New-York tribune., 1918-03-31
rohtti11g Horse Owners
Cheered BY New Order

winter choice for the M. and NJ Stake
and other fixtures of 1916, but the
horse had mind OF his own, and it
wasn't on doing what McDevtt de-
sired. Such was his department that
he would have had to stay after school
every night had he been boy, so
they gave up the idea of racing him
Late that fall he rounded to form, and
again Captain Shaw climbed into the
sulky and drove him mile in 2:O4A
at Atlanta
Last year they let up on him, and
the rest seems to have done him good.
With his great speed, if he learns to
race, ne should become the greatest
son of Peter the. Great
The other day modest bet was
made at Arden, Penn, that Ben Billings
will pace in two minutes this year, all
of which recalls the career of this SEN
satlonally bred horse. C. x. G. Bill
ings, OF New York and elsewhere, mate d
the champion trotting mare Lou Dillon
| 100 1s' with number of topnotch stall
ions, among them Bingen, at that time
owned by William Bradley, of Now
York. The produce in 1911 was colt
tnat was named Ben Billings, and when
old enough he was given the most care.
full education.
That he was not going to become a
sensational trotter was evident when
ne tailed to do better than 2:15A in a
trlal against the watch as a three-year-
Old He liked the pace better. in spite
OF ms ancestry, SO he was shifted in
l9l6. and stepped a mile at the lateral
gait in 2:07, which made him sell for a
high figure q
Takes Distcmper
Last year the horse was in the stable
or Fred Jamison, who ranks among the
pest OF the halfmile track drivers, and
mas shown lot of clcverness on the
mile rings. In his first start at North
randall he raced in 2:031A, separately
timed; then. next week at Detroit he
won in 2:O5A This was followed hv
a victory at Kalamazoo in 2:O6T. in
which he beat Butt Hale and other GOOD
ones. @N0N
Just when he looked to be on tho
verge of making good as a racehorsc
ne was taken with distemper, which M
htted him for further triumphs The
geialng IS in the finest order this
spring, going about his work with en-.
thuslasm and in a much different man
ner from the past. With all of his
npe:u, whlch was of the two-minutc
"S ySoAB He QOcS not rush
away as he wanted to do last year:
also. his gait is smoother.
In the same stable is the trott;nr
mare Wilkes Brewer. around which is (:
cehtrlng heated discussion. She is
cred'ted with record of 2:O6N at Co.
luihpus' whereas all of the turf scribes
say the mile was in 2:07A. and thew SO
reported 1t at the time. This is beinr
.aken up with the parent association
ior the mark on the books bars har
rom the rich stakes in which her
owner again wants to try her.
=, lhat there will be q lot of activity i,
me IN realm of colt racing this year is
ehe forecast of the entry in the Toledo
stakes, which have about fortv-Ii five
apiece. important events for the two
and three year olds are in the nature
OF futurities, half dozen of which
WI w,eh an aggregate value of sometime
ike $4,000 ire raced annually.
East Well Represented.
The event for three-year-olds is
named the Sherwood Cup, in honor of @
the oldest member of Congress who
III M all times is champion of the horse
inns Is for trotters eligible to the 2:12
class, and while the majority of colts
Is from the Middle West 1t is noticed
that the East is we'll represented bv
the Saugerties Farm, OF Sauperties
N. r.: the Murphy Stables, of Pouch.
lK,eepsie; X, A. b. Coke, of Paoli, Penn:
walter Il. Cox, of Dover, N. H.: w n
Robinson. of Norfolk, Va; j. Fl. Ellis
OF philadelphia, and Charles Johnston
of New York.