Louisville, Ky., May 2, 1903. Weather fine, track fast. 1¼ miles, time 2:09. Value to winner $4,850, second $700, third $300. Nominations not given.

Bad News, Woodlake, Treacy also ran. Betting 5 to 3 on Early, 4 Bourbon and Woodlake coupled, 12 Himes. Poor start. Won driving, place easily. Himes ran an excellent race.

Judge Himes, ch c by Esher—Lullaby. Owned by C. R. Ellison, trained by J. P. Mayberry.

Within the shadow of the wire, Judge Himes snatched from Early the twenty-ninth Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs to-day. It may have been the over confidence of Winkfield that lost to the favorite the blue ribbon event of the Blue Grass State. Bourbon, six lengths off, was third, while Bad News, Woodlake and Treacy finished in the order named. It was a Derby run and won not by the touted, odds-on favorite, but by the much despised outsider, but be it said to the credit of colt and jockey, he was well piloted and when Judge Himes passed under the wire winner of the classic event, it was to the plaudits of all Kentucky. The victory was a surprise even to Mr. Ellison who had not thought his colt good enough to win.

A Kentucky Derby always marks an epoch in Kentucky history; time and incidents are reckoned from one Derby to the next, and the event of to-day was characteristic, for there was the same surging, jostling, mass of humanity, crowding stands and paddock and overflowing to the field. Eighteen thousand people were in attendance.

It was an exciting finish. Early, with a length and a half to the good, was ridden down the stretch as though the race had already been won, when within the last sixteenth H. Booker brought up Judge Himes and in a merciless finish Early who had lost his stride by the overconfident Winkfield, was beaten three-quarters of a length by the practically neglected colt. The day was perfect. From the South drifted an invigorating breeze, bearing the fragrance of sprouting foliage on the nearby hills, of which the green slopes of Sugar Loaf and Iroquois afforded a delightful rest to the eyes bewildered by a maze of gorgeous costumes and myriads of beautiful faces, banked tier upon tier in the grand stand and club house terrace and representing the fairest of Kentucky’s womanhood.

The track was fast. The six colts were not kept long at the post, and after some ten minutes consumed in getting them in line, the flag went down and the Derby was on. When Starter Holtman gave the word the colts were almost at the fretful line and the jockeys found Woodlake of the McDowell entry hugging the inside rail with the others well bunched and Judge Himes a half length away. They raced in this position past the stand, Bad News being third, Early fourth and Bourbon fifth, while Treacy brought up the rear. When they made the lower turn it was evident that Helgesen on Woodlake wanted to make a runaway race of it, for he had increased his lead to two lengths. Bad News had moved up to second position with Judge Himes a neck away, while Early still maintained his position of fourth, Bourbon being fifth and Treacy a half dozen lengths in the ruck and out of the race.When the colts had been straightened out on the back stretch the canary jacket of Jockey Winkfield emerged from the rear and with an unusual burst of speed.

“Early wins!” was the exultant cry of the vast majority of the crowd as the son of Troubadour with even, steady stride, moved to the front. When the three-quarters was reached he was in easy command with nearly a length to the good and this lead he increased as they rounded the last turn for the final struggle. Meanwhile Judge Himes and Bad News had been having an almost neck and neck race of it for third place, with their noses at the flank of Woodlake, which had continued to show the way down the backstretch, until he had surrendered to Early’s burst of speed. As the colts made the swing for the turn into the stretch, Booker saw an opening and when they had straightened out he had Judge Himes next the rail. There was but one horse between him and victory. Maintaining a comfortable position, some two lengths behind the favorite it was not until he had passed the eighth pole that he called on him for speed. In the interim Winkfield sat quietly on Early, contemplating the victory so near at hand, and not until Judge Himes thundered down upon him was he apparently conscious of the colt’s approach. Winkfield half turned, then quickly resorted to the whip and spur. But it was too late, Judge Himes passing under the wire winner of the event, with the question of supremacy still a mooted one. The fractional time for the race was :25½, :51, 1:16½, 1:42, 2:09.