158 THE HORSE. 



'' This I consider the greatest trot on record, particularly 

 when the lenglh of the course is taken into consideration, which 

 is, by a surveyor's certificate, one mile and ten yards. The 

 owners of the horse, directly after the match, offered to stake 

 $1,000 to $500 that the horse could trot around tlie course that 

 afternoon in 2m. 30s. 



" Yours truly, A. M. G. B." 



FromSMnner''s Turf Register^ vol v. No. 11. 



In 1835, the sport of trotting became more and more popular, 

 and there was scarce a gentleman in New York, who did not own 

 one or two fast horses. Matches were daily ridden or driven on 

 the Third Avenue, from Bradshaw's at Harlem, to the Bull's 

 Head in, or for shorter distances on the same road, as well as on 

 the Harlem and Centreville courses, by gentlemen amateurs and 

 riders. Indeed, at this time the trotting-liorse department was 

 as completely in the hands of gentlemen sportsmen, ag the turf 

 proper. Among the patrons of this noble sport, then in its 

 infancy, I can name now, without fear of wounding any preju- 

 dice, personal friends of my own, half the leading young ^axv^ 

 tleraen of the city at that day, who all drove their own teams, 

 and many of them with skill scarcely, if at all, inferior to the 

 professionals. A few of these were the late lamented Hamilton 

 Wilkes, wiiose black four-in-hand, all mares, which could trot 

 their mile all-together inside of three minutes, were the admira- 

 tion of the avenue ; William McLeod, with Paul Pry, and 

 Tantrum Bobus and Bull-in-the-Woods, the latter a pair of 

 smashing bays, good for 2.40 together; George Wilson, also, 

 like the two fine sportsmen and gentlemen I have last named, 

 long since departed — with Jerry and Blackbird ; Mr. Wil- 

 liam Laight, with an admirable pair of gray mares ; Mr. De 

 Brosses Hunter, with a spanking bay four-in-hand ; Mr. Coster 

 with Fanny PuUen, the mother of the incomparable Trustee ; 

 Mr. James Valentine with Beppo ; Mr. James Bradhurst with 

 Yankee Doodle ; Mr. Peter Barker with Dutchman ; Mr. ISTeill 

 with Awful ; these, and a hundred others, whom one might 

 easily enumerate, were, in this and a few succeeding years, as 

 successive cracks arose in succession, the men, as justly cele- 

 brated as promoters of roadsters, the men who as successfully 



