Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1891-12-04
ower.-U. s Govt Report, Aug. II, 1889.
ABSOLUTELY Pure
THE TRoTTINo RECORD.
Fs the Two. Minute Eiorss 70 Always b. ,
Crsstars pr Fsncy.

Cfeetaro Qf Fan0y.
The old fight with time on the
trotting track is 50 important one
to the comfort and convenience Of
every American that the loss of halt
a second. on the record of Maud s. In
2:oSf is an event which stirs q far
wider eddy Of interest than is bounded
W the race track. y r
The swift mile made by Maud 8. at
Glenville. Ohio, Jnly 30, 1855, has
now stood as a record for six years
and oyer-a longer, p2riod than any
other like record has remained un-
changed since 2:56! was made In
1874, and was unchanged until 1852
In sixty, years no other record has
gone unchanged one-half so long, so
steady are the changes by which q
mile in 3 minutes has been reduced to
within 8 IA seconds of 200 in the
sesenty-three years since thousands OF
dollars were bet that no horse could
trot in less than three minutes.
1t has taken 200 years of breeding
and training to bring the thorough
bred "a! seconds short Of 900, and
the mile in 1851 made by Salvador at
Monmouth Park is yet only a year
old. Trotting is bounded by this GEN.
tury, and ninety years have seen an
advance which arouses speculation as
to the possibility of reaching that
distant goal and far-off bound Of a
mile in , minutes. If the records go
on dropping as fast as they have for
forty-cight years past, during which
20 nave been cut off the slowly dimin-
ishing record, this speed will be
reached in about 1910.
Ten years ago, when three SUCCESS
i've years had seen three seconds dis
appear, the prediction was made that
this century would see this record
reached. The long delay in breaking
the record OF Maud S. has bred a less
confident temper. Five years ago,
even Mr.. ii. ID. Mckinney. Of Wis
consin, high authority, expressed
the opinion in the Spirit of the Times
that the two-minute trotter would
always remain being of fancy. The
fastest quarter by q thoroughbred
was then 23s seconds, and the fast
est mile, Ten Broeck's, 1897.
Since then both have been lowered,
jim Miller reducing the quarter to
2il, and Salvador the mile to 1851.
II Is an interesting feature of the
change that the fastest mile remains
tho merest tritlc slower than the
fastest quarter. If, according to the
theory Of most breeders, thorough
bred blood, trotting action and power
being. retained, enable the trotter to
bring mile and quarter records
together, we have already Maud SIS
half mile in Loo ana Sunol's, last
year, in l:02! to indicate 2:O4 and
2:oa as the possible speed. if trottcrs
as perfect could be got with the stay
ing, power Of the thoroughbred.
Something like this process is in
progress, for the trotlcr is steadily
approaching the early maturity of the
thoroughbred. Sunol's 2-year-Old
record of 2:lS was Summarily beaten
last week by the new record of 2:149,
made by Arion, and as his last quar-
ter was made in 33i, we have here a
horse with the last quarter staying
powers OF the thoroughbred as well as
his early capacity for speed. Such
horse may well he expected next year
to beat Sunols 2:l03 at three years
old. and a year later the like 4-year-
old record made by the same mare.
The. prospect is excellent, in other
words that the country two or three
years hence will have three horses
better than 2:lO, an unexampled
number. For six years there has
only been one. The increase in the
number OF horses capable of making
certain time is as remarkable as the
time itself Ten years ago the num-
ber Of horses with a record of 2:4O or
better was 5000. 1t must to-day be
twice as large. The 2:30 class in the
decade from 1870 to 1880 grew at the
rate OF 100 year. BY the end OF the
last decade from 500 to 600 horses
were yearly added to this list. The
growth in the current decade is still
larger Where there we're, in 1880,
l,2l0 such horses at present there
must be over 5000.
This is .an -enourmous base from
which To breed. 1t is constantly
seeing the e-inaltr2tiQn of wider and
wider range bf thoroughbred blood.
The cumulative force OF this wider
selection has, we think, been under.
estimated by those who argue that
200 is an unatainable speed. 1t ,is
possible, OF course, to minimize
Sunols achievement because the time
was made on kite-shaped track.
But a record is record, and the
critics OF Salvator's performance on q
straight track have not prevented
the acceptance Of his great feat, In
stead OF Ten Broeck's as the ultimate
achievement OF horsefesh. -Phila-
.1al Min ,proar