From Rams to The Abbot 69 



Maud S., 2.o8| 



At Chicago, September 18, 1880, Maud S. 

 regained her laurels. She trotted to a record 

 of 2. i of, and with the single exception of one 

 day remained the trotting queen until 1891. All 

 things considered, I doubt if we have seen her 

 equal. The first time my attention was- par- 

 ticularly called to her was at Chester Park, a 

 half-mile track at Cincinnati, in the autumn of 

 1878. Myron P. Bush had a party in his private 

 car bound for Lexington, and a stop was made 

 at Cincinnati. Maud S., then four years old, was 

 driven a mile over the half-mile track in 2.26^, 

 and the way in which it was done excited remark. 

 Joseph Marker, a close friend of William H. 

 Vanderbilt, asked for a price on the mare, and 

 the understanding was that he was to pay $20,000 

 for her should she trot a mile in 2.20. She was 

 shipped to Lexington and waited in vain for a 

 good day to make the effort. After everybody 

 in the special car had gone home except myself, 

 the weather cleared up and Maud S. trotted a 

 mile in 2.17^. This was a sensational perform- 

 ance, and Mr. Vanderbilt, who had taken the 

 Harker option, finally paid $21,000 for the chest- 



