TOM THUMB. 133 



" The first time," I quote from Porter's Spirit of the Times 

 of December 20, 1856, " ever a horse trotted in public for a 

 stake, was in 1818, and that was a match against time for 

 $1,000." The word ever in the above quotation, I presume, to 

 have reference to America, as trotting matches on the road in 

 England had certainly taken place earlier than that date. 



" The match," continues the writer, " was proposed at a 

 Jockey Club dinner, where trotting had come under discussion ; 

 and the bet was, that no horse could be produced which could 

 trot a mile in three minutes. It was accepted by Major William 

 Jones, of Long Island, and Col. Bond^ of Maryland ; but the 

 odds on time were immense. The horse named at tlie post 

 was ' Boston Blue,' who won cleverly, and gained great 

 renown. He subsequently was purchased by Thomas Cooper, 

 the celebrated tragedian, who drove him on several occasions 

 between this city," New York, " and Philadelphia, thereby 

 enabling himself to perform his engagements in either city on 

 alternate nights. 



" It was as late as 1830 before the fast-trotting courses were 

 established, and public purses oiFered in this country. Edwin 

 Forest made his best time in 1834, and Sally Miller hers in 

 1833, and at that date 2m. 31|s. was the maximum of speed." 



There is an error in the above statement, concerning the 

 date of the first establishment of trotting courses and offer of 

 purses, as I suspected from my own recollection, on first reading 

 it — having seen Tom Thumb trot his match in England, while 

 an uuder-graduate at Cambridge, on the ISTorthampton turnpike- 

 road, much earlier than the date named, which would hardly 

 have been the case had not trotting been already a well-under- 

 stood sport in the United States. 



By reference to that excellent old work, the American 

 Farmer, by the late J. S. Skinner, , a useful and honored con- 

 tributor to all that belongs to sporting in America, I find in 

 vol. iv. p. 265, for 1823, the first distinct notice of trotting 

 courses. 



It is embodied in an act passed March 30, 1831, which is 

 published in the Farmer, in connection with the " Articles and 

 Eules of the New York Association for the improvement of the 

 breed of horses." 



