The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1891-11-14
o WILL TELL.


The development of speed in t%rotting
horses during the past two decades has
been something remarkable. The devel-
opment has been in America, for Amer
lea is the home of the trotting horse. 1t
may also be said that it is the home of
the running horse. The record breakers
are found in this country, but it is more
especially of the t~rotters this article is
devoted. Thirty years ago no horse had
trotted in $50, now there are over 400
with records under it. Every man of
middle age can we'll remember when
1910 on the shell" was regarded as the
very acme of speed. Flora Temple first
attracted attention for fast time when
in 1853 she trotted a mile in 2:l994.
Three or four years after Goldsmith
Maid lowered Dexter's record twice to
2:164. This stood at the highest rate
of trotting speed until 1873, when Occi-
dent cut it down to 2:154, but the next
year the Maid came under the wire in
2:14. That was considered phenomenal
time. And so it was under the track
conditions and training of that time.
But the intelligent breeding of years
is now getting in it's work. Blood is
telling. Say what may be said there is
a thoroughness in trotting as we'll as in
running horses; that is thorough breed
-,g for trotting points. Phenomenal
t~rotters are not the gets Of scrubs. They
have t~rotting blood coursing through
their veins. This blood asserted itself
in Rarus when in 1878 he lowered the
Maids figures to 2:134. Then came st.
vr'ien in 1879 with a record of 2:12I5
q in 1880 Maud S. lowered the time to
=: "a. In 1881 she made her mile in
2;lO4 which Jay Eye See beat soon af-
ter by a quarter of a second. But Maud
S. recaptured her title as queen of the
turf the following day with 2:O9s4 and
on the Both day of July, 1885, at Clcve-
land. she made ..er record of 2:OS94
which stood unequalled until Sunol
recently lowed it at Stockton. Cal, with
2C5l2. This latter performance was
made on the new k~ite-shaped track,
which is considered the fastest track
made, but it is a record which will stand
until a faster horse lower it.
IT is something a little remarkable that
the pioneers into fast time are mares, not
stations. Flora Temple, Goldsmith
Maid, Maud S. and Sunol, all record
breakers, and all crowned as queens of
the turf in their day, had no rivals
among trotting stations. The only trot-
ting horse that has approached the time
of Maud S.. is Allerton. He is the trot-
ting king among stations with Nelson a
competitor. Among the side-whcelers
Direct and Hal Pointer occupy first
places, the former with a record of 2:C6
and 2:C9ll4 in harness, the latter being
the fastest time ever made in a pacing
race. These records, however, will be
broken, for blood will tell. Sunol,
Nancy, Hanks, Allerton, Nelson, Direct
and Hal Pointer will each lower the re-
cords made, for they are all comparative
ly young horses and have many years be-
fore them in which to better their per-
formances. Goldsmith Maid was eigh-
teen years old when she made her best
~time-2:14. Better animals than the
Maid ever was are now on the track and
it is not an absurd prediction to prophecy
that among them will be found the two
minute horse. Blood will tell in t~rotting
as well as in running horses and the
present generation of trotting horses is
full of good blood.