The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-27
PATRIARCH OF TURF.
FIFTY YEARS WITH THE
TROTTERS
STILL LIKES TO DRIVE THEM
Sent PaIo Alto to the Front in Four
Straight Heats at Last Meet
ing of Newburgh As
ISOLATION.

The patriarch of the American trotting
turf today is William C. Trimble, of
Newburgh. n. ", says the New York
Sun. HIS ancestors are of Irish extrac-
ton and he was born in the town of
Montgomery, Orange county, Dec. %,
1926, nearly seventy-five years ago AT
the age of twenty-three he went to Chi
cago thence to St.>Louis and New Or
leans, where he engaged in the horse
race business with -. =. Kenner, and
has. from that day to this, tifty-two
years, followed the trade of training,
keeping and driving trotters. He has
met, won and been defeated during all
these years by the Maces, Burrs,
Hickocks, Dobles, ~Goldsmiths;~ Bowens
and many others, and has had horse
dealings with the VanJerbilts, Boomers,
Knapps, Mortons, Backmans Edsalls.
Costers, Humphreys and a host of others
whose admiration for trotters is so well
known especially by the old-timers.
From early manhood he was always
credited with possessing a keen and prac-
teal judgment of horse flesh, and the re-
markable success he attained from the
time he purchased and developed Noun.
tain Boy, in 1865, until he took in hand,
in 1884, the condemned Bobwebs and gave
to the latter his PIP record, is of itself
ample proof that his instructive ability
along the lines mentioned was worthiiy
established
Today Trimble is feeble old man, With
his hair and full beard clipped short and
nearly white, and trudging about the
streets with the aid of a cane. For some
two or three years it was believed he
had taken his last ride in a sulky and
for the last time driven race horse of
any kind. His friends did not think that
the veteran would ever again take the
chances of driving trotters in the spirited
contests of these latter days of two
minute horses. No public statement of
his even training the flyers Of this time
had been made, and when, at the recent
meeting of the Newburgh Driving Park
association, he again made his appear
ance as driver, the surprise was great.
But there he was, as cool and sagacious
as ever, and without doubt the oldest
driver of a trotting horse in a race today
in the United States.
All his competitors of the long ago have
either died or been through age set aside
and the thousands Of his neighbors who
saw him, with great difficulty, mount and
dismount his sulky were not only sur
prised. but alarmed at his temerity.
There had just been two or three bad ac-
cidents in the races, and with one ac-
cord the spectators averred that if he
got III one OIL InSHl he WOulQ
be killed. Even the younger drivers
spoke to him about what they thought to
be his foolish courage, but he replied to
them with a certain amount of disdain.
ct haven't got as much to lose as you
have for I'm old and if / get killed I
won't lose as much as you would if yen
got killed. With this wonderful display
of rnobtrusive grit he went on scoring
behind the Saugerties stallion Rio Alto,
a big heady trotter that seemed to take
his every ounce of strength to handle
and never failed to get a good position
at the wire He went off amid the plaud-
its of the throng, which watched his ev-
cry move intently and wished that he
might win. When he made the circuit of
the half mile track in the lead the crowd
yelled and when he passed undei. the wire
the winner of the Tirst heat such a scene
perhaps never before took place on an
American track. The thousands went to
their feet, hats and canes were thrown
into the air, the women waved their.
handkerchiefs and lusty cheer rent the
air Still they said the "old man. had
no business there, they were afraid that
every minute he might be killed, but he
continued and drove the entire four heats
OF the race, besides driving the chestnut
mare Arnola in another race during the
same meet and escaping without a mis-
hap of any kind. Since then he has
driven another race at New City, Rock
land county, appearing there behind
Clarkson's chestnut mare Flossie.
The reporter of the sun has secured
from the veteran history of some of
his track experience. The first horse of
note he trained and developed was Noun
tain Boy, afterward sold to Commodore
Vanderbilt, aud with which transaction
goes an interesting story of the Commo-
dore's shrewdness. Mr.. Trimble and
James FL. Young bought the horse of Tom
bingham, of Newburgh. The horse was
formerly owned by Nelson Crist, father
of Gov. Odell's wife, who drove him be-
fore an Ice wagon. He was five years
old when Trimble and Young got him
They paid $1,000 for him. Before this
Mountain Boy was put before a plough
by farmer named Fowler at Middle
hope and he wouldn't work. In month
after Trimble bought him he had i'm
proved so much that $4,000 was offered
for him and declined
Mountain Boys first race before sull1y
was in IS with Alden Goldsmith's IdIer
| by Volunteer. This was at Highland
! Park, this city. when the Orange county
| fair was being held. Both horses were of
| the same age, five years, and Idler then
had the Orange county record for that
| age, which was 2:i2 Mountain Boy and
ldler We're the only horses in the race
| The betting was large and Idler was the
! favorite, $40 to $40. Trimble drove Noun
| tain Boy and won both heats, the first
! in 2:40 and the second in 2:39. a new coun-
| ty record That night Trimble received
| an offer Of $4,000 for Mountain Boy His
| price was $4,000. In the following June
he sold the trotter to Commodore Van
derbilt for $12 600 to match Post Boy, one
Ct the Commodore's fast team, Plough
l TN
thought that if he could get as good a
horse as Post Boy he would have no
trouble in defeating the teams of Robert
Bonner, Shepard Knapp and some others
VINO owned the fastest teams of those
Gays. He told Mr.. Trimble that he had
mad nifty horses in with Post Boy but
! not one of them could even exercise him.
told him. said Mr.. Trimble, after
we hitched the two together and got on
the road through Central park where we
could let them out little that "a like to
! have him, he holding the ribbons drive
my colt to break beside Post Boy The
commodore replied: You damned country
fool do you 'spose that green colt can
trot with Post Boy?' | told him l want
ed to see the colt break. Then he let EN-
go up Seventh avenue and l soon found
out that Post Boy had more than his
| match. / reached over to take the whip
| myself from the socket and the commo-
| dcre asked me what L was going to do?
The pair were even then going at a tre-
! mendouS speed and / told him | was GO
ing to set him going. The commodore
had very keen and quick eye and he
| saw as 1 did that Mountain Boy was by
| far the speedier of the two. Well said
he, I only wanted to get horse to jog
with Post Boy 1 told him that if that
was all he wanted he could get a plug
| for $50 that would do that and he need
| rot paw me S1O.N00 or SO n0n for my colt