546 THE HORSE. 



arm and thigh ; his limbs are clean and sinewy, and without 

 blemish, with long pasterns fitting into well-shaped hoofs ; mane 

 and tail sufficiently full, and the latter denoting his Hambletonian 

 origin." * In the seven years which preceded his first appearance, 

 his frame had become firmly knit, and his muscles developed and 

 hardened, so that, when placed in the skilful hands of Hiram 

 Woodruff, he had the strength to undergo a thorough training, 

 and to maintain and repeat every improvement in speed. 



The first race on the Fashion Course in 1864 was that in which 

 Stonewall Jackson, of Hartford, Connecticut, beat Frank Cosette 

 and General Grant in 2 m. 30 s. This was on the 10th of April ; 

 and the race of Stonewall Jackson, Lady Collins, and Dexter fol- 

 lowed on the 4th of May. Although Dexter was a green horse, 

 the fact of his being pitted against such a champion as Stonewall 

 Jackson, under the management of Hiram Woodruff, was sufficient 

 to excite considerable expectation as well as curiosity, and there 

 was in consequence a good attendance at the race. In the first 

 heat the horses got off well, Dexter leading, and giving a taste of 

 his quality by trotting the first quarter in 37 seconds. Stonewall 

 Jackson then drew up, but did not succeed in dispossessing Dexter 

 of the lead which he maintained to the end of the heat; time, 

 2 m. 33 s. In the next heat Stonewall Jackson led nearly half- 

 way round the course, when he was overhauled and passed by 

 Dexter, who kept the lead, winning the heat in 2 m. 36 s. In 

 the third heat Dexter opened a wide gap between himself and his 

 two competitors, which was never closed. He won this heat in 

 2 m. 34 s., and with it the highest opinion of all who had been 

 witnesses of the race. Not only his style of trotting, but his 

 apparent vigor and courage, impressed every one with the idea of 

 a great horse, and caused much speculation as to his future. 

 Looking back now, there appears to have been a chance for specu- 

 lation of a more easily computable value, as Dexter could probably 

 have been bought at that time for five thousand dollars. Two 

 days afterwards Dexter beat Lady Collins on the Union Course. 

 In the interval between the last heats Commodore Vanderbilt 

 drove his famous team, Ploughboy and Postboy, around the course 

 several times in fine style, but made no attempt to compete with 

 the time placed upon record by Mr. Bonner with Lady Palmer 

 and Flatbush Maid. On the 3d of June Dexter started in a race 

 with two other Hambletonians, Shark and Hambletonian Second, 

 but struck his leg in the first heat, and was withdrawn. He did 

 not appear on the turf again during 1864. 



In the early part of this season there was a great revival of 

 trotting in all parts of the country. In the West as well as in the 



* From " Turf, Field, and Farm." 



