Flora Temple and Dexter 49 



Dexter, 2.17^ 



The record of Flora Temple stood for eight 

 years. May 4, 1864, Dexter, brown gelding, 

 foaled 1858, by Rysdyk's Hambletonian, dam 

 Clara by Seely's American Star, made his first 

 appearance in public, at Fashion Course, where he 

 beat Stonewall Jackson and two others, best time 

 2.33. He trotted a series of races in 1865 and 

 showed his heels to such horses as George Wilkes, 

 General Butler, and George M. Patchen Jr., and 

 in 1866 he was on a hippodroming tour with 

 George M. Patchen Jr. In 1867 he defeated 

 Goldsmith Maid, Lady Thorn, and others. At 

 Buffalo, August 14, he started to beat 2.19!, and 

 won in 2.17^. Budd Doble was the trainer and 

 driver of the paragon, and he has since said to 

 me that were the tracks and sulkies as good as 

 they are to-day, Dexter would not be far behind 

 championship honors. Immediately after the 

 record-breaking performance at Buffalo, Robert 

 Bonner entered the judges' stand and the an- 

 nouncement was made that he had purchased the 

 son of Hambletonian and Clara. After the pur- 

 chase Mr. Bonner telegraphed to a friend in New 

 York: " I saw Niagara Falls this morning for the 



