Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-04-30
rwENTY.M1LB HORSE RACE.
A Great Contest Between Two Daugh-
 ters of Eclipse Oyer 70 Years Ago.

A Great Contest Between Two Daugh-
 ters of Eclipse Over 70 Years Ago.
 1T think" said an old-time turfman to Washington Star reporter, the turf has never seen a brute the equal of Black Maria. who ran twenty miles October 13, 1882, over the Union course, Long Island. She was by American Eclipse, out of Lady Lightfoot, the most distinguished racer Of her day, and was foaled in Prince Georges county, Maryland. Her breeder was Colonel John Taylor, whom early Washingtonians will remember well on his estate, Bel-Air. AS Lady Light foot was by Sir Archy. the greatest race horse of his day. as well as the greatest race horse sire, and as her granddam was the famous Selden's Marie, who ran to her 14th year, Black i Maria derived her wonderful endur- ance by right of heredity. While she was bred by Colonel Taylor. she was foaled the property of Charles H. Hall of Harlem, N. Y, and was dropped June 15, 1926. At the age of l' | months she was passed to John c. Ste 1 vens of New York city, and during hef !, brilliant racing career remained ms i property. .% "Black Maria won upward of thirty l races, the majority of them four-mlle l heats. and was beaten but once. in her 11th year, and then by her sire, Eclipse, over the Long Island Union course. ! This grand mare was true to her name, | as she was glossy, jet black without
 white mark, and stood 1o.3 Her
 head strongly resembled that of her dam, Lady Lightfoot. Her neck was delicately moulded and well shaped; 1 her eyes were expressive, and her ears remarkably pretty. Her neck came
 out we'll from her shoulders, which were broad and clean. She was nlgh 1 in the withers, her arms long and nm
 mensely powerful and her cannon
 bones short and fiat. In short, she
 combined the best points of her sire
 and dam. She did and could win against the best horses of her time over
 any distance. Her stride was remark
 ably strong and steady, and In her
 brushes she covered twenty-four feet | at a stroke. ..-,...
 "In the great race in which she ran
 twenty miles of four-mile heats she had as antagonists such good ones as Lady Relief, by Eclipse; Trife, by
 Sih Charles and the bay lilly Slim by
 Flying Childers. Trife opened favor ite at to g. speculators offering to bet that Maria would not take heat. She
 won the first heat, Trifie second, Lady
 Relief third, and Slim distanced. The
 second was a dead heat between Maria and Trifle. Trif1e won the third heat,
 Maria second, Lady Relief last. III the fourth heat the blood of American
 Eclipse in Lady Relief manifested it.
 self, and Maria was compelled to Sake second place again; but in the hfth l heat and twentieth mile Maria went to the front, and it was duel to the death between the two daughters of Eclipse,
 but Maria stayed the longer. had a {, trif1e the more foot and won the hard
 est fought victory of any horse ever
 on the American turf. The time for
 the five heats was SOC 7:55, S:13, S:39
 and SAT.
 ITO illustrate the kind of a. mare this black demon was, when her rider
 dismounted at the end of sixteen miles
 she laid back her ears and lashed out
 at him with her hind feet. -,x.
 "When the horses were called out for
 the fifth and last heat Relief was all I fire. while Trifie looked and acted as
 if she had enough. Maria, on the con- trary. paved the ground and was anX-
 ious to be off. and have 1t over with.
 This was the first sign she had shown
 that she was really round to and her packers took fresh courage.
 "The drum tapped and they were on, with Relief in the lead. Trifie right after her and Maria at the Hanks of the } latter mare. and there she stuck as if
 glued until we'll into the nineteenth . mile. when Trifie coughed up. It was , now Greek against Greek. and as the two great mares entered the twentieth
 mile the thousands gathered from far .and near to see the grandest contest of
 the century were breathless with ex- citement. With that frictionless. ma , chine-like stride which characterized her when she ran in earnest. Maria ; gradually wore down her antagonist and sister in blood took the track with an electrict burst of speed and. un touched by whip or spur, won the race
 by a good margin. Thousands Of hats flew into the air and mighty cheer went up that echoed among the foot
 hills of the Catsl<ills.
 l ''The most wonderful feature of this X great race was that neither mare was < distressed, but such was the draught g on the vitality of the three mares thai F it is doubtful whether any animal was , so good ever after. As for Maria. she n was a shadow of her former self fol months afterwards. wonderful as was ', her endurance"
 cTunpn ATVTACK 0F GRIP