280 RACEALONG 



OCCIDENT STAKE 



Charles W. Paine, manager of the California State 

 Fair, when referring to the Occident Stake said that 

 it was named after Occident, a trotter, owned by 

 Governor Stanford. 



This gelding was foaled in 1863. He was by Doc out 

 of a little bay mare probably from Lower Califor- 

 nia. Until he was six years old Occident was a 

 common delivery horse, pulling a bakery wagon 

 around the streets of Sacramento. One day he ran 

 away, trotting. A trainer named Elred, seeing him, 

 exclaimed ''Holy Mike, that plug is some trotter." 

 Following him he purchased the gelding and began 

 training him. 



About this time Governor Stanford was planning 

 a stock farm afterwards known as Palo Alto. As 

 the bakery horse had shown considerable speed. 

 Governor Stanford purchased him for $5,000 and 

 named him Occident. He was then placed in the 

 hands of James Eoff. 



In 1872 the Pacific Coast trotting associations 

 made an offer of $7,500 for a series of trotting races 

 between Goldsmith Maid driven by Bud Doble, and 

 Lucy handled by Orrin Hickok. Their first exhibi- 

 tion race was over the Sacramento track, Septem- 

 ber 28, 1872. Goldsmith Maid won in 2:1714. Eoff 

 refused to start, but after the race he drove Occi- 

 dent an exhibition mile in 2:211/2. 



In the third race, October 16, again at Sacra- 

 mento, it was announced far and wide that Occident 



