The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-16
By j. L. Hervey.

Az lcdSI Ouc EeCOIu was uiOhcu az
the Kentucky Trotting Horse Breed
ers' meeting which closed Saturday at
Lexington-they raced a couple of
heats in binding snowstorm. The
gay and festive gallopers that used
to race all the year round at Lakeside
and other "merry-gO-rounds often
used to do that-it was one of their
regular stunts. But harness racing is
as sensitive to the weather as a bar
ometer.
Racing rain or shine" does not OBJ
tain among the trotters and PAGERS,
and snowstorms are not down any
where on the bills. But if there is
anything more uncertain than a horse
race 1t is the weather-and it was
consistently abominable at Lexington.
coming to climax with the downfall
of 1.-The beautiful" which, as above
said, broke the record.
Racing through it. Nut Boy won the
classic Walnut Hall cup from big
field, but without a struggle. There
are two all-aged stakes at Lexington
which owners particularly covet the
honor of winning. These are the
Pennsylvania and the Walnut Hall
cup, of which the former is trotted
the opening week of the meeting, and
the latter the closing. The Transyl-
vania is the olier-it was raced for in
1S89-and the richer. its value being
$4,000. The Walnut Hall was orig
mated in 1897 and its value is $4,000,
with a silver cup valued at $500 pre-
sented to the winner by L. v. Hark-
ness, the Standard Oil magnate, whose
Walnut Hall farm, at Donerail, adja-
cent to Lexington, is the show place
of all the Blue Grass trotting farms.
Since the two have occupied con-
spicuous positions on the Lexington
programme-that is to say for ten
years past-many of the most famous
trotters have essayed the task of win
ming them both. But none of them
but Nut Boy have succeeded.
The career of this horse reads like
a romance. He is an illinois product,
having been bred by A. G. Barnes of
Taylorville, this state and is ten years
old. He was originally called Ben
galine, and when sold at auction by
his breeder at an early age and unde-
veloped. brought, 1t is said, the NUM-
ficent price of $50. His purchaser
resold him the same day for SIS, and
between then and now he has had SO
many different owners that track of
them was lost long ago. The cause
of this was his ungovernableness.
His speciality was running away,
breaking up carts and harnesses and
strewing them over the landscape.
One man after another, attracted by
his rakish appearance and indications
Of speed, became his possessor, only
to learn that the honor was attended
with trifle more excitement than, as
regular thing, he cared to cultivate.
So Bengaline passed on. He trav-
eled down east to Virginia. on to Mass
achusetts. back to New York, to Vir-
sinia, to Philadelphia and other places
N those parts, and wheresoever he
tarried-for no matter how short
time-always contributing to the live
illness of the community.
All this lasted until little over
year ago. Then he either tired of SO
strenuous career or found someone
who, for the first time, understood
him. At any rate he was tanned by
Philadelphia man, his name was
changed and he was taken to the races.
And Nut Boy soon began to figure at
the top Of summaries.
Late last October Dick Mcmahon
dropped in on me one day. He had
just returned from a falls campaign
with the pacing mare Citation over
the Baltimore tracks. Say" said he,
II saw trotter down there that is
about as fast as any ! ever saw"
was interested at once and asked for
further information. HE is a bay
gelding called Nut Boy" said Dick.
He had been racing over the half
mile tracks down there and won ten
out of a dozen races. Started at Bal
timore and acted SO bad that he was
shut out the first heat. Then they
brought him out and worked him in
2:11 1-2 over the half-mile track.
They say he always wins or else gets
the banner. ! also heard that he had
been sold to some man in Boston for
$4,000 and is going to race on the
Grand Circuit next year. If he be-
haves himself he'll do things to some
of these high-priced things that are
being tOuted SO right now"
In light of what has eventuated Nc |
MahOn was certainly true prophet.
Nut Boy has proved the heaviest mon
ey-winning light-harness race horse of |
the season of 1906 and has won prac- |
ticaly all the most famous aged clas-
sizes OF the year-the Massachusetts
at Readville, the Charter Oak at Hart
ford. the Ohio at Cincinnati and the
PENNSYLVANIA and Walnut Hall cup
at Lexington. No other trotter has