118 LIFE WITH THE TROTTEKS. 



making bricks, and with a little water and straw the track 

 woukl have been as hard as a brick. The superintendent 

 being anxious to liave the record beaten over that track did 

 only what he thought was best, but I was sure at the time, 

 and am more positive now, that Rarus, or, in fact, any other 

 horse, can go better over a track not quite as hard. I had 

 done but very little with him in the way of work, being 

 satisfied that the three heats he had gone at Cleveland would 

 give him all the i)reparation he would need. There was a 

 good deal of betting on the event, a wonderful crowd of 

 people, and great .enthusiasm. In the auction pools the 

 betting was on the result of the three trials that he was 

 to have. In the French the betting was all on the result 

 of the different heats, and the odds were about $1 00 to §60 

 that time would win. In the first heat I simply drove Rarus 

 a good stiff mile in 2:17|^. Of course, in the second heat 

 everyone expected, as I did myself, to make the grand trial. 

 My friend, Uncle Ben Wright, whom everybody, from the 

 ticket taker to the president of the track, knows on every 

 race track from Boston to Australia, came and asked me 

 what I thought of the heat. I told him I thought Rarus 

 had a chance to beat 2:14, and said to him that if I made a 

 mistake in getting off I certainly should lay him up, sup- 

 posing, of course, that he was going to bet his money in the 

 auction on the result of the race. Instead of that he walked 

 over to the French and played his money there, which went 

 on the decision of that heat. When I commenced to score 

 Rarus for the heat, and he extended himself as a horse 

 would going at a 2:14 gait, the track hurt him, and he broke 

 several times — something entirely new with him. Every- 

 body had a different reason for this unsteadiness, but I was 

 positive at the time it was the track, and now I knowit was. 

 We finally got the word, but he had not gone far before he 

 made a wild break, and I simply jogged him the mile in 

 2:50. In the meantime, Uncle Ben, seeing Rarus acting badly 

 in scoring for the heat, thought he would make a hedging 

 bet and went to the auction pools and played his money 



