154 CANADIAN TURF KECOLLECTIONS 



at the bench, declared that they must run the race, seven- 

 eighths, in .28 or better to beat him, but though he was 

 leading winners into the paddock when they were riding 

 a cradle, they would have none of it. Balbriggan's vic- 

 tory was a veritable bolt out of a clear sky. The horses 

 engaged in the race were eleven in number, and included 

 a lot that classed up to the best selling plater form, such 

 as Sandown, who only had 103; La Joya, with the same 

 weight; Figaro, 99; Torchbearer, 98; Mary S., 98; Ken- 

 tucky Lady, 98; Stonemason, 99; Skidaddle, 112; Leon- 

 ardo, 94 ; Lehman, 100, and Balbriggan, 100. Mr. Fleisch- 

 mann, the owner of Lehman, was very sweet on his 

 horse 's chances, and the whole stable connection had their 

 coin down on him. His best race in Chicago was a mile 

 and seventy yards in 1.45, with more weight up, and he 

 also had many other fast performances to his credit, and 

 his friends backed him as if the event were already won. 

 The Seagram stable thought they had a royal chance with 

 Stonemason, and hundreds went into the ring on his 

 chances. Figaro was another red-hot choice, and thou- 

 sands of dollars were staked on him, but the despised 

 Canuck mare, with an unfashionable jockey up, that half 

 the people present had never heard of, simply outpaced 

 the whole party and beat them on their merits. 



Now I will relate an interesting circumstance that 

 occurred in connection with this race. Two friends and 

 myself had strolled across the bridge from the public 

 stand on to the balcony of the pretty little club house that 

 had just been erected by President "Walbaun. We were 

 seated at a table smoking a cigar and sipping a light B. 

 and S. just before the race in question. Just in front of 

 us at another table, were two ladies and a gentleman. 

 The former were both good lookers and, judging by their 

 conversation, were evidently enjoying their outing. A 

 bottle of Pommery and three glasses proved they were no 

 cold-water disciples and the conversation of the three 

 clearly demonstrated that they knew very little about the 

 racing game. Just then one of the commissioners passed 

 around with the betting card. One of the ladies asked to 



