Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-09-26
TALES OF THE DERBY
Mysteries of the Famous Classic
of the English Turf.
A SCHEME THAT WENT WRONG

Ribbon In 1851-Leander's 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 az
certain winner of the blue ribbon a
few weeks later. Sir Joseph at once
| course, he travelled as fast as relays
! Of swift horses could take him to his
| training quarters, where he commune
| 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 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 ev-
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
! 1914. 1t was more than suspected that
Leander was a 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 a
/ kick from Running Rein, and he was
effectually placed hors de combat He
! was shot and buried, but when a party
I 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 favcrite 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 Maccabeus, 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, 4 dramatic STORY 10 told A
| Captain Osborne had backed Orlando
for a 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
er He was Just on the point OF eh0OG-
! ing death rather than diBhonor when q
note was placed in his hand. Run
ming Refn," ran the miesfve, which
was from a friendly tout, ''is an I'm
poster, and he won't get the Derby
stakes Buy up an the bets on Orlando
you can get. and you will make for
| tune"
The captain put away his revolver,
followed the tout's advice and, instead
Of providing work for the undertaken,
found himself $4,000 in pocket
Few horses have ever started a hot
ter favorite for the Derby than Nc
Gregor in 1910. So rosy were his
chances that odds of 8 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
net in the same century with him.
There was no doubt whatever that
Elacgregor had been drugged, but who
The rascal was who did the dastardly
rick is as much a mystery today as it
was at the time.
It 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 a winner by
length and half, followed by a
dark brown horse which he could not
| identify and with Macgregor, the ia
vorite, a bad fourth. In spite of the
jeering Of his friends, to whom he told
the story, he backed Kingcraft for
every sovereign he could raise, ard, 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