DERBY DAY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 460, 30 June 1937, Page 7

DERBY DAY

SCENE AT EPSOM Entertainment Of Crowds London, June 5. There was one difference in the Derby Day scene this year—the crowds were larger. Nobody watching the Coronation Derby from a useful vantage point could fail to be thrilled by the scans during the half hour before the great event, nor fail to feel a quickening -of the pulses unless hig blood ran sluggishly. Even the eyes of the most blase were ■light. Look out ,for a moment from the grandstand, which is packed from top to bottom, and where men in top hats and tail coats -are sitting on dusty stone steps and women are forgetting 'their finery for the time being. To the right, with the aid of glasses, one can see notabilities near the Royal Stand, but a gil.npse of The.r Majesties is denied since their box is a littla further removed. To the left the continuation of the stand and- then the broad sweep of the course is packed tightly, and the top of every bus, car, charabanc and taxi if filled to the last inch Tattenham Corner in the distance is black with people. Gipsies Forbidden. In front of the stand, beyond the course, are the undulations of theDowns, the natural grandstand of tne Epsom course, now bathed in hot sunshine. Tht*re are only two bald green patches. They are dips in the downs, where formerly the gipsies

encamped until they wer.: forbidd?n their .ancient custom this year. Tne fun of the fair still throbbing away, and the merry-go rounds are twirling with the sun lighting up their yellow tops. The crowd is black on the hill and on the lip of the course it is the same tale of packed car .airdi bus tbps. To the right there is another undulation, and here a car park is crowded end the tops of the vehicles are shining brightly. The chief movements are those of the uck-ta-ck men, signalling the odds to distant confreres. For the rest the crowd is immobile. Before the Race. It is a moment to be remembered five minutes before the race, while ihe field is circling slowly n ar the start end 250,000 people an watching, waiting, hoping. Millions of pounds are about to be won and lost m two and a-half minutes. The best time to enjoy the fun on the Downs is in the morning between 10 and 12 o’clock before tne ciowds have arrived. It is not quite Ute same as any ordinary English fair, although the familiar sights are included. The crowd is rather different in humour, for the fair is just an aside and there is more serious food for thought in the racecourse, After one has become inured to me innumerable bookmakers and the wildness of litter and paper, without which no English crowd seems capable of enjoying itself, there is always plenty of amusement in listening to the tipsters. Cockneys and Jellied Eels. It is on the Downs that one may watch the Cockneys enjoying their jellied eels with .all the satisfaction of the gourmet, and relishing them as greatly as those in the grandstand who pick lobster flesh from its scarlet shell. After one has wandered through the fair it is the most refreshing of contrasts to find one's way through the crowd, past th-e liymn-chanting, banner-carrying evangelists and harrying bookmakers, to the paddock. Here there is quietness, for only a few are admitted. The turf i s green and lush, the dresses are exquisite, and the conversation unshouted. But it is necessary to leave the paddock a full hour before the Derby if one wishes to get through the mass of people and cars to the grandstand with any hope of finding an odd square foot bn one of the concrete steps high enough to see the start, the melee at Tattenham Corner, and the struggle uphill to the finish. forthcoming Fixtures July 3—Manawatu R.C. July 3—Oamiaru J.C. July 6,8, ID—Wellington R.C. July 17—Hawke’s Bay Hunt Club. July 17—Waimate Hunt Club. July 24—Soulth Canterbury Hunt Club July 24—‘Rangitikei Hunt Club. July 29, 31—Poverty Bay T.C. July 31—Christchurch Hunt Club.