The Washington times., 1938-04-06

IN $$s seconds.
kss ~ %$$<Ss;ss Only T h e
Frank Buck" C'Nein A b b t,
owned in partnership by Ben
White, j. j. Mooney and Bill
Strang, has beaten that per-
Torrance. The Abbott's time
was 2:l4 with a stretch quar-
ter in 30l4.
The splendid performance of
Mack Bell a Hambletonian ELI
gible for 1889, started tongues
wagging at the course, tut the
story behind that nile today is
the story of Negro groom's
love of a fine horse.
Two months ago Mack Bell
lay gasping on the straw-littered
floor of his stall, tortured by a
burning fever that reached
1865.
Shoot him." said the veter-
marian. He is in agony and
can't possibly survive. To let
him live is only to prolong his
suffering"
old Charley" the Negro
groom who handled Mack Bell
almost from the day he was
foaled, looked at the suffering
colt and looked at the doctor.
Finally Recovered
"White folks. doan kill nah
colt" he pleaded. "Ah swears
ali kin make him better.
"Tommyrot," said the phySi-
clan. The horse will die"
They didn't shoot Mack Bell.
"Old Charley" worked against
what they said was inevitable.
He did all the things he knew
and then things he had heard
of. But Mack Bell finally got
his feet. "Old Charley" slept
in the stall with him. He walked
him and petted him, coaxing
him back to life.
In five weeks "Old Charley"
hooked Mack Bell up to a jog
ging cart and walked him
around vhe course. Then one
day he scored the colt and let
him jog for a furlong or two.
Mack Bell may win that Ham
bletonian Stake in 1889. He Is
alive and has trained on splen-
didly. He is handled by Ben
White, one of the wizards of
American harness courses. He
owes his chances and his life to
a man with ebony skin, a man
whose love for a horse made
him perform a near miracle.
An Analody
There is an analody in the
case of Mack Bell and that Of
Peter Volo, which raced to a
record of 2:02, and lived to be-
come known as the "Sire of the
century"
Peter Volo, by Peter the
Great, was bred at the Patchen-
Wilkes Farm near Lexington,
KY. He was a sickly colt, so
weak and poor that he was
ordered destroyed, but just as
the supplication Of old Charley
saved the life of Mack Bell, the
plea of Ed Willis gained a re-
prieve for Peter Colo. The pistol
that was cooked to fire the
lethal shot was holstered.
You want that bone rack,
do you?" they asked Willis.
well take him. He's your
horse"
"Yas, sub: vas, subj" replied
Ed. Hes a fine boss; sure is
a fine hosS."
Under the miniStration Of Ed
Willis, the sickly Peter Volo
mended rapidly. The finest
bran, condition powders, apples,
carrots and sugar found their
way to the colts feed box. AS
he grew, Eds pride knew no
bounds.
Unrecorded Gift
Peter Volo took to the track
as a son of Peter the Great
should, Willis nursing the happy
delusion that the colt was his.
The Kentucky Futurity in
two and three year old divisions
were won in sensational style,
but not under the colors Of Will
lis. No indeed, the story is that
there was no record of the gift,
and certainly there was no bill
OF sale.
His racing days over finally,
Peter Volo was retired to the
stud. There, like Man o'War.
he achieved even greater fame
and glory than he ever won
under colors. lis sons and
daughters won the richest stakes
in the harness world, and their
sons and daughters in recent
years perpetuate the fame of
their illustrious progenitor.
1t may be that Mack Bell will
live to achieve the same glory.
He is regally bred and superbly
nodded. High lot or lowly, the
horse owes his life and his
chance at fame to a humble
S,sn~. ,,,l,a Io,,al Io;r,o