198 LIFE WITH THE TltOTTEKS. 



the miles in 2:25, He showed me so Avell on this occasion 

 that I was satisfied that, barring an accident, he would beat 

 Bonesetter in the match. I had a man watching Bonesetter all 

 the time, and he wrote me that the weather in Chicago had 

 been very bad, Bonesetter had been given bnt little work, 

 was high in flesh, and any horse t hat could trot three heats 

 in from 2:25 to 2:22 would certainly win the money. The 

 result of the race proved that my tout knew what he was 

 talking about. 



We came directly from Adrian to Chicago, where I 

 found all the horse talent very much excited over the race, 

 Bonesetter still having the call in the betting. I don't re- 

 member of ever having had a race that I was any surer that 

 I would win than this one, and I not only put my own money 

 on Ford, but advised all my friends to do so. But Bone- 

 setter had such a hold on the x^ublic that he remained 

 the favorite until they got the word, with the odds about 

 $100 to $80. My friend Capt. John Dumas saw the race at 

 Adrian and gave me $500 to put on Ford, as he said he 

 would be unable to attend the race. A great many of my 

 personal friends advised me not to bet my money, as they 

 were sure Bonesetter would beat Ford. One of them said 

 that he did not believe I would be able to drive Ford well 

 as he had always been driven by a country boy who whipped 

 and run and scuffled him along, and that was the way 

 he had always won his races. He thought that I would 

 try to keep him on a trot, and that he would not be able to 

 get around the track fast enough to head the other horse. 

 On the day set for the race it rained, and it was postponed 

 imtil the following Monday. The story of the race is soon 

 told — Ford won in straight heats without an effort or with- 

 out ever being headed. The best time was 2:23, in the first 

 heat. In this race Ford was very steady and I could have 

 driven him to his record. Bonesetter was high in flesh and 

 several seconds from the mark. In training Ford for this 

 race some people criticised my methods, as being different 

 from the way other people had handled the horse. I trained 



