284 RACEALONG 



the rating of the people who had them in tow. Such 

 work required careful preparation but at the end of 

 the season the manipulators were fortunate if they 

 broke even. 



Finally the money winning classification put the 

 ringer out of business. While on the other hand if 

 some one tried it the suspect was very apt to be 

 beaten by a colt or a local horse that was racing 

 on the level. With miles below 2:10 even on half- 

 mile tracks there was no place left for a ringer to get 

 the money unless he moved back in the bushes 

 as the purses are not large enough to pay expenses. 



Tempest 



Years before the autos drove fast trotters off the 

 soft roads in all the big cities, a wealthy New 

 Yorker named Potter had a road mare with a fast 

 record. He went to Vermont for the summer and 

 took his trotter with him. Early in July both Mr. 

 Potter and his wife were taken down with typhoid 

 fever. A brother-in-law named Hammond was sent 

 for. When the horse was discussed he suggested 

 sending her across the lake to Plattsburg, N. Y., 

 where she could be exercised on the race track. 



When the mare arrived at the track, she was turned 

 over to a man named Wright. He gave her a little 

 slow work to a cart and finally hitched her to a sulky 

 to see what she could do. Hammond dropped in oc- 

 casionally. One morning Wright suggested that they 

 race the mare and make a dollar. Hammond hesi- 



