266 LIFE WITH THE TROTTEES. 



Richardson and as the other horses were not supiDosed ta 

 have a chance in the race, the fight started in between the 

 two. In the first seven-eighths of the mile in the first heat, 

 Protection and Richardson went like a team. Then Richard- 

 son broke and Protection beat him to the wire in about 2:21. 

 The second heat was almost identical with the first. They 

 trotted yoked all the w:iy to the finish where Richardson 

 again broke and Protection won again in 2:20J, which, taking 

 into consideration the day and the track, I consider the l)est 

 mile he ever trotted. 



After this heat Protection showed a good deal of dis- 

 tress and we decided that the best thing to do was to lay 

 him UX3, regardless of whether there was any other horse to 

 drive Richardson out or not. Richardson won the third 

 and fourth heats easily in about 2:24. Most of the people 

 then left the track, thinking the race was over, and those 

 who staid got a genuine surprise i)arty. By this time 

 Protection seemed to have recovered his breath, and it 

 looked to me as if we had a fighting chance to win. Hav- 

 ing trotted all these races with J. B. Richardson, I had 

 found out what I thought was his weak x^oint, and that was 

 that if a horse took him by the head and hung right on to 

 him, he was almost sure to make a break, in fact wanted to 

 keep breaking all the time. I had no idea of beating him 

 to the Avire, but thought I might make him run enough so 

 the judges would take the heat awa}" and give it to me. 

 When the word was given in the fifth heat Richardson led 

 to the quarter pole, Protection a good second. In the drive 

 down the back side Richardson broke and made a good run, 

 and by the time Jim had him trotting again I had the pole. 

 I then pulled back and let Jim come up to my wheel and 

 we raced in that manner to the three-quarter pole, where 

 Richardson indulged in another short break and landed on 

 a trot at Protection's head. From there to the distance 

 stand neither horse seemed to have any advantage, both 

 staying on their feet and trotting their level best. Here 

 Richardson indula'ed in another break and we finished at 



