KENTUCKY DERBY 121 



FORTY-SECOND DERBY 1916 



As old Rome raised her gates for the returning conqueror 

 and turned over to him the city's keys so did Louisville surrender 

 to-day to the spirit of the Derby. 



Again must the mind go back to palmy days of the city by 

 the Tiber to imagine anything like the scene when that crowd of 

 50,000 cheering persons saw Gov. Stanley present the victor's 

 wreath to Loftus, the boy who rode George Smith, winner of 

 the classic. 



It was a surrender complete, unequivocal and universal with 

 all classes, at all places and in every regard. 



But perhaps it was not a surrender at all, for that spirit of 

 the great Kentucky classic gave to the city a gala day that even 

 the carnival of Venice or Mardi Gras at New Orleans cannot 

 surpass ; it crowded the city with 25,000 strangers from far and 

 near and, from the calculations of hotel men and others who 

 come in immediate contact with the racing crowds, brought and 

 left no less than one-half million out-of-town dollars to the 

 Gateway of the South. 



There was but one limit to the festivities of the day — the 

 azure sky. If Louisville was joyful to see so many strangers 

 within her walls and delighted in a day of sport that might befit 

 dwellers of the Elysian Fields, she had yet another cause for 

 gladness. Despite the efforts of "the East" to capture the Ken- 

 tucky Derby for two seasons, the first and third horses in the 

 classic were "bred in old Kentucky." 



The Derby was the fifth race on the card, and it was 5 :15 

 o'clock when the horses reached the post. There was but little 

 delay at the barrier, and within a minute they were on their 

 way. Dodge, which ran coupled with Franklin as the Weber & 

 Ward entry, was the first to show colors, and his stablemate 



