I 3 



on the turf. But as a turfman he was admired by every 

 one, for he did everything- in his power to advance the 

 interests of the turf. 



The great Henry Clay once said to me : "I have read 

 of and known many great men, but I never in my life have 

 met with and known such a princely gentleman." 



Col. Hampton had presented Henry Clay with sev- 

 eral brood mares. Among them was the celebrated Mar- 

 garet Woods, the best of all the Priam mares, both as a 

 performer and a producer. Cassandra nor the Queen was 

 her equal, and Mr. Clay certainly got a treasure. In fact, 

 she was the dam of most of the great race horses bred and 

 owned by John M. Clay. 



Col. Matt Singleton was born in South Carolina, in the 

 Edgefield district, and was a most popular turfman of his 

 day. He was deeply interested in the turf and imported 

 Prima Donna and a dozen others. Hero, the sire of Jeff 

 Davis, was also imported by him. Many of his mares were 

 sent over the mountains to Kentucky by me, to be bred to 

 Glencoe, Boston, Wagner and the celebrated stallions of Ken- 

 tucky. Often he kept his mares there for two years and got 

 two crops of colts. 



Another noted turfman of the time was Maj. Thomas G. 

 Bacon, from the same place. He was a man possessed of 

 the confidence of all the people of his State because of his 

 probity. He had a large stable and bred and bought some 

 of the best horses of the day. Among them was the cele- 

 brated Nina, the dam of Planet, Exchequer and others. He 

 was of a very quiet disposition, yet he was possessed of 

 nerve of the highest order. An illustration of this was 

 when he matched Nina againt Red Eye for $10,000 and lost 

 by a head. She ought to have won the race, and everybody 

 who witnessed the incident felt that such was the case. 

 Although he had lost a great sum of money on the event, 

 Major Bacon simply smiled and seemed to be not in the 

 least disturbed. For many years he raced from South 

 Carolina to New York and all over the South. Everybody 

 liked him and he had a host of friends. It was said jokingly 

 by the high rollers of the time that it was a pleasure to lose 

 one's money to so polite a gentleman. He had a pleasant 

 smile always on his face and never took an unfair advantage 



