New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-18

trotters on the road in and about New-York in
oden times may be said to have given rise 10
the professional sport OF harness racing and to
the breeding Of trotting horses itself. Trottlng
was virtually unknown a sport at the begin
ming Of the present century, and many hOrse-
men are able to recall the day when 40 was
beaten by trotter for the first time. A Few
persons now living were born before the first
three-minute trotter OF which there Is any rec
ord had appeared. Professor Brewer, OF Yale,
has shown that it not until the Introduction
Of wheeled vehicles with steel springs. In the
early years Of this century. that trottinG speed
came TO have any particular value. ana that the
advent Of the light one horse wagon was almost
simultaneous with the first formal performance
Of a trotting horse known to have taken place
In this country. This performance occurred IN
June. 1906. the old Harlem racecourse, which
veteran horsemen say was not far from where
is now the corner Of Seventh-ave. and One-hun-
h dred and twenty fifth-st. writer thus chron-
lcles the affair in newspaper Of the day;
Fast Trotting-Yesterday afternoon the Har-
trotted around in go by horse called Yankey,
from New-H Haven. a rate Of speed. it is believed,
never before excelled in this country"
AN EARLY CONTEST
The next landmark or milestone in the OBJ
scure early history Of the sport is the match
made IT. 1918 between Major William Jones, Of
Long Island and Colonel Bond. Of Maryland. at
Jockey Club dinner where the possibilities OF
speed at the trotting gait had come under dis
Cussion. Major Jones undertook on wager Of
$1,000 a side to produce a horse that could trot
mile I'm 300 Boston Blue. a rat-tailed iron gray
horse. named at the post. and gained great
renown by trottng his mile In 2:lSi2 and win
ming for the famous Long Island sportsman who
was his ba ckcr. Thomas Cooper the tragedlan.
afterward bought the horse. and drove him on
several occa sons between New-YOrk and Phlla-
delphia thereby filing engagements in the two
cities on alternate nights This match seems to
have given the first impetus to the sport
-frfy harG
was confined amoot wholly 10 New-York and
Long Island. where wealthy men We'd with each
ether i'm the possession Of the fastest horses on
the road and match races between rival Flyers
were OF daily occurrence. In 1920 the admirers
OF the trottinG horse got together and formed
the New York TrOtting Club with view 10
Improving the speed Of road horses and what
was probably the first track in the world built
exclusively for trottng was laid out by this
pioneer organization on the plain near Jamaica,
Long Island The Hunting Park Association in
Philadelphia. and a trotting club nj Baltimore
were formed a few years later. and before 1870
trotting had become established sport, grow
ing rapidly in popularity and spreading 10 me
West At the present time nearly every city
and town OF any consequence north OF Mason
and Dixon's line has its trottng track there
being upward Of ono hundred such courses IN
this State alone Nearly two thousand trotting
meetings are held annually In the United states
and Canada in prosperous times. with more than
twenty thousand harness horses competing for
the S3op0WD offered In purses ana prizes
SOURCES OF THE BEST BREEDING.
About the time that Major Jones made his Gel
ehratcd match with Colonel Bond he owned the
thoroughbred running horses Mambrno. son
OF imported Messenger. and his neEhbor, John
Trcdwcu II Salisbury Place Long Island. owned
large coarse sorrel mare OF unknown blood
that had Won o. local reputation as trotter on
the old jamaica turnpike. In lN22 this mare.
called Amaz0na. was bred 20 Major Jones
thoroughbred norge Mambrlno. and she produced
the stallion known In the records u rotting as
Tredwelrs Ahdalah. Re was perhaps the first
horse that got trotters with any degree of UNI.
formity. and his number is ! in the registry OF
standard trottiug sr.s.
Abdallah got many trottcrs that were noted In
their dag. but incompGtabiy the best OF all ms
immediate progeny Was Rysdyks Hambletonian,
foalcd In 1919 lie was the hrst really great
trotting sire that appeared, and he Is the pro-
genltor q fully - per cent % all :hH fast tiot-
tors now on the turf. The dam Of HANDLE
ton.an. Ike the dam Of Ahdalah. was a noted
road mare here In New-York. whore she was
owned and driven several years by downtown
banker ContemporGn"ous with Hambletohlah
were N.mhrino chief. grandson OF Major
Jones's Mamhripo. Henry Clay, son or the
trottius stallion Andrew Jackson and the New
Y1rk road mare Surrey; Pilot Junior, a s'i OF
tho Canadian PAGER Pilot; HllIs Flack Hawk
descendant q the famous Morgan b rse ~ Yer
mont. and some other succf ssful early sires ot
speed From this period the systematic breed
ing " trotting horses is dated. and these horses
are the mos, important foundation stock from
which tn present day breed OF irotting horses
has been built up WITHIN "a p'Tod OF my years
Prior g. $50 each trottiug track IN the coun-
try WAS ildependeut - all others, conducting
its races under rules Of its own. ana having no
power 20 extend beyond its gates penalties I'M
posed tor fraud. In February. lNiO the Ma
tl0na Trotting Association, league or track
owners was formed. with view to securing
uniformity OF rules on all courses ana TO eN-
tending the penalties Imposed for misconduct
on one track 10 all other tracks In membership
This central organization also undertook to col
Loci dellnqucni entrance fees and other ohllga-
tions for all It's members. In the beginning II
was n powerful factor for good. eleVatnS me
tone OF the sport on hundreds Of tracks from the
Atlantic 10 the Pacific but within few years
the turf politicians made their appearance IN me
organization. finally causing such n scanua
that nearly al of the Western tracks seeded IN
1851 forming the now powerful rival organiza-
tion known as the American Trotting Assoca-
tlon g,
In their efforts 10 gain new members and hold
old onea boin associations have relaxed au-
thorIty and winked at violations Of the rules or
harness racing until at the present time they
have dcgcncrated into collection agencies TOT
track-owners. with little apparent aim beyond
this commercial function. Uniformity OF Iul'S
* no longer enforced and men who have been
caught red handed IN the most glaring FRAUDS
are frequently renstated by the powers that "y
within year or two after they are eNpeiieu
from the turf. The last biennial congress OF
meeting Of members Of the National Irottlng
Association was controlled 10y handful OF pro
f,ssioral turf politicians, who had no leglu-
mate connection with harness racing Tor they
v.nra neither breeders Of horses nor owners or
tracks This body Of proxy holders. I'm a session
OF three hours. revoutionzed the rules OF mar
ness racing in way at once tendlng 10 pro
fessonalize the sport and open the door 10
fraud Another housekeeping seems TO he sore
~ needed in the camp OF the National Iro','hs
Association. .- - o,,r,
WITH PADDLE AND SAIL.