CHAPTER XXLY. 



BLACKWOOD AND SWIGERT. 



The carefully selected tickets of the lottery do not always draw 

 "the prize, and it sometimes is awarded to the number chosen by no 

 one, and rejected by all. So it happens in the lottery of horse 

 breeding — the prize does not come from the institution that has no 

 capital to back it up ; but, when the bank is solvent, the holders of 

 tickets are many, and the rich prizes are few — many will draw blanks. 

 Such is the history of all enterprises, and such, in a great degree, is 

 that of breeding great animals. 



In 1865, the proprietor of " Woodburn Farm," in Kentucky, had 

 some undesirable stock, which he wanted to sell. Some were halt, 

 and some were blind. As was then, and is now, the custom, he took 

 the lot to Lexington, on one of their so-called county court days, and 

 offered them at auction. He succeeded in selling part, but one blind 

 mare, by Mambrino Chief, failed to draw a single bid. He offered 

 her for |100, but no takers. Finally, he induced his auctioneer to 

 give him that sum for her, and she went at that figure. During the 

 following winter, the auctioneer found her heavy on his hands. He 

 wanted to move elsewhere, and one of his difficulties was the disposal 

 of the blind mare. He finally succeeded in getting her off, on Mr. 

 Andrew Steel, for |125. 



During all this time she was in foal, and in the spring produced a 

 nice black colt, that showed in his colthood a strong inclination for 

 tall trotting. In time he became somewhat promising, and Mr. Steel 

 gave Mr. G. H. Buford one-half interest in the prospective trotter, for 

 training and developing him. The sequel is soon told. Blackwood — 

 such was he named, as a three-year-old, trotted, on the second of 

 October, 1869, at Lexington, Ky., in j^ublic, for a silver pitcher, a 

 mile in 2:31 — the then fastest record for a colt of that age. Mr. 

 Steel paid Mr. Buford $12,500 for his half-interest, and soon afterward 

 sold Blackwood to Harrison Durkee, Esq., of New York, for $30,000, 



(469) 



