The Last Race of Lexington 295 



to the immediate affair at hand and to have told 

 for us, by the best writer of that day, the last 

 story to be told of the rivalry between Lexington 

 and Lecompte, and that decision which finally 

 gave the crown of kingdom to Lexington and 

 permitted him to return to the Blue-grass of 

 Kentucky, the greatest of all the Bostons and the 

 best race-horse living. Virtually, the story of the 

 match is this : — 



" At length the bugle sounded the signal for 

 the horses to be stripped. Upon this everybody 

 pressed forward to obtain eligible places ; every 

 neck was stretched to its utmost length. Even 

 the gamblers in the alleys underneath the public 

 stands undoubled their legs from beneath their 

 faro tables, locked up their double card-boxes, 

 stopped the snap of their roulettes, and slipped 

 the little ivory ball in their vest pockets, to run 

 upstairs and become innocent lookers-on. 



" Wagers on the contestants had a small revival 

 in consequence of this eruption from the betting 

 quarter, and the odds on Lexington went up 

 again to the mark of ^100 to ^80. It was very 

 freely taken, however, by the gentlemen from 

 Red River, where Lecompte was raised, and with 

 many of them confidence in their favorite stood 



