The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-10-03
WIND PRESSURE IN TRoTTING
to Many Very Shrewd
Drivers.

Not one man in hundred. even
amongprofessiopal drivers, seems to ap-
preciate the Importance Of taking ad-
vantage OF the wind" said an old'driTer
the other day, relates the Chicago In
ter Ocean. II have studied 1t for years.
and nany's the time it has been worth
dollars and cents to me in driving race
or in showing horse to buyer under
the watch. Not long ago man came
here to see mare in my stable, with
view to buying II she could show
quarter in IS seconds. The wind hap
pened to be blowing good and strong
from the west, so raid to him as took
the mare out on the track for the trial:
III just move her slow through the
home stretch here SO you can see her
way of going, and when I get around
the turn III step her fast up the back
stretch Well, 1t wasn't any trick at
all for her to go that quarter with the
wind n 80 seconds Mr.. Buyer never
tunbled, and got my price for the
mare. Now, II had tried to show the
first quarter down the home stretch,
going against the wind, she couldn't
have trotted It in O:38. Another time
away back in the first part Of April I
drove green trotter quarter one day
in o:soh. 1t caused a big stir. and lots
of people who timed the trial said was
a fool for doing it so early in the sea-
son. They didn't notice that my horse
was going before stiff wind. didn't
say anything to them, but say to you
that it was easier for that horse to trot
that quarter in o:aoh than it would
have been to drive him quarter the
other way Of the track IN c:36. Yetif
he had trotted over the same ground
the other way in o:36 nobody would
have thought it was worth talking
about.
II learned to take advantage Of the
wind whe1 I used to drive races on the
kite track al independence, Ia" con-
tinued the trainer. II remember one
time I had little soft-hearted mare
that couldn't go the last end Of mile
to save her neck, and she was entered
in a race against some game horses Of
greater speed. I thought I would be
lucky to get fourth money One OF
those prairie winds was sweeping over
the kite almost in the faces of the
horses as they went away. l happened
to get of right behind two of the good
ones. They were fighting for the lead
and trotted together like team. Pret-
~ soon I noticed that, while they ap-
peared to be laboring. my mare was go
ing easily. For moment I couldn't
understand it. Then it struck me that
she was In a good position where she
was protected from the head wind,
which the horses in front Of her had to
breast. just let her trail until we
got around past the turn, where the
wind caught Us the other way. Then I
turned her loose. The good horses were
exhausted and my little soft-hearted
mare stepped right away from them in
the race home. I've won many race
by those tactics since then.
!'By the way, did 1t ever strike you
that the secret Of Ed Geers' style of
driving race is right there in the way
he has Of protecting his horses from
the wind? Geers nearly always drops
behind the pole horse, you know, and
trails until he strikes the home stretch;
sometimes until he IS half way down
the stretch. I don't know whether he
does it Intentionally, but he gets his
horse in position where the at
mospheric resistance Is next to moth
ing. and there he stays while some
body else breasts the wind. To my
mind it accounts for great deal OF
Geers' success. Even on still day
horse trotting 2:10 gait has to plow
through what seems ike a strong wind,
and mere gentle breeze seems like
gale when you're going against it,
ITO 60 back to the kite track at In
dependence, remember one day when
the wind was wbistling over the prairie
George Starr set out to drive Direct .
mile against time. He went down the
half in something like l:01. with the
wind, Of course, and lots Of folks
thought he was going to knock the
worlds record into cooked hat. l
don't remember how fast the mile was
not much better than $40, though.
When he struck the head wind he
wilted, and before he got to the wire
he was so tired that he could hardly
put one foot before the other. He jus.
staggered home like dead one. though
no gamer horse was ever foaled. I've
seen many another game one do the
same"
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