CRESCEUS, 2:02»/4 



tional as the great race at Brighton Beach. While Cres- 

 ceus beat The Abbot in the most decisive manner, and 

 showed himself to be the better race horse, the time was 

 hardly as fast as had been expected by the audience. 

 The performance of Cresceas throughout was splendid, 

 and it was sufficient to show that in all kinds of condi- 

 tions he was the peer of them all. Not once during 

 the four heats did he break, and his exhibition of game- 

 ness and speed in the last heat, when he snatched vic- 

 tory from The xA.bbot, was wonderful. Experts said 

 that the track was fully a second and a half slow. 

 The footing was bad, and in the last two heats both 

 drivers were obliged to pull their charges to the side 

 of the track opposite the pole, where the footing was a 

 trifle better. There was no spring to the track at all, 

 and every time the horsey' feet struck the ground the 

 surface caved in. The back-stretch caused the great- 

 est trouble, and here the horses actually sank into the 

 clay at every stride. About twenty thousand people 

 passed through the turnstiles, and were scattered over 

 the lawn, infield and quarter-stretch, while the supple- 

 mentary stand and club house veranda were one mass 

 of humanity. The horses got a warm reception when 

 they appeared, and the audience appeared to favor The 

 Abbot slightly. The confidence of the admirers of 

 The Abbot made the ex-champion the favorite in the 

 betting, and many tickets were sold before the first 

 heat — The Abbot, $ioo; Cresceus, $60. 



Several scores were necessary before Starting Judge 



143 



