THE HORSE 



149 



or four hundred yards. It often happened that 

 these races were started by some tavern keeper, 

 who offered one or more prizes to the victor ; 

 "but," says "CviS. Ecuycr Neerlandais, "the trot- 

 ters most be lodged in the tavern keeper's 

 stable, and whoso obtains the prize is expected 

 to feast his rivals and supply them with a cer- 

 tain number of bottles of wine." 



In former times the Frisian races were 

 trotted on horseback on short-distance tracks. 

 These have now given way to races in sulkies 

 (light, single-seated vehicles) on tracks ranging 



that does not include horse racing among its 

 many attractions. Many of the large cities 

 also have race tracks, controlled by driving or 

 racing associations, where annual meets are 

 held, rival horses being sent from long dis- 

 tances to compete for the money prizes and 

 to contest for the favors of the large numbers 

 of people who gather daily to enjoy this royal 

 sport. 



The gray race horse Messenger has played 

 the most important part in founding the trot- 

 ting breed in the United States. Our many 



Russian Trotter 



in length from one-half mile to a mile, on which 

 the Russian Orloff and the American trotter 

 particularly distinguish themselves in the north 

 of Europe and in the United States. This old 

 popular amusement has become a science and 

 an art, in which, however, the practical and 

 profitable object is not lost sight of. Every 

 effort is made to keep the trotting horse well 

 balanced, that is to say, to keep him to his trot 

 with the utmost possible rapidity without degen- 

 erating into a gallop. The speed displayed in 

 these races is something extraordinary. 



American people especially have always been 

 enthusiastic supporters of trotting races, and 

 to-day there is scarcely a county or state fair 



famous families of trotting horses have been 

 built upon Messenger, who was imported to 

 this country during the latter part of the 

 eighteenth century. This famous horse was 

 foaled in 1780 in England. He was sired by 

 Mambrino out of a daughter of Turf. Mam- 

 brino was by Engineer, son of Sampson, by 

 Blaze, by Flying Childers, son of the Darley 

 Arabian, a horse imported to England from 

 the Orient in the reign of Queen Anne. Turf, 

 the reputed sire of the dam of Messenger, was 

 by Matchem, son of Cade, by the Godolphin 

 Arabian. The four chief families of the Ameri- 

 can trotting horse are Hambletonian, the Mam- 

 brino Chief, the Clays, and the Black Hawks. 



