Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-01-02
WITH THE HORSES.
TROTTlNG RECORDS.
Speed Made by the Worlds Greatest Trot
ters and PAGERS
A well-known horseman writes:

ters and PAGERS
A well-known hOrseman writes:
Has the limit of trotting speed been
reached! VIII the present generation
i've TO see mile otted or paced in
TWO minutes? Is it not true that only
TWO OF the horses credited with cham
pionship records equaled their best
time? What horses reduced existing
marks and is not the trotter going
backward instead of forward?"
All of the horseman's questions are
of vital interest. A glance at the
history of the trotting turf shows that
the slaughter of time has at periods
dragged painfully slow. Lady Suffolk
in 1915 created a sensation by trot-
ting mile in 2:29I3, and was the first
performer under 2:30. At that period
the time WAS regarded as phenoma-
nally fast 1t was not until 1S49 that
Pelham reduced the marked to 2:2S, a
reduction in four years of one and
half seconds. -Four years more pass
ed and in 1853 Highland Maid cut off
another full second. Tacony equaled
this record the same year.
The year 1859 was a red-letter one
in turf annals In that year the glori
Gus Flora Temple astonished the world
by clipping the record six and three
quarters seconds. Her mile in 2:193t
was shining target for nearly eight
years In 1867 Robert Bonner brought
out Dexter, and Flora Temple was
robbed of her well-earned laurels, the
mark being reduced to 2:17A, n cut
of two seconds. Seven long years
passed before Dexter was robbed of
his crown. In 1874 the queenly Gold
smith Maid set the world agog with
her wonderful mile in 2:14. Four
more years passed before the wonder
full Rarus created another sensation,
passing under the wire in 2:13A.
Next came the peerless Maud S. On
July %, 1889, she trotted a mile in
2:0S&. 1t was thought that this was
certainly the limit for speed and for
more than six years it stood as the
worlds record. on Oct. 20, 1891, over
a kite track at Stockton, Cal, Sunol
clipped the record half second. The
kite track is regarded as more con
ducive to speed than the regulation
track and the performance under the
circumstances can hardly be regarded
as equaling the splendid performance
made by Maud S., over a regulation
course. After Sunol came Nancy
Hanks. who, hooked to bike sulky,
reduced the record to 2:04. The pres
ent champion, Alix. 2:03M, stepped a
mile in 1894 attached to n light-running
bike sulky.
Lady Suffolk, Pelham, Highland
laid, Tacony and Flora Temple made
their records in competition. The
other records were made in exhibition
heats against time. OF the IA in the
championship class, all tried, with the
possible exception of Maud s., to equal
their own records, but only two reach
ed the goal they aimed at. Lady Suf
folk equaled her record twice in 1919
and also trotted a mile heat in 2:26
to saddle in the same year. Gold
smith Maid was the other. The Maid
was nearly years old before she was
completely broken to harness.
.,he made her record of 2:14 in har-
ness over the Mystic park track, Sep
tember, 1874, when II years old. AT
Philadelphia in 1916, over Belmont
park. she equalled her record of 2:15.
AT Hartford, Conn. September, 1879,
she trotted in 2:14R. At Belmont
park, Philadelphia, November, 1876
She trotted a heat in 2:14h. Those
records were all against the watch or
exhibition heats. At Chico, Cal, May,
1877, she trotted the second heat in 4
race in 2:14h. This race was against
Rarus, the Maid winning in 2191a,
2:l4&, 2:17, and she was over 30 years
old when she trotted that race. She
trotted 332 heats in her career in 2:3O
or better and earned for her owners
over S25O,000 in purses and matches.
She was on the turf from 1866 to 1877.
She made her last appearance at To
ledo, O., Sept. 27, 1877, to beat 2:14.
She went in 2:23M, 2:21h, 2:22. She
was then retired from the turf and
bred.
Here are the records of IA of the
greatest trotters and PAGERS the world
has produced:
Lady Suffolk 2:29h, 1S45
Pelham, OBS, 1S49
Highland Maid. 2:27, 1858.
Tacony. 2:27, 1858.
Flora Temple, 2:19M, 1859
Dexter, 2:17M, 1867.
Goldsmith Maid, 2:14, 1874.
Rarus, 2:I3A, 1878.
st. Julien, 2;11H, 1880
Jay-Eye--See 2:1O, 1884.
Maud s., 2:0SN, 1885.
Sunol, 2:0Sh, 1891. 0kite track.
Nancy Hanks, 2:04, 1892. bike
sulky).
Alix, 2;03&I, 1894. bike sulky).
Star Pointer Sold.
Star Pointer. the famous PAGER, was
sold to w. j. White. of Cleveland,