140 THE HORSE IN AMERICA 



Mr. Huntington has long believed that the 

 Clay was the best trotting blood in America, and 

 when this blood was spoken of contemptuously 

 by Mr. Robert Bonner and called "Sawdust" 

 Mr. Huntington's indignation knew no bounds. 

 However, the blood could never become unpopu- 

 lar after the record of the Green Mountain Maid 

 in producing trotters. All of her colts could trot 

 she had sixteen and trot fast. But Mr. Hunt- 

 ington's opportunity to utilize this Clay blood 

 came when General Grant received a present of 

 two stallions from the Sultan of Turkey. When 



ter's birth, and that it is more likely that Harry Clay was the sire of Dexter 

 because of Dexter's resemblance to the Clays rather than the Hamble- 

 tonians, and also because of his stoutness of heart. As Dexter was a geld- 

 ing and incapable of leaving progeny this question is more interesting than 

 important. I have no opinion in the matter, but as I am convinced of the 

 general inaccuracy of the records of the day, I am not at all prepared to 

 believe that Dexter's pedigree as put in the books is accurate. About the 

 time he became famous the Hambletonian party was numerous and pow- 

 erful and by no means scrupulous in claiming everything in sight. 



The dam of the trotting stallion George Wilkes was also said to be by 

 Henry Clay. The Hambletonian advocates George Wilkes was sired by 

 Hambletonian were so bitter in their opposition to the Clay blood, that 

 they refused to accept this and preferred that the breeding of George 

 Wilkes' dam should be set down as unknown. I have read a good deal that 

 has been written on the subject and can only say that the statements pro 

 and con are equally unconvincing and only illustrate over a^ain the utter 

 untrustworthiness of the early records, together with the partizan dis- 

 courtesy of the disputants. 



