DISMAL DERBY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 133, 7 June 1929, Page 7

DISMAL DERBY.

But Half-Million Crowd See~

Classic Race.

ENORMOUS SWEEPS.

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, June 6

The Derby exercised its usual influence over the majority of the population of England yesterday. Tens of thousands of people of all ranks of society went by rail and road yesterday morning to the Epsom course.

Enormous prizes are to be won in the sweepstakes of the Calcutta Turf Club and London Stock Exchange, and thousands of smaller prizes are available in minor sweepstakes organised in offices, factories and clubs.

Viscount Astor's Cragadour was favourite. That owner has.had extraordinarily bad luck in previous "Derbies, his horses having been second on four or five occasions. The next best followed horses were Major McCalmont's Mr. Jinks, Mr. Sol Joel's Kopi, Sir Victor Sassoon's Gay Day and the Earl of Derby's Hunter's Moon.

Marshall is the 21st apprentice who has ridden a Derby winner. Trigo is owned by Mr. W. Barnett, and was trained by Richard Dawson, who also trained Gregalach, the winner of this year's Grand National.

In spite of the miserable weather cpnditions there was a record attendance— estimated at 500,000.

This year's London Stock Exchange Mutual Subscription Fund in connection with the Derby closed on April 19, with the record total of £1,000,000. Its success was so great that the organisers decided to duplicate all but the 340 consolation prizes. Thus there were: Two first prizes each of £125,000; two second prizes each of £65,000; two third prizes each of £32.000; and two fourth prizes each of £17,500. There were 670 further prizes of £500 each, two for each of the remaining horses entered, and 340 consolation prizes of £250 each, The grand total of prize money was £900,000. leaving £100,000 to be devoted to charities and expenses. Tickets were distributed all over the world.