The sun., 1898-01-23
THE STAMINA OF TROTTERS.
RACES THAT STAND As LANDMARKS
FOR WEBL-SUsTAINED SPEED.

stronE Finishcs ~ AiK In the FASTEST Three
Heats Recsrd-DirNotuua.s Recuperative
Powers-Pat Z. Great Four-Yenr-0id snd
Rounccr Anether-niood Of the winners.
Kentucky horsemon have taken sides in
spirited argument around tho stove this winter
respecting tho relative stamina Of the trottlng
horse and the thoroughbred. This setto was
brought on by tho veteran trainer. Crit Davis
OF Harrodsburg, who had TO give up driving
trotters two years ago on account Of increasing
weight. and who now has stable OF runners.
Davis said that the thoroughbred race horse
Of to-day has not half the endurance OF tho
trotter and attributed tho alleged lack of
stamina TO the modern system Of shortdistance
racing. GIL Curry, who has trained both trotters
and runners, agrees with Davis. He says that
in his opinion "the work which good trotting-
bred colt is called upon to do in tho course Of
training would kill any thoroughbred alive"
Snmp Wilson, w. T. Crosthwaito. and some
other trainers who have handled horses of both
breeds also share the views Of Davis. Major
Foxhall A. Daipgerfleld, formerly owner of Sam
Purdy, 2:20ia. and now tho manager of James
r. Koeno's thoroughbred stud In Kentucky, 10
reported as saying that in his opinion the
American trotter Is tho best horse in point Of
endurance that has ever been evolved, and that
IL he had to 20 q hundred miles In day he
would choose trotting horse In preference TO
any other for the journey.
On tho other side Of the controversy IL John
Z. Madden. who recently sold Hamburg to Mar.
Gus Daily. Before Madden began to speculate
in thorouRhbreds he followed tho Same business
with marked success among the trotters. Few
men have seen more than Madden Of both kinds
Of racing. and there are few whose judgment of
u trotting horse carries moro weight when
money is to be put up either at tho pool box
or in the sale ring. Madden claims that In
point Of stamina or ability to maintain q
high rate Of speed the thoroughbred horse
has no equal He says IL is unfair to Conclude
that because the running horse of the present
day is not often asked to 60 q distance he
would be unable to do sol called upon. Accord.
ing to his opinion, there are q dozen or moro
horses in training that could, with the proper
preparation, beat the time on record at all dis.
tanoe from two to four miles, He well says,
however. that until tho harness horse learns to
60 mile in lao 1t 10 useless to compare the
two types, owing TO the radical difference in
"the pace that kills" and In the systems under
which they are trained and raced.
It 10 o recognized fact that the three-in-ive
system OF harness racing. which has remained
practically unchanged ever since $3.50 was tho
limit of speed, has developed the endurance
and repeating capacity of the trottingbred
horse in = remarkable degree. With the
horses nowadays racing along at clip
we'll down below 2,10. the test under this sys-
tam has come to be severe ono. and the records
OF trotting and pacing contain some striking
evidences Of stamina. There are few better
examples in the books than the fastest races at
three, four. lve six, seven, and eight heats. and
these performances arc noted by turf statisti-
clans with as much care as the single dashes
against time in which records are lowered
One of the best examples Of ability to main
tain high rate Of speed is found in The fastest
three-heat race on record. This stands to the
credit of Alix. 1t was trottod before the queen
of the turf had reached her best estate her REQ
ord having stood Mt 2:o7lA whom she met Ryland
| It. and Pixey nt Terre Haute in 1894 In this
| race the daughter of Patronage trotted the last
| half of the first mile in 1:OIS,, of the second
mile in l:O1la. and OF the third mile in 1:O1 4,
showing increasing speed as the race progressed.
| The time Of her third heat is the fastest ever
! made in q race. Directum equaled 1t as o four
year.old. but the fast heat was trotted after he
had gone two miles in slow time. In tho Terre
Haute race AliX placed to her credit the fastest
first heat the fastest second hoat md the fastest
| third heat on record. Following Is the sum-
mary:
| Terre Haute. Ind. Aug. II. 1894; purse ss.oOo
free.for-ail;
| AK, b. M. years, by Patronage-Atlanta.
| by Attorney (Andrew McDowel) ............l /
Rylanu L., D. g
| naII vnra hr