i6o 



The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



promised the glorious contest that finally 

 resulted, but the morning opened upon a 

 race which foreshadowed a practical walk- 

 over for the mighty Cresceus, with the real 

 contest centering about the struggle for 

 second money ; but gallant Charley Herr 

 literally "came out of the West," arriving 

 only the day before from Fort Wayne, Ind., 

 where the previous week he had won a six- 

 heat race, and put up a contest with Cres- 

 ceus, which made it the greatest of all stal- 

 lion races. So little were his chances con- 

 sidered that he brought but $30 in a pool of 

 $2,360, while Cresceus was, barred in the 

 pooling after the selling of a few tickets, in 

 which he sold at odds of about five to one 

 over the whole field. After the first heat 

 the odds were Cresceus $60, field $100, and 

 before the third heat the field sold for $200 

 and Cresceus $75. 



The time of the five heats was 2:07 1-4. 

 2:07 1-4, 2:07 1-4, 2:07 1-2, 2:08 3-4. I 

 remember of Tim Murnane saying to me 

 after the third heat, as I for a minute watched 

 the cooling out of Cresceus, "Oh, Mr. Jewett, 

 won't they ever stop putting in these heats 

 in 2:07 1-4?" Mr. Ketcham at the time 

 stood leaning against the shed ; he was very 

 pale and looked extremely tired and anxious. 

 The summary of the race : 



Readville, Mass., Sept. 27, 1900. — Free-for-all trot. 

 Stallions ; purse, $20,000. 

 Cresceus, ch. h., by Robert McGregor 



(G. H. Ketcham) 3 2 1 1 1 



Charley Herr, b. h., by Alfred G. 



(J. Kelly) 1 1 2 2 3 



Grattan Boy (Miller), 4-3-3-3-2; Arion (Titer), 

 2-6-5-5-5; Lord Vincent (Splan), 5-4-4-4-4; Ben- 

 ton M. (Marble). 6-5-dis.; Jupe (Gatcomb), dis. 

 Time — 2 :07 1-4, 2:07 1-4, 2 :07 1-4. 2 :o7 1-2, 2 :o8 3-4. 

 Average time, 2 :07 3-5 ; winner's average, 2 :07 5-6. 



CHAPTER III 

 Judges Help Scott Hudson Re- 

 cover Trotter Stolen from 

 His Stable 



THERE are many interesting inci- 

 dents occurring (luring the race 

 meetings that the general patrons 

 of the sport never hear about, 

 and very many are quite tragic 

 right at the time they happen, particularly 

 to the persons identified in the troubles. 

 Such was the case at Readville track during 

 one of the Grand Circuit meets, but I 

 finally by shrewd headwork straightened 

 the whole affair out to the satisfaction of the 

 different parties concerned. Here is the 

 story : 



In the night a horse in the stable of Scott 



Hudson was, with the aid of our watchman, 

 secretly transferred to that of Monroe Salis- 

 bury. Scott had been training the horse all 

 the season and had him during the previous 

 Winter. He found he was good, and entered 

 him through the line, but found that there 

 was a matter of more than $1,000 in suspen- 

 sions to settle before he could be started. 



The horse was good and the suspensions 

 were paid by Hudson, who won well with 

 him, but at the time of the Readville meet- 

 ing the sum total of his winnings did not 

 offset the charges against the horse. The 

 owner wanted to take him away from Hud- 

 son, but the latter would not consent until 

 charges were met, and the result was as 

 stated above. 



The ruddy complexioned Hudson waxed 

 angry about the matter and expressed him- 

 self strongly to me as to the part our watch- 

 man had played in the affair, and I felt obli- 

 gated to help him recover his horse. 



A lawyer was called in, and we found thai 

 in order to replevin the horse (Mr. Hudson 

 being a non-resident) it would be necessary 

 to give a bond for $15,000, twice the value 

 placed on the horse. This Mr. Hudson was 

 willing to do, but it then occurred to me 

 that we could get possession of the horse 

 with the aid of the trotting rules. The horse 

 was entered to start on the following day, 

 and in Hudson's name, I suggested that 

 Scott declare the horse in, pay the entrance 

 and name himself to drive. 



When the race was called the horse ap- 

 peared with Ben Walker up. The judges, 

 who had been put wise, told Mr. Walker that 

 Hudson was named to drive the horse, and. 

 they would not consent to a change of 

 drivers, and directed Walker to turn the 

 horse over to Hudson, who was standing on 

 the track and awaiting this action. 



On getting possession of the horse, Scott 

 drove him immediately to his stable, re- 

 moved the harness and boots and sent them 

 with the sulkv to the Salisbury stable. Then, 

 equipped with sulky, boots and harness of 

 his own, reappeared on the track, won the 

 race, and another, with the same horse, later 

 in the week, when the differences between 

 owner and driver were settled and the hor^f 

 turned over to the Salisbury stable the fol- 

 lowing week at Providence. 



I never knew a mean man to own a good 

 horse. — Eben Hoi den. 



Horses win the race not so much by their 

 vigor as by the impulse of the driver. 



— Al Hamud. 



