Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1918-02-27
{. J. CURTIN GETS BIG
WRITEUP IN CHICAGO
Continued from page /


Young Green Mountain Morgan. His
owner called him Billy and for
green one fresh from the fields he
certainly could trot fast. John Cur
tin bought the gelding and as he led
him away he told his former owner
that he would call him Billy Bare
foot if he was ever fast enough to go
to the races.
Billy Barefoot Winner.
That fall as soon as the fairs star
ted the new trotter was turned loose
and before the close of 1873 every
one IL the western world, or at least
that portion of it between the Mis-
souri, and Mississippi rivers, knew
that Joh1 Curtin had a trotter which
could win in almost any company il
that locality. AS the news spread it
landed among the white tops of the
Barnum, Bailey, Cooper and HutchiI-
son circus which was making "a trip
across the state. Both Bailey, who
afterwards owned and raced ]. b.
Thomas, Tony Newell, and the beau
tiful mare Florence, and Cooper de-
cided to purchase the Iowa trotter.
Cooper secured the prize, the deal
being closed after banking hours,
ond IN, tbnCa do we il yyor o,,c4o,,,
airy for a circus to pay for every
thing in cash, Cooper went to the
ticket wagon, drew $4,000, and ex-
changed it for the black trotter.
John Curtin went home to supper
with the bundle of bills under his
arm and throwing it on the table
said: THAT is a pretty fair price
for one horse to bring" At thattime
Ed was a lad eight years old and It
looked to him like all the money i'll
the world.
Raced i'm Philadelphia.
Cooper took Billy Barefoot to
Philadelphia, where he was raced for
the next ten years ald closed his
career with record of 2:2S1a made
over Belmont park in 1878 in race
that Nike Goodwin won with Lady
Crossi1. In his day Billy Barefoot
was started in forty-seven reported
races, of which he won eighteen, was
second in fourteen, third in seven,
and fourth in two. He defeated
such old-timers as Modoc, George A.
Ayers, Sorrel Tom, Snow Flake, Gray
Chief, Lew Ives, and Clothesliae, a
trotter that broke Frank Hedric and
Lem Ulmal three or four times
while he was in turn defeated by
Stewart Maloney, Ripton, Little May,
Gray Salem, Black Frank, Carbolic,
aid a few others.
The sale of Billy Barefoot for S.
600 made the trotters' boom in the
vicinity of DEBORAH, and also en-
couraged the Curtin family to remain
in the business. 1t kept coming back
year after year with horses of all
kinds, colors, and descriptions so
long as they could race. 1t also en-
couraged Edward to take few flyers
in the same direction and he has now
Geen at it so long that he does not
know how to fild his way out.
In his day Ed raced enough horses
to equip wild west show and while
some OF them have been more at
home there than on race track, the
check list shows that lot of them
made good; the trotters, including
Look Sir Maid, 2:12 a; Peter Chinn,
fla "a Vestalene, 2:14A; Foreign
Prince, 2:15 "a, and a bunch of over
forty others while such PAGERS as
Maj. Ong, 2:03 1a; Hal j., 2:O5A :;
Princess Marguerite, 2:O6A; Len
Medium, 2:OSA, and Tally b., 2:O9
"a, munched a few bushels of oats in
his barn.
Last year Ed Curtin grabbed the
end of the rainbow when he dropped
into the Great Western circuit with
Hal j. He won the first time out on
the mile tracks and played his high
card at Milwaukee. At that meet
ing Hal j. took the word with field
of eleven and looked on paper to
have as much chance as a feather in
a smudge. On the first trip Pointer
Queen Whizzed by in 2:05% with the
yellow bird Baxter Lou in the place.
The next heat went to Loyal w. in
2:O4 u, Hal j. managing to finish
second while the northern wildfower
Peter Nash, that bloomed for a day
at Columbus, was third. After that