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The Driving Clubs of Greater Boston 



V. C BRUCE WETMORE 



V. C. Bruce Wetmore, who became a 

 member of the Metropolitan Driving Club in 

 1914, is one of the leading electrical mer- 

 chants of Boston, being senior member of 

 the firm of Wetmore-Savage Co., at 76 Pearl 

 Street. While one of the new members of 

 the club, yet he entered the sport of matinee 

 racing with the spirit that promises well for 

 his future success on the speedway. The 

 horses he raced in 1914 were Miss Zombro 

 and Merrywise, the latter with a trial of 

 2:18 1-4 over a half-mile track, and these two 

 gathered in their share of the blue ribbons. 

 He also owns the speedy mare, Fancy Maid. 

 Mr. Wetmore is a member of the B. A. A.. 

 Boston Yacht Club, Exchange Club, the 

 Algonquin Club, and belongs to the Masonic 

 fraternitv. He resides at Westford, Mass. 



J. O. REAY 



I. O. Reav was born in Eminence, Ky., in 

 1872, and was graduated from the Eminence 

 College. He came to Boston in 1900, as man- 

 ager of the Queen City Printing Ink Co., lo- 

 cated at 125 Purchase Street. He joined the 

 Metropolitan Driving Club in 1909. the Dor- 

 chester in 1910, the Hampden Club of Spring- 

 field in the same year, and the Old Colony in 

 1912 ; and, as he also belongs to the Elks, he 

 can be called quite a joiner, particularly of 

 matinee clubs. He was on the matching com- 

 mittee of the Metropolitan the season of 1912. 



Mr. Reay's native town was located forty 

 miles from Lexington, and, as is well known, 

 the atmosphere of the "blue grass" country 

 has always produced a lover of the horse, so 

 it was in the case of the subject of this 

 sketch, who might well be said to have been 

 born and raised among horses. 



In the first eight years of his residence in 

 Boston he was so busy establishing his busi- 

 ness that being interested in horses was out 

 of the question ; but in 1908 he branched out 

 and purchased of Benjamin A. Ball, of the 

 New York Life Insurance Co., two brood 

 mares and two colts. He sold one of these 

 mares, Lantar, 2:13 1-4, to Dr. C. A. Thomp- 

 son, who matineed the mare in the. Metropoli- 

 tan Club races for several years. The other 

 mare, Pure Cold, he bred to Bingen, 2 :o6 1-4, 

 the produce being Gold Bingen, 2:21-1-4. 

 Gold Bingen, as a two-year-old, showed 

 promise of being a fast trotter and was sent 

 to Tommy Murphy, at Macon, Ga., to winter 

 and train. As a three-year old he showed a 

 mile in 2:14. Gold Bingen, in his four-year- 

 old form, was given a few races by Mr. Reay, 

 but went lame and was sent to Springfield, 

 Ohio, for a season in the stud. In 191 2 he 

 was at the home of Great Heart, in Cold- 



water, Mich., and during the season of 1914 

 he was in Flemingsburg, Ky., at Hart Bros. 

 Farm. 



In 1908 Mr. Reay bought Vesta Boy, 

 2:051-4, and won thirteen out of fourteen 

 races with him in the free-for-alls over New 

 England tracks. The only race he lost was to 

 John McEwen at Brockton Fair, and he won 

 two heats in the race. His greatest race was 

 when he defeated Jenny \Y. at Nashua, X. H., 

 just after she had made a Vermont state rec- 

 ord at Barton, Yt He was matched to race 

 for $2,000 at Great Harrington with Aileen 

 Wilson, 2:02 1-2, in 1909, but the race had to 

 be called off on account of the lameness of 

 Yesta Boy. 



The old war horse. Gallagher, 2:03 1-2. won 

 ten straight races for Mr. Reay over half-mile 

 tracks, breaking four track records, and was 

 the largest money-winning pacer in New Eng- 

 land in the season of 1910. He appeared at 

 the big interclub meet of the Greater Boston 

 Driving Clubs at Combination Park, that sea- 

 son, and defeated Reliance and a good field of 

 fast pacers in 1 :02 1-4 and 1 103 1-4, materi- 

 ally helping the Metropolitan Club to win the 

 championship driving club cup. 



He next owned We Lead, 2:17 1-4, and then 

 Goldie Dillard, 2:11 1-4, Cresceus Boy, Onoto 

 P.. Ed. Direct, and George Decker. 



The first horse that he ever matineed was 

 George Decker, with the Metropolitans at 

 Charles River Speedway, and he was the worst 

 puller that a man could imagine. Mr. Reay 

 got John Trout to drive the gelding one after- 

 noon, and when he found out that even he 

 could not hold him, it so discouraged Mr. Reay 

 that he gave him a quick sale. 



He then bought Wesley Summers, with 

 which he had great success in the amateur 

 races during 1912, he winning the point cup 

 with nine firsts and one second, the only horse 

 beating him being Chief Wilkie, and he had 

 beaten the Chief the week before in a handi- 

 cap race, having a fifty-foot start. Wesley 

 Summers won 39 points out of a possible 41. 

 the largest percentage of points that any pacer 

 ever won at the Metropolitan Club races. While 

 owned by Mr. Reay he won 21 blue ribbons 

 and six reds in 27 starts. 



Russell Pointer, 2:22 1-4, was the next 

 pacer Mr. Reay owned and he had a lot of 

 enjoyment in beating Mardell and Spim on 

 - ne Winter's afternoon, but for some reason 

 Russell Pointer and his owner did not get 

 along very well and they parted company. 



Mr. Reay then bought the pacer, Kid 

 Downey. 2:16 1-4, that he had seen finish sec- 

 ond at Bangor, Me., in the big races there in 

 1913, in 2:121-4. Mr. Reay had trouble in 



