RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN AND HORSES 



trotter was still alive in me and I could not resist 

 the temptation of butting in. I started off by buying 

 Reina back, who is one of the most wonderful road 

 horses I ever knew. I added to my string by buying 

 Senator L., who took a record of 2.09! to wagon 

 in a race. Later, I secured Altro L. and Promise, 

 which have records of better than 2.10. When I 

 bought Aldine I expected to bring her home and 

 drive her with Mill Boy and beat all records pre- 

 viously made, but, as I sold her the next day to 

 Mr. Vanderbilt, I was denied that pleasure. Now 

 that Mr. Billings has gone so fast, it is foolish to 

 try to get near his mark, unless one has a mint 

 of money. I have always taken pleasure in driving 

 double teams, but I seem to have lost my knack 

 lately, because I am afraid to drive them fast the 

 first half of the mile, for fear they will break before 

 they get started. I have tried several times to dp 

 it, but driving against the watch is a hard proposi- 

 tion when you want to go a mile in 2.10 with a 

 pair." 



Mr. Shepard is a daring driver, as everyone will 

 admit who has been on the road with him, but this 

 does not handicap his judgment. It took him half 

 a century to learn what he has put on record for 

 my benefit. 



In the summer of 1905 Mr. Shepard paid $10,000 

 for Ethel's Pride, and among the races that she won 

 for him was the Transylvania at Lexington in Octo- 

 ber, trotting to a record of 2.o6f. 



October 25, 1902, Mr. E. T. Bedford drove 

 lYork Boy, 2.o8|, and Bemay, 2.13^, a mile to 



1 68 



