The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



149 



even:, and then grabbed" off the race in 

 straight heats. 



The betting was heavy, the odds before 



the initial heat being as follows: Anderson's 

 Nightingale, $65; Hamlin's Nightingale, 

 $55; Kremlin. $50; Walter E., $30; Little 

 Albert, $20; Hazel Wilkes. $15; Greenleaf, 



$15; and rest of the held, $10 and $5 each. 

 In his memorable campaign it must be re- 

 membered that Kremlin was but a five-year- 

 old, and it was then considered a phenom- 

 enal feat for a stallion to gain a world's 

 stallion record at that age. All over the 

 country the daily press had big headlines 

 . in the front pages saying, ''Great is Krem- 

 lin ! ( ireat is Hither !" 



Out on the coast. Kremlin had a most 

 worthy opponent, in Stamboul, fighting to 

 take from him the stallion crown. While 

 Kremlin was performing in the balmy air 

 1 if Tennessee, Stamboul was considered as 

 having a slight margin the better of him in 

 the rare autumnal days of the Pacific coast 

 and a kite-shaped track to travel over. 



Mr. Bither was at the Allen Farm for five 

 vears and. besides the famous Kremlin, he 

 campaigned for Wm. Russell Allen, the 

 owner of that noted stock farm, the trotters 

 Elista. 2:20 3-4: Brava, 2:14 1-2; Tom Ar~ 

 den, 2 :i6 1-4, etc. 



Another very prominent stallion cam- 

 paigned by Air. Bither was Lynne Bel, 

 2:10 1-2, which, besides winning many races 

 in the hottest of company, captured two 

 heats in a Transylvania stake. With Lady 

 Geraldine, owned by Isaac Goff of Provi- 

 dence, he won the Horse Review Futurity. 

 the two-year-old filly going in 2:26 t-2. 

 Later this mare gained a record of 2 :o8. 



in iqoj Mr. Hither opened a public train- 

 ing stable at Readville, he being the first train- 

 er and driver to locate there after the con- 

 struction of the track. Since that period 

 he has devoted himself almost entirely to the 

 development of matinee trotters, among 

 those having been in his stable being Mack 

 Mack. 2:08: Curta, 2:13 1-4; Alondra, 2:18; 

 Mike Agan, 2:10 1-2, and Bronson, 2:12. 

 Mr. Bither did all of Bronson's preparatory 

 work in his well-known campaign of 10, 14, in 

 which races he was driven by his owner, 

 George A. Graves. 



It is a matter worthy of mention that, in 

 1892, Mr. Bither. in a published letter, made 

 the assertion that the time would come when 

 some youngsters would trot quite as fast 

 when two and three years of age as they 

 would ever go. With the great improve- 

 ment in breeding, in training and in the 

 tracks, he then saw the feasibility of devel- 



oping the speed in youngsters to such an 

 extent that it would be their ultimate limit. 



With a three-year-old pacing filly, Anna 

 Bradford, going close to two minutes in 

 1914, and the trotting stallion, Peter Yolo, 

 in his three-year-old form, going his third 

 heat in 2:03 1-2, it certainly looks as though 

 the prophecy made by Mr. Bither twenty- 

 two years ago was very near a living fact. 



Mr. Bither joined the Metropolitan Driv- 

 ing Club in 1914, and also belongs to the 

 fraternal order of Masons. He resides at 

 Readville, Mass. 



Racing Only for the Pleasure and 

 Sport To Be Obtained 



H( >W often is heard the expression, 

 "There is nothing in it. It does 

 not pay to own a trotting horse." 

 Why men who own fast trotters 

 and pacers should invariably 

 assume this attitude with regard to the sport 

 has always been a puzzle. A man who owns 

 a well-bred harness horse, either for the 

 purpose of driving on the road, racing in 

 matinees, or following the circuit, does so, or 

 should do so, purely for the pleasure and 

 sport that he derives therefrom. 



While it is possible that he may derive 

 some pecuniary benefit, the presumption that 

 he should always do so is ridiculous. There 

 is no reason in the world why a man should 

 derive a profit from his pleasure or sport 

 with the horse any more than he should 

 derive pecuniary benefit from following the 

 pastime of golf or the sport of yachting. 



A prominent business man is authority 

 that his golf club connections, from which 

 he enjoyed not over fifteen days' sport for 

 the entire season, cost him over $1,000, and 

 that he considered it money well spent. If 

 the average horse owner would look at the 

 matter in the same light, he would agree that 

 his sport is cheap at the price he pays for it. 

 Suppose he had to put up the price of a 

 first-class horse for a yacht, and then pay a 

 crew for sailing it. and a watchman to stav 

 with it over night, with the only possible 

 emolument an occasional silver cup ? 



This, be it understood, refers only to the 

 gentleman owner ; the driver, trainer and 

 caretaker are in the sport as a business, and 

 should derive a profit commensurate with 

 their ability. True, there are also those who 

 breed and raise horses for the pleasure of it. 

 rather than for any desire for profit, and the 

 pleasure derived from the breeding of a 

 possible world beater, or prize winner, is re- 

 ward enough for the time and money spent 

 in this pursuit. 



