Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-11-22
GOLDSMITH MAID.
The Spirit OF the Times Reverses Hts
Decision.
From the World, Nov. 10.


Considerable interest was manifested yes
! terday among the betting gentry at the &C
| ton of the chief editor of Wilkes Spirit Of
| the Times in reversing the decision of hi;
paper as to the legality of Goldsmith Maids
record at the Cold Spring track at Milwau.
kee. The paper had heretofore decided
that the race was illegal, and as such the
time made did not go on record. The fol
lowing is Mr.. Wilkes decision on the mat
ter:
We hold the previous decision to have
been erroneous, and see no reason why the
record of the mares performance, as given
by the judges, should not stand. The point
raised as to the possible collision of the
drivers, though the presumed ownership of
the two contesting horses by the same man,
might present a reason for the invalidatiOn
of outside bets, but it cannot affect the &C
tuality of the performance. In like manner
records have been obtained over the same
course by Flora Temple and Princess, by
Patchen and Gen. Butler, and by
many other horses, who were no.
toriously hippodromed, and those
records stand in the pages of the Trotting
Register to-day, without the slightest ques-
ton, and so they will continue to stand
through all time-and so they should. The
Cold Spring track at Milwaukee has been
duly measured, and has been ascertained to
be full mile and more. 1t is, moreover, a
good track; for it is laid out upon the exact
plan laid down by the Spirit Of the Times,
in the American Trotting Register, over
fourteen years ago; and the judges who
presided at the race in question were
not only gentlemen of unimpeachable
character, but well qualified by ex-
perience to judge a race. They
say the mare honestly performed the mile
and made the time; they also say it was
regular and fairly conducted race, and until
proof is made to the contrary, nobody can
gainsay it. We do not hold the objections
that have recently been made to the course
because at portions of it the horses tenn
porarily disappear from sight-to be Of any
weight. 1t appears that but 900 feet of the
track, in all, is thus obscured, and that
this is broken into four parts-the first
being of 304 feet, the second Of 276
feet, the third of 500 feet, and the
fourth of 60 feet, with the track in plain
view of the judges stand between each
break, in distance varying from 60 to $50
feet. BY way Of providing against these
obstacles, however, the judges in the race
sent out patrol judges, to observe the mares
while trotting through these masked pOr-
tons, and as the present rules provide for
the appointment of patrol judges, there
can be no objection here. Under these
conditions the mares trotted the heat, no
one entering protest against the track, the
ownership of the horses, the weight car
ried, or anything else. At the end Of the
heat and race the patrol judges
reported that the mares trotted honestly in
the rear of the masked portions, and the
main judges in the stand declared that they
had trOtted fairly in every other part, giving
the time of the best heat at 2:17, though
two of the best watches in the stand re-
corded the heat at 2:l65 and 2:162. If this
is not a good record, we are at a loss to
know how a good record can be
made; and we exceedingly regret
that the honest earnestness of our writers
in endeavOuring to discourage what was I'M
doubleday hippodrome affair, should have
led them to mistake the essential point of
the performance. Those, therefore, who
bet that Goldsmith Maid beat Dexter's pub
lie time have won, and gentlemen who
sought the judgment of the Spirit, and who
have received money on a converse decis-
ion, should hand it back. Final judgment
Las simply been retarded, and they now
have that judgment upon what may be con-
sidered decree by the full bench.