TROTTING RACES. 99 



track before tliey can be stopped; whereas others, 

 old campaigners as a rule, will slacken speed at 

 once when they hear the bell, stop, and turn around 

 of their own accord. 



Goldsmith Maid, a mare whose natural cleverness 

 enabled her to profit by a long and varied experience, 

 showed wonderful intelligence in scoring. When 

 turned about to come down for the start, she would 

 measure with her eye the distance between herself 

 and the other horses; and if it seemed to her that 

 they were likely to get first to the judges' stand, she 

 would refuse to put forth her best speed, despite the 

 efforts of her driver. The result in such cases was, 

 of course, as she foresaw, that the judges, perceiving 

 that the start would be an unfair one, rang the recall 

 bell. "On the contrary," says Mr. Doble, "if she 

 had a good chance to beat the other horses in scoring, 

 she would go along gradually with them until pretty 

 close to the wire, and then of her own accord come 

 with a terrible rush of speed, so that when the word 

 was given she would almost invariably be going at 

 the best rate of any horse in the party. ... If she 

 had the pole, she would make it a point to see that 

 no horse beat her around the first turn, seeming to be 

 perfectly well aware that the animal that trotted on 

 the outside had a good deal the worst of it." 



Close to the fence, but inside of it on the track, 

 opposite the judges' stand or thereabout, there is 

 always a motley group of "rubbers" or grooms, and 

 helpers, with pails of water and sponges in their 

 hands, and blankets, thick or thin according to the 

 weather, thrown over their shoulders, or deposited 

 conveniently on the fence. Here, very often, the 



