156 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



Palo Alto opened our campaign of 1886 auspiciously 

 at Kalamazoo, and he also rounded it up victoriously 

 at St. Louis. His first start at the former place was on 

 June 29th, in the 3:00 class, against Victor, by Hermes,, 

 and four or five others. Palo xilto won very easily in 

 2:32|-, 2:33i, 2:33, outclassing his field entirely. July 

 1st we started him in the 2:40 class against a bet- 

 ter field, comprising among others Col. Bowers and 

 the good mare Anniversary. We won the first two 

 heats comfortably in 2:30^ and 2:30J. I was aware 

 that the Grand Circuit was ahead, where the colt 

 would have to go against aged horses, and I wanted to 

 Avin without putting him out of the 2:30 class. In the 

 third heat A»nniversary crowded me so hard that I 

 slowed up to avoid beating 2:30, and the pablic jumped 

 to the conclusion that she "could win if she wanted 

 to." In this heat Col. Bowers ran away, throwing out 

 his driver, McLaughlin, and breaking several of his- 

 ribs. The judges called it no heat. In the next heat 

 I went off at a hot pace, and trotted to the three-quar- 

 ters in 1:45 — a 2:20 gait — and then almost walked home 

 in 2:29i, to show the public whether Anniversary 

 " could win if she wanted to " or not. Our next battle- 

 ground was the fast track at East Saginaw, where 

 Palo Alto struck hot company in the 2:29 class. . There 

 Avas that good horse Wilton that in his next race made 

 a record of 2:19^, and the fast Blue Bull mare Lucy 

 Fry, 2:20f (whose dam was the well-known old gray 

 campaigner, Kitty Bates, 2:19), besides Frank Middle- 

 town and others. I had third position at the start, Lucy 

 Fry being between me and the pole-horse, Wilton hav- 

 ing the bad luck to draw the tenth and last place in 



