206 THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 



many years, and in which the great speed and invincible 

 bottom of his immediate descendants had been most often 

 and most completely exhibited. But there were some men 

 whose foolhardy confidence and over-anxiety to back him 

 against such a strong field I was a little surprised to see. 

 The argument of some who ought to have known better 

 was, " He can beat five as easily as he can beat one ! " Now, 

 a very superior horse can beat five middling ones as easily as 

 he can one, even in a race of heats, if there is no accident 

 befalls ; but how is it if one of the five does not turn out 

 middling on the day, and, taking a heat from the favorite, 

 breaks the race up into nobody knows how many fragments ? 

 Here, the field being strong in numbers, as well as good in 

 quality, there was great reason to believe it would be too 

 much for any named horse. Still, O'Blenis was the favorite 

 with the multitude, and much money was laid. 



The attendance of people was so large, that the like had 

 never been witnessed at a trotting-race. No such assem- 

 blage had come together on the Union Course since the 

 famous four-mile race between Fashion and Peytona. I 

 should think there were 15,000 people present, and the 

 whole inside circle of the course seemed to be filled with 

 vehicles. There was great excitement ; and it was not with- 

 out a little trouble and a good deal of patience that we got 

 the ^stretch clear, when we had hitched up our horses and 

 began to jog them up and down. At length we were called 

 up, and at the first or second time of scoring got the word 

 to a handsome start. I had the pole with Kemble Jackson, 

 and soon took the lead. The first mile was trotted in 2m. 

 41s., and he had a good lead at the end of it, and O'Blenis 

 second. I found him going so well, and getting away with 

 the weight so easily, that I was quite willing to have O'Blenis 

 force the pace, which he now did. The second mile was 

 done in 2m. 39^-s. ; and, during the whole of it, everybody 

 was on the lookout to see Kemble Jackson break. But so 

 far he gave no indications of a break to mo, and led by the 



