Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1908-10-07

Ribbon In IS5l-Leanders missing
Head-A Dramatic Episode-Win-
ners ForetoId In Dreams.
If it were possible to write the full
and true history of the Derby it would
contain some startling revelations of
strange doings behind the scenes of
which the public has little suspicion
and no actual knowledge.
There is, for instance, little doubt
that a very different tale would have
been told of Teddington's Derby but
for the prompt action Of his wide
awake owner, Sir Joseph Hawley.
| When the Kentish baronet attended
the York spring meeting of 1851 he
was amazed to find the bookmakers
eager to lay odds to any amount
against his colt, who was looked on as
a certain winner of the blue ribbon a
few weeks later Sir Joseph at once
| scented mischief, and, leaving the
course, he Travelled as fast as relays
of swift horses could take him to his
training quarters, where he communi-
Gated his suspicious to Alec Taylor. his
trainer
| AS the result of their deliberations
Teddington was at once removed to
another box, placed under the charge
of a different boy and a strict watch
kept over him night and day. What
ever scheme was on foot to disable the
| horse was thus effectually checked,
Teddington soon resumed his place as
first favorite in the betting and, as ey-
erybody expected, won the Derby with
ease
Another mystery which has not been
solved to this day is associated with
Leander and that memorable Derby of
1874 1t was more than suspected that
Leander was q four-year-old, but there
was not sufficient evidence on which
to base an objection to his running. In
the race his fetlock was broken by
kick from Running Rein, and he was
efectually placed hors de combat He
was shot and buried, but when a party
of spOrtsmen who wished to test their
| suspicious dug up his body at dead of
night they found that the head. which
| alone could settle the matter, was gone.
Rattan, the second favorite for this
race, was made safe by a cunningly
, devised bolus, but who administered
IT was never discovered, and, to crown
this Derby as the most shady and
| fraudulent on record, Running Rein,
who came in first, was found to be
none other than AIaccabeuS, a four
year-old; and thus an impostor of the
first water. But when it became neces-
sary to produce the horse for an ex-
animation by experts it was found that
he. like Lenders telltale head. had
been spirited away
In connection with Running Rein, by
the way, a dramatic story is told. a
| Captain Osborne had backed Orlando
for very heavy sum, and when Run
ming Rein came in first he was faced
with the alternative of blowing out
| his brains or being declared a default
err He was just on the point of choos-
| ing death rather than dishonor when a
| ming Rein" ran the missiye, which
was from a friendly tout, lis an i'm
poster, and he won't get the Derby
stakes. Buy up all the bets on Orlando
you can get. and you viii make a for
tune"
The captain put away his revolver.
followed the touts advice and, instead
Of providing work for the undertaken,
found himself E1S,000 in pocket
Few horses have ever started a hot
ter favorite for the Derby than Nc
| Gregor i'll 1870 So rosy were his
chances that odds of to were laid
on him to an enormous amount, and
| the money was considered as good as
| won. To the CONSERVATION, however,
Of his hackers, he seemed unable TO
| move freely in the race and finished a
bad fourth behind horses who were
| not in the same century with him.
There was no doubt whatever that
Macgregor had been drugged, but who
the rascal was who did the dastardly
trick IS as much a mystery today as 1t
was at the time.
1t is of this race that the following
| remarkable story is told: During the
night before the race a jockey called
Swift saw the finish of the Derby in a
dream. He saw Kingcraft. which he
| recognized, pass the post winner by
a length and a half, followed by a
dark brown horse which he could not
identify and with Macgregor tie IA
yorite, a bad fourth In spite of the
jeering of his friends, 10 whom he told
the story, he backed Kingcraft for
every sovereign he could raise, and, to
his delight as to the disgust of the
scoffers. he saw his dream exactly re
produced-the favorite badly beaten
and the despised Kingcraft winning a
small fortune for him.
Even more remarkable is a story of
that great Derby race of 1862. won by
the despised outsider Caractacus, rid
den by Parsons, the stable lad Al
though Caractacus was so badly
thought Of that Jim Goater point
plank refused to ride him and odds of
40 to / were freely offered against him,
a tipster gave him as a certain winner
on the strength of dream in which
his blind daughter had seen the horse
win with a little 10y on his back as
pale as death How wildly accurate
was this dream forecast was admitted
by all who saw the finish of that sensa-
tonal race.-London Tit-Bits
Success Magazine for October