Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1893-08-04
JOSEPH BATTELL,
MiddleburY, VT.
ULTIMATE SPEED.

The ability of horse to trot One-half
second nearer the two-minute mark
than the present trotting record was
proven Ivy Ayre p, that with run
ming mate trotted mile at kirkwood.
Del, July 3. in 2:G36. OF course this
sort of record does not count against
one made in the regular way where the
performer carries all the weight; still,
it demonstrates speed capacity, and
proves that the two-mnute mark is by
no means an impossibllty. The asser-
ton is sometimes made that no horse
minutes. No less distinguished an au-
thority than Mr.. Robert Bonner haz-
zarded this assertion only last year. If
we are not mistaken. 2 ;05 was about Mr..
Bonner's limit. That gentleman did
not, however, then take into considcra.
ton the wonderful speed-accellerating
capacity of the new-fashioned sulky.
Nevertheless, this device does not make
speed. It does not push the horse for.
ward except when going down hili. 1t
simply enables the performer to utilize
the speed he possesses by removing a
portion of one of the obstacles, namely.
weight. Even with the bicycle wheel
the horse has still some weight to draw,
and whatever may be said to the con
trary, every ounce of weight is more or
less of an impeachment to the perfectly
gated trotter.
The performance of Ayres p. proves
this proposition. His record made in
harness in 1891 was , %. While he may
be a much better horse this year, it
will not be contended that he is l9l sec
ondS better, The difference must be
Ia IL ~ due to the fact that he was re-
sS-' - conn |
lic,,u of weight by his runnine
panion. If this be true, then there can
be no doubt that the less weight horse
has to draw the faster he can 90. and
the idea which once obtained credence,
that certain weight is necessary to
steady horse, is a delusion. This per-
Torrance. like that Of the Almont geld
ing, WestmOnt, that paced mile III
2:Ol3, with running mate, many years
ago. also proves that the ultimate speed
at the trot is now incapable of accurate
determination. No horse was ever foal-
ell so fast that it would be impossible
for another horse 20 be faster. Al
though thoroughbreds have been cult
81,
records broken every year, and it Is
part of trotting history that no trotter'
however fas., has very long maintained
his supremacy. The possibilities or
trotting- horse breeding are by no means
exhausted Indeed, it is doubtful wheth-
er we have much more than entered up
on its confines.
Improved breeding, the addition of
m IRE and yet more good trottng cross
es, is telling with prodigious effect.
The time is not far distant when breed
ers will wonder that anyone should 90
outside of trottIng lines to increase the
speed of the trOtter, just as the breeder
of running horses would now regard
with amazement the attempt to i'm
prove the speed of the thoroughbred by
the use of blood other than that of the
running horse. 1t will be as eccentric
as though one were to attempt to grow
potatoes by planting cabbage. "What
you SOW that shall you also reap" is as
true of breeding as it is of agriculture.
The Improvement in the speed of the
trottng horse is not due solely to the
bicycle wheeled sulky. That has been
an element of value, certainly; but it is
by far from being the only element. II
any one doubts this he has but to read
the catalogues of the great breeding
farms and to observe how closely they
have been for years sticking to the tex
''like produces like"
The ultimate speed of the trotter is al
yet by no means attained, and fifty
years from now it is more than probabl,
that it will not have been attained. w,
have no more right to conclude that NJ
horse will ever beat Nancy Hanks mari
of 2 :04 than we had to conclude tina
Goldsmith Maids record of 2:l4 wOulI
never be broken. There are man.
things hidden in the womb of the future
and the ultimate speed Of the trotter
one of them Kentucky Stock Farm.