182 



Lovers of the Horse 



Hvlas. The former holds the premier phice in tlie smart jockey's reo;ar(l. Mr. 

 Hav is ])roiid of the fact that he was never beaten on Good and Plenty, an animal 

 which lie classed as the <;reatest jumper the American turf had ever seen. 



During the year 1906. Mr. Ray developed a liking for the light harness horse, 

 a taste probahlv iidierited from his father. He purchased several good ones, the first 

 beinc the horse Prince Greenlander. which did well under the care of Mr. Hav and 

 his father. John McKeown was the next to be acquired for the stable, and won many 

 .stakes for his fortunate owner, racing for the first time over the ice at the famous meeting 

 at Ottawa, 1007 In spite of his extraordinaiy speed, he had to be retired for the 

 season, owing to a bad (piarter cut. In 1909. he was again paced on the ice, and made 

 a good showing. The iu>xt piu'chase was the horse Guy, which was bought during the 

 ice meeting at Toronto and was campaigned by "Nat"" Ray with decided success. 



Mr. Rav was not only known as a steejjlechase rider, but earned a reputation as 

 an excellent driver, handling his own horses in the majority of the races won by them. 

 In 1908, he made a departure and l)ecame an owner, after having refused to sign con- 

 tracts to ride for anyone else. He purchased the leppers Spencer Reiff and I)r Aikens. 

 With these two horses, particularly the former, he did well on the Canadian Circuit 

 that vear. He bought the good colt Rraggadocia, with which he won several stake 

 races, and was seldom out of the money in 1!)0S. 



Mr. Ray is a member of the Sheepshead Bay (iun Clul) and the Sheepshead Social 

 Club. He is a cheerful fellow, with a jolly, ojxmi countenance that l)egets confidence. 

 It is. as the New York Telec/raph recently said: "A good honest type of face that ever 

 looks .s(|uarely into your own. and a bulldog underjaw that probably accounts for his 

 wins." He is modest to a degree, and does not care to say much himself regarding 

 his great performances. His career has certainly been a remarkable one. For four 

 years he headed the list of u inning steeplechase jockeys on the .Vmerican turf, making 

 a new record each year. He has won the Grand National four times, the Whitney 

 Memorial three times, and the Cham])ion Stee|)lechase three times. In 190j he won 

 $.50,000 in j)ur,ses for his owners. In 190(5 he won $(54,000 in purses with six 

 horses. I'l'ub a most (Tcditablc sliowiii"'. 



