Infroducfion of the Horse 3 



and there is more fable than actual truth In some 

 of the reports handed down to us from those 

 days. Time could not be accurately taken on these 

 straight stretches of road, and this afforded boast- 

 ers plenty of latitude for exaggeration. The time 

 reported for flights of speed in straightaway ice 

 races and speedway exhibitions is always open 

 to question, and is not ofificially recognized. It 

 belongs to the realm of irresponsible talk. 



The early tracks were poorly constructed, and 

 seconds slower than those of to-day. The trainer 

 had to ride as well as drive in contests, a large per 

 cent of the recorded races being open to horses 

 under saddle. The observation stands were 

 roughly constructed, and the entire surroundings 

 were crude. On a half-mile track at Harlem, New 

 York, in June, 1806, a horse called Yankee is re- 

 puted to have trotted a mile in 2.59. The per- 

 formance of Boston Blue, at Jamaica, New York, 

 in 1 8 18, a mile in three minutes, is authentic. In 

 1827 Rattler trotted two miles under saddle in 

 5.24; in 1828 Screwdriver trotted three miles 

 under saddle in 8.02; and in 1829 Topgallant 

 trotted three miles in harness in 8.1 1. The dif- 

 ference between saddle and harness for three 

 miles is nine seconds, but the difference in the 



