Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-01-03
TALES CT TIE TURF.


TALES CT THE TURF.
In Old Timers RecoIlections of the N0ta.
BILE Trfunphs OF the Past.
The American race-horse is of the
best blood of England, beginning with
Diomed, the first winner of the derby,
who was imported to America, and
through his illustrious son, Sir Archie,
out of imported Catianira. the progen-
itor of the magnificent family of -four
mile nags" that made the Metairie
course of New Orleans, the Washing
ton course of Charleston, Broad Rock
and Fairfield of Richmond and the
Long Island course SO famous by their
achievements. Priam, also a winner of
the derby, was another of the imported
horses. and Glencoe, equally noted,
while bennington was inferior to
either of the others. Through limo
liam, Boston and Lexington we come
down to the period just before the civil
war, when Virginia and South Carolina
boosted three horses that were un-
matched and peerless on the American
turf, Planet, Fanny Washington, and
Albine, the last being the South Caro-
linian.
In olden times no horse was anything
who could not run four-mile heats with
a chance of having three to run before
he could win, and around all the racing
of that day, patronized and fostered
by the jolly and genial planter gentry
of the south, there is an interest which
needs nothing of the ideal tradition to
impart charm and romance. The Me-
tairie and Washington courses were
especially noted for the brilliancy of
the meetings and the army of beauty
that crowded the grand stand, while in
Virginia, Fairfield, and Broad Rock
courses were scarcely less famous,
and with the advantages of being
the center of that region of
Virginia and North Carolina between
the Roanoke and the Rappahannock
rivers, which all old racers unhorse
country in the world. The cock-fight-
ing gentry of the olden time may have
been questioned on their boast of an
cestry, but no one can deny them the
glory of the ''four milers."
The greatest race in America, as old
turfmen view cit, was the match be-
tween Red Eye and Nina, half-brother
and sister, both sired in Boston. Red
Eye had about one-hundredth part of
Potomas blood in him, but even these
few drops of the famous scrub racers
blood gave the noble steed a weller
weight to carry that handicapped him
in the prejudices of the Virgin
ians in spite of his great achieve
ments. He was very devil
for temper, and showed it in an
eye like Apollyon's. He won the first
heat, and his owner told the boy, a lit
tie pet negro named Anderson, to hold
him back and let the mare win the
second, so as to make Red Eyes bot
tom tell, but the horses look was per.
fectly diabolical, and he reared and
charged as if he would whip the entire
crowd, and the people ran from his
very look, while the little boys got off
the fences and climbed the trees to get
out of the way. The boy managed to
times around, and he was taken of
looking mad and fresh enough for an.
other heat right then. The next heat
he won easily, making the greatest
achievement then Or since known on
the turf, taking time and distance into
consideration.
If the district Of country from Rich.
mond to Raleigh was peculiar in the
quality of it's horses, it was not less
noted for set of men gallant, amiable
and generous in the extreme, and the
chief by common acclaim was Col. Viii
liam r. johnson, handsome man Of
low stature, but whose massive heaC
and full, lustrous eyes indicated the
unmistakable genius that gave him the
surname of the ''Napoleonof the turf
One of Col. Johnson's achievement:
on the turf was at Camden, N. j., after
his horse Blue Dick had been beaten
three times by Fashion. He was ban
tered to enter the horse once more, and
having repeatedly declined was told
that Fashion could, of course, beat the
horse, but that to make the race, and
in the interest of the turf, he should
consent to run him again.
The mare can certainly beat the
horse" said the colonel, land / have
done enough to enter him three times,
but if you insist on race I will bet
ten thousand dollars that the mare can
not beat him by ten feet
This was such close calculation on
a beaten horse that it did not take five
minutes to raise the ten thousand dol.
lars. The mare won the first heat by
six feet and the second by seven and a
quarter, and this was justly considered
piece of racing work wherein perfect
knowledge of horsefesh and subtle
calculation of circumstances and re
spectivc powers of the two animals
overcame chances and made the BET
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