AMERICAN STAR, PILOT, CHAMPION, AND NORMAN. 341 



family in the past fifty years, we are certainly ready to form a 

 safe estimate of its value as a factor in the combination that goes 

 to make up a breed of trotters. Star mares gave us a Dexter and 

 a Nettie, and all the world thought that was the blood that was 

 to live on and on in the new breed. But, while Hambletonian 

 was able to get great trotters from Star mares, he was not able to 

 get, through their attenuated trotting inheritance, sons that 

 would be as great as himself. To his cover Star mares produced 

 no such great sires as George Wilkes, Electioneer, Egbert, Happy 

 Medium, and Strathmore. In the instances of Dictator and 

 Aberdeen there was a reasonable measure of success, but all the 

 others and there were many of them proved comparative 

 failures. There is a lesson taught here that any one can in- 

 terpret. 



AMERICAN STAR (CONKLIN'S) was a chestnut horse, foaled 

 1851, and got by Seely's American Star, and his dam has been 

 variously represented, with nothing established as to her blood. 

 He was bred by a Mr. Randall, of Orange County, and was among 

 the first from his sire to attract attention. He came into the- 

 hands of E. K. Conklin when young, and was taken by him to 

 Philadelphia, and was owned by him during his lifetime. He 

 gave early promise of making a trotter, and from 1865 to 1868 he 

 was on the turf, more or less, and left a record of 2:33. His stud 

 services were confined to the region of Philadelphia till the year 

 1872, when he was taken back to Orange County and died there. 

 Three of his get entered the 2:30 list; two of his sons got one- 

 trotter each and four or five of his daughters produced one each. 



At one time the name "American Star" was very popular, and 

 quite a number of stallions were so named that were bogus; but 

 his son Magnolia put two in the 2:30 list; one son got three trot- 

 ters, and three daughters produced five performers. His son 

 Star of Catskill got two performers, and his son King Pharaoh 

 got four pacers and all of them fast. The family has not grown 

 strong either in numbers or in merit. It has been carried, so 

 far, by the influences of stronger blood, and it seems destined to 

 complete absorption and extinction in more potent strains. 



PILOT, the head of the Pilot family, was a black pacing horse, and 

 of later years he has been generally designated as "Old Pacing 

 Pilot." He was foaled about 1826, and nothing is known of his 

 origin or his blood. From his make-up and appearance he was 

 generally considered a Canadian, as was the custom at that time, 



