P R E F AC 



A work of this character requires but little introduction. Each page tells its own story, 

 as it is a history of the best performances made by trotters and pacers to harness from the 

 earliest time up to the close of 1894. In it will be found all of the 2 :30 trotters, all of the 2 :30 

 pacers and all stallions that have sired 2 :30 performers, together with their performers under 

 them. In the 2 :30 list of trotters and pacers the color, age, sex, sire and dam, as well as sire of 

 dam is given where known. In placing this work before the public my aim has been to con- 

 dense matters so that the price of the book would not be exorbitant. Of late years many 

 have avoided a publication of this character from the fact that the composition bill was so 

 high and because there is such a limited field, as is the case with all class publications. 

 Should this book, however, meet with the approval of the public, it will be followed at the 

 close of 1895 with one that will be much more complete and also contain more statistical 

 matter. 



That there are errors in this 2 :30 Book is not denied. Absolute correctness is impossible 

 in a work of this magnitude. Those who have handled statistical matter know that the trip 

 from-the copy hook to the press is a very hazardous one, and that even the most careful proof 

 readiqg will not detect all errors. Individual knowledge of horses will bring such faults to 

 light and information of their existence will be thankfully received. By referring to the book 

 it will also be found that there are a great many horses whose ages are not given, from the fact 

 that they are not registered. Many of their pedigrees are also incomplete. Information on 

 either of those points will be very acceptable. In other words, I want the assistance of every 

 one on the turf papers, and every one who has occasion to consult these pages, to help in mak- 

 ing this book more complete than it is at present. Turf writers, of all others, have occasion to 

 refer to such a work frequently, and the more accurate it is the more acceptable it will be to 

 them. 



The basis of records used are those accepted by the National Trotting Association and 

 the American Trotting Association. In other words, the records that appear here are the ones 

 that each horse would be expected to start under should his owner decide to campaign him. 

 This has made a number of changes in the performers credited to a few stallions, and has also 

 made several changes in the table of champions. 



In making the announcement of this book through the press I stated that it would be a 

 work of about three hundred pages, Now that it is completed, I find that it contains three 

 hundred and thirty-four pages. This includes the illustrations, which have not been folioed. 

 There are, however, two hundred and ninety-six pages of printed matter. 



CT,T;VET,ANT>, Onto, DECEMBER 31, 1894. W. M. GOCMER. 



