Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-16

"When Dexter first beat Flora Temples time
the famous mare had record of 2I9sI. That
was made in 1859 Dexter beat that in 1866 by
trotting the mile in 2.18 1-5 to saddle, being
ridden by Honest John Murphy All trotting
records are giving by a, q and "a seconds
The only trotting record i'll the history of the
American turf in which the record was given by
ffths of q second was on the occasion referred
to. Geo. Alley, the owner of Dexter, had
wagered $1,000 to 5000 that the horse would
beat 2.19 to saddle. He placed IN the hands of
the timers three watches, each marking the Sec
onds by fifths, because there was a possibility
OF beating q 19 by just onefitth Of a second, and
this nice reckoning could not, Of course, be
made by a quarter-second watch. If Dexter
had trotted in 2. Is As the quarter-second watch
would have been more likely to make it 2:19
The present furore over California horses
and the recent feats of Sunol, Palo Alto and
Axtell have drawn attention to the great aues-
ton whether the east or the west is destined to
produce the trotting wonder OF the future. II
is not to be doubted that California produces
the fastest young trotters in the world But
will she produce the fastest matured horse2
Three or four-year-olds that trot fast are as
thick as blackberries. You can find them any
whore, but particularly in California, where all
the advantages Of climate and training are in
their favor. There is Wildfower, two-year-
old belonging to ex-Gov. Stanford which was
the greatest colt wonder Of her day; yet we
hear nothing Of her now.
what enables California to produce 10 MANY
young trotters? They begin with the colt when
he Il from four to six months old. He is chased
around in ring with nothing whatever upon
him. There are, perhaps, score of these
youngsters in hand, and those that show action
are picked out and trained, while the others
are practically cast away. The difficulty with
young colts is that, when worked hard, nineteen
out Of twenty break down. But the California
principle is to destroy ninety nine per cent, if
necessary, to produce q phenomenon. There
are more wrecks Of this sort in the state of
California than you could count and this il all
done, a. have said, to produce . colt or two
that will show Q record that may attract atten-
ton. This may be very good plan for a man
who 10 able to do 1t, but, looked at in q com
msrcial way, it will destroy more property
than 1t will accumulate riches. There is q hu-
name side to the matter, too, of which it is
hardly necessary to speak.
"Axtell the most marvellous of the young
sters, Ii three-year-old and an eastern horse,
although see some have classed him along
with Sunol and the other California youngsters.
Notwithstanding all the California develop
ment Axtel has come to the front and wiped
out all records for three-year-olds by trotting q
mile without break in 2. IL The best the Cali
f0rnia colts could do to Offset this has been the
feat Of Sunol, who did q mile in 213%.
.'There are many things that favor the early
cultivation Of colts in California. The season
10 very mild In the fall and winter in that state,
and they have . much longer period in which
to develop the animals. Sunol IL an example
Of this quick development The question re-