TURF, TEN YEARS' RECORD OF THE. 



771 



of excited Frenchmen, the horses were almost 

 past the Jockey Club stand, when Fordham, 

 for the first time, raised his whip. A cut on 

 the shoulder of Foxhall was answered by a 

 grand leap forward, and the Grand Prix de 

 Paris, with its 160,000 francs, was won by Mr. 

 Keen. He did not do well at Ascot, but in 

 the Cesarewitch he carried 110 pounds, :md 

 won in a common canter. In the Select stakes, 

 with 127 pounds, he again defeated with the 

 utmost ease his old French rival, Tristan. In 

 the Cambridgeshire, with 126 pounds on his 

 back, he defeated Lucy Glitters, carrying 91 

 pounds, by a head, while Tristan came in third, 

 with 107 pounds. Among the horses not 

 placed by the judges in this last race was the 

 Derby victor of 1880, Bend Or, carrying 134 

 pounds. In the Champion stakes, ten days 

 before the Cambridgeshire, Bend Or, with 130 

 pounds, had defeated Iroquois with only 116 

 pounds on his back. Foxhall's double victory 

 in the two great Newmarket handicaps had 

 had only one parallel, the victory of Rosebery, 

 in 1876. The Cesarewitch course is 2J miles 

 in length, and Foxhall came in 10 lengths 

 ahead of Chippendale an exploit of which 

 the greatest horses in the annals of the turf 

 might well be proud. But Iroquois and Fox- 

 hall were not conceded to be by any means the 

 best American runners at the time they won 

 their laurels abroad. There was Hindoo, the 

 winner of the Kentucky Derby and Clark 

 stakes at Louisville and the Blue Ribbon stakes 

 at Lexington. There was the grand filly, 

 Thora, who, in 1881, defeated both Hindoo and 

 Crickmore, but was beaten in 1882 at Jerome 

 Park by Sly Dance, having to concede a year 

 and six pounds. There was Parole, whose 

 brilliant performance in the Manhattan handi- 

 cap, with 120 pounds, aroused great enthusi- 

 asm. There was the steeple-chaser, Trouble, 

 who, at Jerome Park, in 1882, won the handi- 

 cap steeple-chase, carrying 157 pounds. There 

 was Glenmore that achieved the unparalleled 

 performance of running the four miles in the. 

 last two heats for the Bowie stakes in the time 

 of 7.30J and 7.31 respectively. With his easy 

 action and great staying -powers, he was a 

 wonderful horse. In the Coney Island cup 

 race he defeated Luke Blackburn, Monitor, 

 Parole, and Oncas. winning in 3.58|. Among 

 the other successful American running-horses 

 of the past ten years may be mentioned Fiddle- 

 stick, Belle of the Meade, Brother to Harry 

 Bassett, Rhadamanthus, Aristides, Ilarkaway, 

 Himyar, Lottery, Bushwhacker, Mistake, Beati- 

 tude, Lord Murphy, Pontiac, Winfred, and 

 Dew Drop. This latter horse was purchased 

 in February, 1886, by the Dwyer Brothers at 

 the sale of Mr. Pierre Lorillard's stock at Ran- 

 cocas, for $29,000, but his performances dur- 

 ing the succeeding season were disappointing. 



By Teams. Maud S. and Aldine were driven 

 in New York by W. H. Vanderbilt one mile to 

 a road-wagon (not a record) in 2.15. Maxey 

 Cobb and Neta Medium were driven one mile 



in New York to a skeleton-wagon, not in a 

 race, but against time, for a record, by John 

 Murphy, in 2.16J. Arab and Conde were 

 driven by O. A. Hickok three straight mile- 

 heats over the Bay District track, San Francis- 

 co, Nov. 26, 1887, and won the race from Jane 

 L. and Palatina in 2.30, 2.23, 2.1 8J. The third 

 heat is the best time ever made in a team-race 

 first half, 1.13; second half, 1.05$. 



Raeing. A number of good pacing-horses 

 have been bred and trained in America during 

 the past ten years, the most noted of which 

 are Sweetser, not of distinguished pedigree, 

 but who paced in Cleveland, in 1877, three 

 heats in 2.16, 2.16, 2.16J, the slowest of which 

 was faster than any previous record ; Little 

 Brown Jug, who reduced the record still further 

 in 1879 by pacing three heats in 2.11J, 2.11f, 

 2.12J, and Johnson, who paced a heat in 1883 

 in 2.10, and one in 1884 in 2.06^. 



Steeple-Chasing. This class of racing has not 

 yet become very popular in the United States, 

 although a few good steeple-chase trials are run. 

 The most important event in the history of the 

 American turf during 1886 was the retirement 

 of Mr. Pierre Lorillard and the sale of a large 

 part of his stock at Rancocas. In the latter 

 27 horses brought $149,050. Besides Dew 

 Drop, already mentioned as having been sold 

 for $29,000, Pontiac, winner of the Suburban 

 handicap in 1885, brought $17,500, and Win- 

 fred, brother of the great Wanda, $13,000. 



The Tnrf in England. The English breeding- 

 farms have continued to supply the stock from 

 which the best horses are obtained in all other 

 European countries, and, during the past ten 

 years interest in the thoroughbreds and in the 

 great national races has been increased. The 

 high character of the horses that have partici- 

 pated in the principal handicaps has been main- 

 tained. The racing associations of England, 

 and especially the Jockey Club, are stronger 

 than ever before, and important improvements 

 have been made in their grounds. The num- 

 ber of horses in training has been increased 

 and several new handicaps have been estab- 

 lished, the most important being the 10,000 

 Eclipse stakes, established in 1886, and won 

 that year by Bendigo. In 1886, also, Fred. 

 Archer, the ''Centaur of the Century," died. 



The Continent. In France interest in the great 

 national race, the Grand Prix de Paris, has 

 increased since 1876, and there has been a 

 marked improvement in the character of the 

 horses that contend for it. For the systematic 

 encouragement of horse-breeding, France is 

 divided into twenty-seven districts in which 

 three classes of stallions are employed Gov- 

 ernment stallions, horses owned by private 

 individuals that have received premiums, and 

 inferior horses employed for want of better 

 ones. It is a penal offense for a private indi- 

 vidual to employ a stallion not belonging to 

 one of these classes, except for his own marea. 

 Statistics of the production of horses, horse- 

 rearing, and pastures in each district are pub- 



