CHAPTER V 



THE LADY SUFFOLK ERA 



IT was not until after 1865 that the evolu- 

 tion of the trotter was hastened by systematic 

 attempts at breeding and development. The 

 haphazard methods of ante-bellum days were 

 followed by order, and great forward strides 

 were made under the scientific propaganda. 

 The first authentic time a horse ever trotted 

 in this country for a stake was in 1818. William 

 Jones of Long Island and Colonel Bond of 

 Maryland backed the horse to trot in three 

 minutes, and named at the post Boston Blue, 

 a rat-tailed gray gelding of 16 hands, who 

 won, and subsequently was taken to England, 

 where he trotted eight miles in 28 m. 55 s. In 

 1821 Topgallant trotted at Jamaica in 2.46f, 

 and he was followed in 1825 by Defiance, in 

 1826 by Screwdriver, in 1828 by Ephraim 

 Smooth, and in 1830 by Bull Calf. Prior to 

 1830 trotting races were usually at long dis- 

 tances, and Screwdriver was regarded as the 



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