74 CANADIAN TUKF KECOLLECTIONS 



TEEROR'S GREAT RACE AT OTTAWA. 



When one's memory travels back early in the '70 's 

 and calls to mind the many successful running meetings 

 that were held at Ottawa, it seems strange that the sport 

 should have so completely died out at the Capital. In 

 those days the races at the eastern city ranked amongst 

 the best, and large numbers of sportsmen were wont to 

 assemble from all over Canada to take a hand in. The 

 rich lumber magnates from \\p tJie Ottawa would meet 

 there and when they had a fancy they would back it with 

 a persistency that generally beat down all opposition, and 

 though they lost perhaps oftener than they won, they 

 always came up smiling for the next roujid. 



I have seen a local race there, one open to the counties 

 of Leeds, Russell and Pontiac, create as much excitement 

 as a meeting of the cracks in stakes worth thousands, 

 and on one of these races I have known over six thou- 

 sand dollars go into the pool box, and I also call to mind 

 a bad case of pulling. I once saw a Queen's Plate 

 awarded to a horse, when to allow him to win it was 

 necessary to pull another horse all over the track, and 

 though the pulling and yanking was done all down the 

 stretch, everything went and the Governor General, who 

 was present, was asked to award Her Majesty's guineas 

 to the chap who got there first. I have seen some strong 

 arm work in my racing days, but I never yet saw any- 

 thing quite so barefaced as that Ottawa Plate, and I have 

 often wondered whether the three judges on duty had 

 condensed goggles on, that only covered the radius in 

 which the leading horse was travelling, 

 deep in the hole, it was only good sense to try a change. 



At the last moment permission was given to do it and 

 at once we hunted up Mat Williams, and after a bit of 

 hard work induced him to take the mount. He had a 



