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est contender, and he was a good horse, too, full of fire, speed 

 and endurance. In the second heat Old England clung close 

 to the flanks of the bay Selim and held there until the last 

 quarter was reached. Then he flew the course and Selim 

 came in and won as he pleased. A great deal of money 

 changed hands on this race. 



But there was scarcely a time in the history of the early 

 days that there was not a contest of some kind between the 

 North and South, and the natives of both sections backed 

 their favorites with all they had. One of the prime factors 

 in promoting these matches was Colonel William R. John- 

 son. He made probably more matches than any man alive 

 and wagered more money on the results than the heaviest 

 plungers of to-day are wont to do. In the whole history of 

 the American turf there is probably no man who deserves 

 more credit for what he has done in the way of promoting 

 racing than Colonel William R. Johnson. But I have no 

 desire at this time to eulogize this gentleman. In another 

 part of this work I will speak of him at length and will give 

 my impressions of him. 



It was he who brought about the great race between 

 Boston and Fashion, in which the latter won, and there is no 

 notable match of this period in which he did not have a 

 hand. He owned some of the grandest horses that ever 

 set foot on a track, and as long as there is racing in the world 

 the name of William R. Johnson will be remembered and 

 respected. 



In those days the distances were always long, and a horse 

 had to have some bottom and staying qualities to win. Ariel 

 was one of the greatest mares of her time. One of her noted 

 races was run against the fleet-footed Flirtilla in October, 

 1830. It was over the Union course on Long Island for a 

 purse of $20,000, three-mile heats. Both had great speed, 

 and they had admirers from one ocean to the other. During 

 the first mile of the first heat Flirtilla was kept far behind, 

 according to instructions, although she fought for her head, 

 but on the second mile she was turned loose and permitted 

 to do what she could. She shot ahead, maintaining the lead 

 until the last quarter was reached. Then Ariel stepped in 

 and won. 



The trainer of Flirtilla saw that the chance of the mare lay 



