STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 145 



stretch. The programme was not a very lengthy one, but comprised 

 two races, in which were entered some first-class trotters, on the 

 merits of which the sporting community were greatly at variance, 

 and as such a state of affairs leads to speculation, the pooling was 

 very heavy during the day. 



The first race was for the 2:25 class, for a purse of $1,000, in which 

 there were nine entries, of which only four made their appearance at 

 the start, namely : Elaine, Gibraltar, Reliance, and Echora. Elaine, 

 on the strength of her Eastern reputation, and having made a heat 

 in her five-year-old form in 2:24}, then the fastest time on record, 

 was made a favorite at $120 against $30 for Echora, $15 for Gibraltar, 

 and $12 for the two others, and the pools would probably have been 

 sold with Elaine left out, had not the very knowing ones had an 

 inkling that she might be worked through a strained tendon on her 

 off hind leg, that is said to show feverish symptoms after a hard heat 

 or two. Of a real race there was really no appearance, Marvin hold- 

 ing his pretty mare well in hand, and acting on Talleyrand's maxim, 

 " Especially no zeal," he let her trot with her splendid gait, and was 

 never headed throughout the race. In the first heat Reliance was 

 only a length behind her at the half-mile, but Gibraltar, who had 

 made a poor break at the first turn, came up very fast in the home 

 stretch and secured second honors, Echora being last. The time, 

 2:211, was received with a great deal of enthusiasm. The betting was 

 now even, except with those lunatics w T ho take losing odds in the 

 chance of the favorite being overtaken with a fit or with the thumps, 

 as was the case with Clay on Tuesday, and Elaine was again in a jog, 

 Gibraltar being a poor second and Echora third in 2:22*, and then in 

 the final heat she sailed to the front, and this time it was Echora that 

 secured second honors, Gibraltar occupying the third position. Time, 

 2:24. This victory of the Palo Alto stable elicited much enthusiasm, 

 and its owner, ex-Governor Stanford, when he was presented with the 

 gold cup by the Association, was received with rounds of applause. 



SUMMARY. 



Agricultural Park Course, Sacramento, September 22, 1880. — Trotting — 2:25 class. Purse, 



$1,200. First horse, two thirds; second, two thirds remainder; third, the balance. 

 H. R. Covey names L. Stanford's b. m. Elaine, by Messenger; dam, Green Mountain 



Maid, by Henry Clay 111 



M. Salisbury names b. s. Gibraltar, by Echo ; dam, unknown 2 2 3 



L. H. Titus names br. m. Echora, by Echo; dam, the Young mare 4 3 2 



James M. Learned names b. h. Reliance, by Alexander; dam, Maud, by Mambrino Rat- 

 tler 3 4 4 



Time— 2:21i, 2:22*, 2:24. 



Then Occident — that celebrity of California — was speeded to a 

 buggy, and hearing the cheers that greeted him, the old war-horse 

 shook his mane and showed by his splendid gait that, although well 

 laden with years, he had lost none of that courage that had gained 

 him well-earned laurels on the same track. 



The next race was for three-year-olds and under, in which, of the 

 thirteen entries, there were Annie Laurie, Button, Honesty, Belle Echo, 

 Len Rose, and Glencora, of which the first two were equal favorites in 

 the pools, selling for sixty dollars, and the remainder in the field at forty 

 dollars. Now it was well known that Annie had beaten Button last 

 week in Oakland, but there were many who backed the latter on his 

 19* 



