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| LORA TEMPLE was foaled in the year 1845, 

 and was bred by Mr. Samuel Welch, Oneida 

 County, N. Y. She was got by One-Eyed 

 Hunter, who was by Kentucky Hunter, and 

 her dam was Madam Temple, who was got 

 by a spotted Arabian horse, owned at that time by Mr. 

 Horace Terry, and brought from Dutchess County, N. Y. 

 Her owner, a Mr. Tracy, kept her until she was four 

 years old, when, finding her wilful and unserviceable, he 

 disposed of her to Mr. William H. Congdon, of Smyrna, 

 Chenango County, for the sum of thirteen dollars Mr. 

 Congdon shortly afterwards disposed of her to Kelly & 

 Richardson for $68. After passing through several hands, 

 part of the time working in a livery stable, she was sold to 

 Mr. George E. Perrin, of New York, for $350, in whose 

 hands the flighty young mare became a true stepper. Her 

 first regular appearance on the turf was at the Union Course, 

 L. I , September 9, 1850, where, a mere outsider, to the 

 astonishment of the turf habitues, she defeated Whitehall 

 and three others, for the large Purse of $50, in 2:52 2:55 

 2:522:49, Whitehall taking the first heat. The next 

 year, owing to an accident, she was not in training, and in 

 1852 she trotted but two races, both of which she won ; 

 but in 1853 she entered upon that wonderful career which 

 only ceased when the great civil war deluged our land with 

 blood, and the clash of arms well-nigh silenced the sports of 

 the turf. Her first race that year was at the old Hunting 

 Park Course, Philadelphia, where she was beaten by Black 

 Douglas, a horse of some local celebrity, but afterwards beat 

 him twice without much difficulty. She also beat Highland 

 Maid twice, Green Mountain Maid three times, Tacony seven 

 times, Rhode Island three times, and Lady Brooks and Lady 

 Veruon each once. She was beaten twice by Tacony, and 

 once each by Black Douglas and Green Mountain Maid. 

 In the next year she defeated Mac, Jack Waters. Green 

 Mountain Maid, and was beaten but once by Green Moun- 

 tain Maid. In 1855, after being defeated in her opening 

 race by the gray mare Sontag, and then losing a match to 

 trot twenty miles against time, owing to her casting a shoe 

 and cutting herself, she won six races right off the reel, 

 defeating Know-Nothing (afterwards Lancet), Sontag, Lady 

 Franklin, Chicago Jack, Mac, Frank Forrester (afterwards 

 Ike Cook), and Hero the pacer. The next two years were 

 principally distinguished by her contests with the slashing 

 black gelding Lancet, in which she carried off most of the 

 honors, although she also defeated Tacony, Chicago Jack, 

 Ethan Allen and others, thereby reducing her record to 

 2:24. In 1858 she was sold to Mr. William McDonald, 

 a wealthy gentleman of Baltimore, for $8000, and during 

 the year scored thirteen victories without a single defeat. 

 Her first rac in 1859 was with Ethan Allen, at the Fashion 

 Course, to wagon, whom she beat, in 2:25 2:271 2:271. 

 Ou June 16, she met the bay mare Princess, who had come 

 from California with a great reputation, especially for long- 

 distance races, and beat her, at the Eclipse Course, three- 

 mile heats, to wagon, in 7:54 7:59J. In their second en- 

 counter at the same place, twelve days later, she was beaten 

 by Princess, but Flora beat her eight races right off the reel, 

 and Princess never won another race from her. On October 

 15, at Kalamazoo, Michigan, she appeared to trot again with 

 Princess and Honest Ause. The people of that section 

 were terribly excited over the contest, and gave a purse of 

 82000. The first heat was just about fast enough to warm 



Flora up. In the second heat Honest Anse made her trot 

 fast for three-quarters of a mile; he then shut up, and she 

 won it in 2:22-j. He was after this withdrawn, and Flora 

 and Princess started for the third heat. The little mare 

 went clean away from Princess, did the first half in 1:09, 

 and trotted the heat in 2:19J, which created the most 

 intense excitement among turfunen all over the country. 

 After this great exploit she went to Cleveland, where she 

 beat Princess with great ease and in poor time ; then, at 

 Cuyahoga Falls, on the 28th of October, she beat Ike 

 Cooke they had four heats, the second being a dead heat. 

 On the 21st of November she appeared on the Union Course 

 against George M. Patchen. It was mile heats; the mare 

 was to go in harness, while her only competitor was to go 

 under saddle. In the first heat Patehen took the lead, but 

 Flora won it in 2:28. In the second heat they travelled 

 very fast, but the mare again came in ahead, in 2:23. The 

 third she made in 2:24 ; but the heat was given to the 

 stallion because Flora broke near home, and crossed him 

 when she ought not to have done so. They came up for 

 another heat, and went away at great speed without the 

 word. It was getting dark, and in spite of a recall they 

 kept on. Flora came out ahead, but the judges had not 

 given the word, and declared it was no heat. The race was 

 postponed till the following day, but it was never trotted 

 out. She then defeated Ethan Allen, at the Union Course, 

 November 24, and then went into winter quarters. In the 

 spring of 1860, the Jersey stallion George M. Patchen was 

 matched against her again for $1000, mile heats, three in 

 five, in harness, over the Union Course. The first heat she 

 won by a throat latch, in 2:21, the second in 2:24, and the 

 third in 2:213, which, according to the veteran turfman 

 H iram Woodruff, " was the best race that Flora Temple ever 

 made." In their next encounter, at the Union Course, June 

 6, two-mile heats, she was the favorite at long odds, but 

 Patchen won easily in two straight heats in 4:581 4:57J. 

 Two other races followed at Philadelphia between these two 

 horses, Flora winning both ; the one on July 4, mile heats, 

 in 2:221 2:21J 2^:37 1 ; tnat on Jul y 10 > two-mile heats, 

 in 4:51| 5:011. Ou August 2, at the Union Course, 

 Flora and Patchen again met; Patchen took the first 

 heat in 2:231, but the mare won the others and the 

 race, in 2:221 2:23-5 2:25J. After this Flora went to 

 Fonda, and beat Brown Dick, in harness, in three heats. 

 On the 28th of the same month she met George M. 

 Patchen, at Boston, for a Purse of $1500, mile heats, three 

 in five, in harness. The mare won in four heats, the second 

 being a dead heat, and the best time was 2:28J. On the 

 15th of September, at Kalauiazoo, she beat Ethan Allen, 

 best time 2:23. Returning to New York, she failed to beat 

 Dutchman's time, and then started out upon a tour with 

 Patehen. In 1861 it was difficult for the mare to get 

 engagements, but at length a new candidate put in appear- 

 ance in John Morgan. He was beaten in 2:24f 2:26 

 2:281, and in the two-mile race in 4:55 4:52 J. Her owner, 

 Mr. McDonald, sympathizing with the rebellion, she was 

 confiscated by the government in 1861, and never trotted 

 again. After the death of Mr. McDonald, in 1864, she was 

 purchased by Mr. Welch, of Chestnut Hill, Pa., for $8000. 

 The last time that Flora appeared in public was when Gen. 

 Grant reviewed the great trotters on Dubois's track a few 

 years ago. She showed well then, but afterwards her hind 

 legs failed, and she had to be let up, and was put to the stud. 



