314 THE TROTTING-IIORSE OF AMERICA. 



squared herself, drew up to him, and came into the stretch 

 with him. The struggle home, was one of the fastest and 

 closest things that ever was seen. They came on neck-and- 

 neck at an amazing rate ; and within three strides of home, it 

 seemed to be a dead heat. McMann, at the very last, struck 

 Flora sharply with the whip, let go of her head, and with 

 one desperate effort she was first, by a throat-latch, in 2m. 

 21s., the best time that we had then seen on the Island. 

 The last half-mile had been trotted in 1m. 10s., and was 

 a neck-and-neck race nearly all the way. 



In the second heat, Flora was two lengths ahead at the 

 quarter-pole; and Patchen breaking on the back-stretch, her 

 lead was three lengths at the half-mile. On the lower turn 

 he closed the daylight ; and another very hard, close struggle 

 up the home-stretch, ended in his defeat by only a neck 

 in 2m. 24s. Tollman made an appeal after this heat, 

 alleging that McMann had driven foul, by swerving out, 

 and compelling him to go to the extreme outside. The 

 judges disagreed; but the majority overruled the objection, 

 much to the delight of the largest number of the people 

 present. Many, however, believed, and still believe, that if 

 the appeal had been made for her in a like state of the case, 

 and if it had been allowed, there would have been quite as 

 much hallooing. 



In the third heat they got off well together. On the turn 

 she led slightly, being on the inside, and at the quarter, in 

 36s., she led him nearly a length. He now made a wonder- 

 ful effort, and trotted one of the best quarters that I have 

 ever seen. He was nearly a length behind at the quarter- 

 pole in 36s. ; at the half-mile pole in 1m. 10s. he led. 

 Therefore, he trotted this, the second quarter in the third 

 heat, in better than 34s. On the lower turn, he led two 

 lengths. But the mare now gathered herself up for one of 

 her rushes, and closed with him. Up the stretch it was 

 a,gain, close and hot. But she had a little the best of it, 



