsetto stretch his neck and think seri- 

 ously that he was running for a stake or merely out for an 

 exercise gallop. The time was exceedingly slow, and this was 

 partially due to the soft condition of the track, but more particu- 

 larly due to the fact that there was nothing in the race that 

 could make Chant run any faster. Chant was a strong favorite 

 in the betting, his odds being uniformly 1 to 2, but after viewing 

 his easy victory one was impressed with the idea that those odds 

 were really quite liberal. It was only a matter of loaning one's 

 money to the bookmakers for a little while, to be taken back 

 shortly with fifty per cent interest. There were five starters in 

 the Derby all with the same impost — 122 pounds. Goodale was 



