The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-06-05
TRoTTlNe HORSES.
The Growth and Development
of This Animal.
NO. 10.


feel that no man. in those days of hard pam
could discover chilled steel to wear a. it
The hostlcr would use it, the swipe would abuse
1t, the kid would get at 1t when these TWO
The trainer and driver. tho owner and all men,
each rubbed some dirt on, while they put II
hcapon.
Around it, in through It, over and under, twas
saturated with filth fouer than SIM
From the wire hook suspended, You never could
bend 1t, while " pounded the wall NJ If OF
galvanized tin.
rougher, while dirt from both sides with
Ratchet you could hew,
TIL ono bright sunny morping, with crash most
appalling, horse jumped upon 1T and broke
1t in two.
From tho time Ethan Allen, the first
stallion to beat 2:3O, trotted the old
Union Course, Long Island, in 2:2S in
1885 until the present king, Palo Alto,
turned the Stockton kite track in 2:0SM,
the stallion record has crowned with
glory many different horses. Ethan
was compelled to doff his hat to Geo.
w. Patchen and 2:2GA. Then Patchen
essayed to beat Ethan in race and
did so in 1925. Tallman, his driver, and
the Union Course seemed to be especially
suited to this noble scion of the Clay
I tribe and he again and again lowered
his own record until the wonderful
time of 2:231< stood opposite his name.
For eight long years did he wear the
crown, but at last the sceptor he had
studded with so many gems was
snatched away by the great representa-
tive of the Morgan tribe, "Fearnaught"
in the slightly modified time of 2:25 at
Buffalo, n. Y, in 1868. The thrice
mighty Geo. Wilkes then came upon the
track for the coveted honor and when
the mile was finished second and q
quarter had been Clipped from the rec
ord, and the blood of Ham bletonian (IO)
was on top.
Again did another son of the old hero
of Chester add fame to the family, and
the mark was 2:2o%. Jay Gould, with
tho matchless Doble for pilot, did the
for long. Smuggler, with obscure line
age, but chat mighty stroke" lowered
the record to 2:2Os4, which was tho
mark until the first Of the Mambrinos
(Mambrino Gift trotted in ego fiat.
But the indefatigable Marion who
seems to have mania for overtaxing
the records, was there, and smuggler
again did the business in the good time
Of 2:l7JS. By successive stages he re-
duced this until it was 2:154, and
thought, l suppose, that twas good
enough. That game horse Phallas then
trotted fourth heat in 2:l3M. Then
MaXy Cobb trots the Providence track
in 2:l34. and holds the record for five
years Then camo the news that AK.
tell, colt but three years old, had
trotted the Terre Haute track in the
phenomenal time of 2:l2. With one &C
cord the peuple proclaimed him king.
For one short year does this wonderful
son of VIM. L. and Lou wear his cham
pion laurels, and then he surrenders to
the game whirlwind from the Pine Tree
State, Nelson, who trots the Kank akee
track in Is and is installed king OF
trottng stations. Twice again does he
battle for the supremacy over the aged
and insatiate bearer OF the scythe, and
twice again is he successful, and the
record for this year is 2:1O. But this
triumph is short lived. The green pas
lures and sunny meadows of Iowa have
given to another tho speed and stamina
to outfoot Nelson, and Wizard Williams
drives the greatest race horse over seen
to victory at Independence, and stops
the watch at 2a94, but before tho
plaudits have entirely died away the
brown son of Jay Bird is detbroned and
at last California, the land where it is
always summer time, announces new
sting in Palo Alto and he makes old
Father Time drop his flag to 2:OS%, and
the son OF Flee tioneer holds the record
but for how long? Look at the long
list OF those that are just without and
knocking at the door
Allerton was by all measures the
greatest horse on earth in his ive-year-
old form, and nay prediction is that this
season will see him better than ever,
and think that the horse that beats
him i'll race this fall will have to
lower the stallion record at least two
seconds. But Axtell, his old stable COM
panion, will be at his heels and make
him stretch his neck to get to the wire
first. Others are around and will not
give up the ship. Delmarch 2:1l, Siam
boul gil, Egthorne, Pat Downing 2:l3,
Robt. Rysdyk 2:l3M, will have their
fingers in the pie and may pull out the
plum. And what of Arion, the two. year
old, that trotted in 2:1OA; some say he
will mover lower his two-year-old record;
that he was pumped out when he made
that wonderful mile. Give him q
ready most brilliant reputation.
Could we but lift the veil that inter.
venes between us and the closing tri.
umphs of another season and behold
the records that will have been broken,
think it would make US stare and gasp
that such things could be- In the face
Of the great array of trotters that arc
standing in battle line ready to do or
die, is there any one that doubts for
single moment that when the season of
1892 is finished greater things will have
been recorded than were ever before.
Twenty eight years ago there was not
over one hundred horses in the United
States that could trot in $50; in 1914
only one and that was Lady Suffolk
Until 1850 we had but six horses that
had that mark, and from that time un-
til 1864 the largest number that en-.