The sun., 1903-04-05
soBB OLD.YIME TURF KINGS.
m. BLACKBURN'S MEMORIES or
MS FATHERS RACERS.
..,,.,,ue Horses That slept IN Log
stables and Knew no Luxuries-Black.
hurp's whip. Boston and Eclipse
a visit From Henry Clay Recalled.

-. visit From Henry Clay Recalled.
FROM the Washir oton Star.
4r,,.,rack devotees nowadays want
- action for their money said Senator
u,,cLburn Of Kentucky to a reporter Of
%s s,,r mi. foreroon. when ] was young
.,r the betting proposition was subsidiary
=. ,be snort and was In the nature OF side
r,ser. between owners. Now racing has
'.,nvn 10 be game wherein every one is
,,yi,r to get the best OF the bookmakers.
Inn. every one who loves the thoroughbred
O., what he ia and what he can do. regrets
that he has OF late years become. 70 q large
.,,ept. tool OF the gamblers.
Il also think a ray Of light. however, 10
rne,rating the clouds which hang over
,ocing when inen like william G. whitney.
angus Belmont. s. s. Howland and numerous
others who might DO mentioned become
i,,erestod in it. 1t is not the sordid end Of 1t
that these mon seek. hut the glory of seeing
,belr horses win And may add that the
.nir,t thus manifested was that which ami
mated our fathers and the rock on which they
built
-My father was among the first citizens
cf Kentucky who bred. trained and raced
horses Blackburn's Whip whose blood
has blended so kindly with trotters and
thoroucbbreds. was his property. Boston.
sire Of the immortal Lexington. died In my
fathers stable. and the great and unbeaten
Iclipse was In my fathers possession In tho
years 1897 and 1888. These horses were the
champions OF their day and the greatest
horses of their generation: they were not fur
long sprinters. but four-milers.
1t will hardly be believed In these days
OF palatial stables that while these valuable
horse. were in my fathers care they occ,i-
NED a very ordinary log stable through
which the winds whistled on wintry nights
and through which the snow drifted on
occasions When Boston and Ecipse were
Brought TO Kentucky they did not make the
,rin in palace cars. as do the costly thorough
breds OF to-day; walking was good enough
for them and II was by walking every inch
Of the route that they reached their desti-
nation.
Boston caught cold on the way to Ken
lucky and went blind soon after his arrival
Twas small lad at the time. and used to visit
Bostons stable every morning to see him
cured for and walked by the colored groom.
in the fall Of is4s. then II years old. he began
10 grow decrepit from the effect Of severe
racing and duties In the stud. and frequently
had to be helped to rise. When on his feet
he seemed to be all right again and able to
take his morning exercise.
Early one morning, In the year named.
slipped out Of the house and down to Bos-
tons stable. The door was closed and fast
rned within. hammered on 1t and clamored
for admittanoe. The door was cautiously
orrned far enough to admit the passage of
ne The arm and dragged me inside. / was no no
sooner in than the groom was out and the door
fastened. took the matter good -nsturedly
when | saw something that curied the blood
in my young veins, Boston was lying on his
splashes Of blood were on the wall. In his
dying struggle he had beaten his head against
ne s bs s &. dG. ss
10 came to my rescue. My life has been in
.'anger a score OF times since OH battlehelds
scared.
H., i presume ! am among s, the very few men mel,
greatest racehorse and racehorse sire OF his
gay. and his descendants are even now rae
ing at ohh ne T1 STed eE the late
"a. foaled in isss. and was got by Timoleon.
by Sir Arehy. on, Of an own sister to Iucka-
his h taff Hi career carr wa was never touched by Whip
Ur spur and was never beaten. The great
Traced. In his two-year-old form, and while
he was unbroken he was sold to Mr. Nathaniel
fS sSd VII Elm Sr ssG Chat h. could
U' race : Se boltsd because bis TIds5 used spur
aga!n ridden with a spur until he ran against
Fashion. in his old age. and was beaten.
Of this S% for 9e ,sc aSd haf the
purse.
IN hi, face and white stockings behind. He
,anSnrd HSa 'fs but iooSed taller on % Of his
With unusually short canon bones. His eye.
ear and nosfr were fne, but his head was
nS1 what 6St xxe from his ae
being oblique. broad and muscular. His
depth Of chest was immense and his throttle
VI Il: j; PP. IS, t$:i 81. d. i
hard day The muscular development Of. his
armr and thighs was almost Unparalleled.
6Ss | Ss e e .y af sSsBSs Ss Ssssn and nt %h
w %%tR sl 'R5ss ssIS %Ss SS hi. Ssss Pssfy q
Hi- head was sradnally elevated. and when
You H'SS saw " a - ssurs-enousS race horse for no
locomotive on four legs that tried was ever
"o IL GO wss se sso w,sS sS.stnn horse and
to be exact u bd.a 5si E,,lbipsf; ,bgp ;.,., We,
r, "f p1@s sS2H: sa ss@
sNi,Te ambistohan Gl fanny Of rot
sas bred by Gen; Nathaniel Coles Of Long
,I,isnd; and his training commenced as
had star Sn the tSrehssa and hi s1.
lands : inches but was built on a massive
ph-TH He w1J ris net hsndsoms h;onS ,horss
l6S dam. Duroc, his sire, was an exce eedingly
handsome horse Eclipee's action In front
VA heavy. and he struck the ground heavy.
dv.lling a little. but the style and regularity
with which he brought up his hsunches and
the power with which they propelled him
forward overbalanced all criticisms OF his
ind viduslity and way Of going.
His temper was good. and he required
good deal Of work. and in his running q
good deal Of whipping The. account Of his
great race with Itenry. which was virtually
lyeen the North and South. still thrills
tue blood OF men who have an ounce of love
for the thoToughbred In ther hearts, Henry
the race. II is estimated that 5000 people
witnessed the race; and that over 100000
While Eclipse was in my fathers stable
my father rec'ived one day. an unexpe cted
visit from Henry Clay, who was sccom-
panied by several gentlemen from Fayette
and Woodford counties. They bad been
fox hunting in the immediate neighborhood.
Mr. Clay was a connoiseeur OF thorough
bred. and a breeder OF them, and was very
snXions TO see the horse that had won world
vide fame on the turf,
My father was peculiar, In that every horse
he owned or had charge OF was trihe better
than his predecessor. And as he was . fiu:
ent tslksr and could describe all the good
POINTS OF q horse Mr.. Clay, Il appears, for
he -