The Irish standard., 1888-06-02
GRAVE OLD DEXTER.

DIAL OlOD-A i q OlN i
sRAvE OLD DEXTER.
His Part in the Development of Fast Time
ON the American Turf
The death Of Dexter, tbs trotter, marks
IN era in equine development, says the Chi
cago Journal. He did not reduce as greatly
as some of his phenomenal predecessors
the speed :of trotting horses, for when he
made his best effort very low mark had
already been reached. To beat Flora Tem-
PIES time Of 2:19115 by one second and three
quarters was as great feat as to beat a
2:40 gait by several seconds. When Maud
S. reduced her own wonderfully low record
by a quarter OF a second it was regarded as
q moro wonderful Improvement than that
Of one or two entire seconds would have
been when her record stood higher and
could be more easily beaten.
Forty-odd years ago the best trottlng
record stood at $40. That figure was used
in slang to illustrate all fast men, fast
methods and fast movements. Horses had
not then been trained 10 urotting, and the
possibilities of development in that direc-
ton were not even family imagined. After
this record had stood for years, and was
supposed to be the best that could be made,
a horse named Bippo, in 1913, completely
fractured it by trotting a mile in 2:2S. This
also remained for years the best time
made, and again the world interested in
sports settled down into the easy belief
that the best possible trotting time had
been accomplished. But such was far from
the truth. A few years afterwards Jack
Rossiter, q horse without pedigree, that
had when young dragged hotel baggage
wagon around the streets of Western
city, and was afterwards trained for the
turf, trotted in 2:22. The next reduction
was by Flora Temple. a mare also without q
pedigree, who improved this time by two
and one-half seconds. making & record OF
2:1915. This in time was broken by Dexter
at Buffalo, August II, 1867, when he trotted
a mile in 2:17A. He was bought on the
track by Robert Bonner for $35, 900, and
that remarkable amateur owned him to the
time Of his death. Mr.. Bonner has also
bought each of the fastest trotters on the
turf as they have since appeared from time
to time, down to Maud S., with her record
of 2:O53z
More time, skill and money have been de-
voted to the development OF q fast-trotting
gait in horses than to almost any improve
ment in machinery which the inventive
l
crease by few seconds or The fraction of
second on a mile, the speed of a single
trotting horse has required years of train
ing, and to keep and train trotting horse
costs as much as ii costs to keep q small.
sized family of moderate desires in the
comforts and necessaries of life The null
titude and quality Of horses that have been
so kept and trained indicate the vast ex-
penditure that has been bestowed upon
these experiments. The best horses, ex-
cept Maud S.. have made the best time long
after they had passed what was supposed
to be their maturity, at Or years OF age,
and she may cease to be al exception.
Flora Temple, at nearly twice that age, did
her best work. This is another evidence Of
the expense involved in training trotters.
Half the lifetime OF horse Is or 1G years
old, is required to develop it's best speed at
this gait, and often the improvement is but
few seconds OF less in trotting a mile.
& good cid age for an ordinary horse is
IS or 30 years. The age Of Dexter at his
death was 80 years. But since he was pur-
chased by Mr.. Bonner he has had an easy
time, like any other fortunate and retired
individual. With enough to eat--and
horse never eats too n1uch--with just the
exercise that he required for health, he had
all the chances for long life that the capac-
tiles of his species end good constitution
could have allotted to his share. The old
friends Of Dexter in Chicago, where he was
once owned, will be glad to learn that, in
his death, according to his magnificent
owners order, no does not go to the bone
yard, but has a fit grave in country field,
where the apple blossoms display their
new-hown tints of beauty and make the
vernal air delightful with their fragrance,
and where the tall grass in summer will
wave in the breeze above his remains,