"Beat Bradley and take the pot" is one of Louisville's axioms for the Kentucky Derby. Col. Edward Riley Bradley, who makes his money out of his Palm Beach Casino and breeds his racehorses at Idle Hour Farm, near Louisville, had, from 1920 up to last week, won the Derby three times and finished in the money two other times. Last week the axiom seemed a little less pertinent than usual. Col. Bradley's Burgoo King won a year ago but this year his only entrant was a horse called Broker's Tip who had failed to win in four starts as a two-year-old and placed second in his only race this spring. Odds on Broker's Tip were 9 to i. The favorite was William R. Coe's Ladysman. son of Pompey who was beaten by Col. Bradley's Bubbling Over in the Derby of 1926. Best of the western entrants, most people thought, were Charley O, who won the Florida Derby, and a "10^ store horse" named Head Play. An oldtime jockey, Willie Crump, bought Head Play at a yearling sale for $500, gave him to his wife. Last week, when Head Play had beaten most of the other Derby eligibles in a preliminary race at Churchill Downs, Mrs. Crump sold him to Mrs. Silas Mason of New York for $30,000 and 15% of the $48,925 Derby Purse, in case he won it.
At the post last week, Head Play with Jockey Harry Fisher up was nervous. The starter tried to quiet him. then moved him to the outside, which meant an extra 30 ft. to run. It seemed to make very little difference. Fisher got his horse away fast, crossed over to the inside and took the lead going round the first turn. At the half mile, he broke away from the field to a lead of more than a length. Ladysman tried to keep up but could not. Charley O held on going to the second turn but could not overtake the leader. It was then that the crowd of 40,000 saw the shaping of the most exciting Kentucky Derby finish that anyone could remember. A dark brown horse with a jockey in white silk with green hoops had cut in ahead of the field as they turned into the stretch and was gaining on Charley 0 and Head Play. The dark brown horse was Broker's Tip.
Broker's Tip's jockey was Don Meade of California. With spur and whip, he got his horse up to Charley 0 and passed him, went for a narrow opening between Head Play and the rail. For a few moments in the last furlong of the mile and a quarter distance the crowd saw the two of them locked together at close quarters, their jockeys' boots rubbing. As they reached the finish still jammed together at the rail, in the immense uproar of a crowd that wanted the Bradley horse to win, Broker's Tip got the soft part of his nose out in front.