Neo-Classic

The early season races for three-year-olds--the Preakness, Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Dwyer Stakes--are races elaborated by tradition. The Classic, at Chicago's Arlington Park, run last week for only the third time, is not really a classic at all. But because it is the world's richest race for three-year-olds (winner's purse, $73,650), because Blue Larkspur and Gallant Fox, both champions, were the first horses to win it, the Classic has acquired importance without tradition. It attracted 65,000 turf folk to Arlington track last week and most of the best horses of the East and West, including Mrs. Payne Whitney's Derby-Belmont-and Dwyer-winner, Twenty Grand, and A. C. Bostwick's Preakness-winner, Mate.

The race was between these two. A stablemate of Twenty Grand, St. Brideaux, had been entered to take care of the competition supplied by Spanish Play, Joey Bibb, Sun Meadow and Sir Ashley. Racing enthusiasts were sure last week that Twenty Grand would win--although Mate had beaten him in a roughly-ridden Preakness, although Twenty Grand had only just recovered from a back injury.

Twenty Grand wins all his races in the home stretch. No one was worried when he started slowly nor when the horses came round the last turn with Mate first and Spanish Play moving into second place. But if Jockey Kurtsinger, up on Twenty Grand, had expected Mate to fade in the last quarter, he was wrong. They came past the stands with Twenty Grand gaining on Spanish Play but losing ground to flying Mate who was under the wire first by four lengths. Spanish Play still had his nose in front of Twenty Grand who finished third. In adding up what the Classic purse would mean to Twenty Grand, few experts had bothered to note that, added to his winnings in the Preakness, American Derby and two-year-old races, first prize in the Classic would make Mate the best money horse of the season --$232,325, with a chance to beat Gallant Fox's record of $328,165.

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