The weather and the far-famed Kentucky Derby were the cause of it, greatly augmented by the fact that the field was free. It is a time-honored and commendable custom of the Louisville Jockey Club to give a free field on Derby and Clark days, and the association lost nothing by it to-day, as every inch of space on the grand stand side of the track was filled, and no more could have been accommodated. The weather was simply delightful, and this with a strong attraction on the programme is what is required to draw a large crowd to a race-track. It is no easy matter to estimate such a gathering with any degree of accuracy, but there must have been at least 25,000 people on the grounds. They began to arrive before 11 o'clock, and from that time until 3 o'clock in the afternoon the streets leading out to the track were lined with street-cars, vehicles, equestrians and pedestrians. They came in all sorts of ways, from the dusty and perspiring footman to the elegant and flashy tally-ho, drawn by four prancing horses. It reminded one of the Irishman's witty paraphrase of an old couplet, "Some ride in chaises, And some walk, be-jases." Long before the hour for the first race the grand stand and surrounding grounds were a solid mass of restless but good-natured humanity, all on the qui vive for the sport so near at hand. Locomotion was the next thing to impossible, and those not content to remain in one place had a formidable undertaking in trying to get around. Over in the center-field a similar condition of affairs existed. For more than a quarter of a mile fronting the grand stand the inner rail was hugged by a heterogeneous mass of humanity, made up of men, women and children, white and blacks all bent upon getting the best position possible under the circumstances irrespective of the rights of others. Further back, a line of vehicles, every available inch occupied by a sightseer, extended nearly the entire distance of the back-stretch, so that only occasional glimpses of the horses could be caught by the occupants of the pressstand, upon whom those not present depended for an accurate description of the races. And it might be appropriately asked, what was the attraction that drew all this concourse of people to the same spot? What was it that made them endure for five hours all the discomfitures that surrounded them? It was not for the purpose of speculating on the results, for not one-tenth of those who were there, bet, or attempted to bet, or had any desire to do so. It was that inborn love of sport, that can be found in the hearts of the majority of men. It is the greatest compliment that can be paid to a racing association for that kind of a gathering to attend its meetings. As a whole, it was not there to speculate but prompted by a feeling of admiration for deeds of prowess and with an earnest desire to see the best horse win.