CIVESCEUS, 2:02 1/4 



hardly warranted the risk of starting him in a race. 

 Starting him meant that he must battle in each heat 

 if he succeeded in securing any part of the money. 

 Cresceus met defeat, but, as usual, he was one of the 

 chief contestants, and trotted the fastest heat of the 

 race. Dare Devil won the first heat in 2 :io|, and then 

 Cresceus turned the tables on the field and won the sec- 

 ond, trotting it splendidly in 2 109. His condition was 

 such, however, that he was not able to withstand the 

 strain of three more hard heats, and that sturdy old 

 trotter, Captain Jack, won the next three heats and 

 the race. Never during the entire career of Cresceus 

 has it been necessary to apologize for Cresceus. He 

 was sometimes beaten, but never in any of his races 

 was he ever disgracefully beaten, and while he went 

 down in defeat before Captain Jack at Hartford, yet 

 his admirers were stanch and true, and never wavered 

 in their support of the consistent son of Robert Mc- 

 Gregor. 



Following Hartford came the opening meeting at 

 Empire City track, New York. The late Hon. W. H. 

 Clark had, with an enterprise that challenged the ad- 

 miration of the entire harness horse world, built one of 

 the most complete and beautiful race courses in the 

 world. Every admirer of the light harness horse was 

 deeply interested in the success of the initial meeting 

 to be held at the new track, and hundreds of promi- 

 nent horsemen journeyed from all parts of the coun- 

 try to attend the meeting. 



55 



