LOU DILLON 17 



them how fast they intended to go they said in 2:10 and I 

 asked to work the little mare with them. The look of in- 

 credulity which came on the faces of those two veteran 

 drivers I shall never forget. Well — we went to the half in 

 1:08 and the last half was in 1:001/2 and Lou was going 

 easy all the way. In a few^ moments Mr. Smathers came to 

 the stable and made an offer of $20,000. Telegraphing Mr. 

 Pierce the offer I advised against selling and he replied tell- 

 ing me to use my own judgment, so that very generous offer 

 was also refused and the mare was shipped to California at 

 the close of the Memphis meeting. 



"When I met Mr. Pierce in San Francisco on my return 

 to the coast he asked me if I candidly thought Lou a great 

 mare and I quickly replied that I thought her to be the fastest 

 trotter in the world and that she would trot in two minutes. 

 Mr. Pierce replied that she was not for sale and that if he 

 thought she was the coming two-minute trotter money would 

 not buy her. He was more than wealthy and was probably 

 one of the best horse owners that ever lived. He spent a lot 

 of money on horses yet had never before bred or owned one 

 of high class. So he said: 'I am worth a lot of money and 

 money is no object to me. If I could sell her for $100,000 

 I would rather own her when she trots in two minutes than 

 have that sum in the bank.' 



"He looked at Lou much as Splan did at Rarus when he 

 had priced that great trotter to Robert Bonner, that gentle- 

 man saying: 'Mr. Splan, $40,000 is a lot of money.' To 

 which Splan replied: 'Yes, Mr. Bonner, but thousands of 

 men in New York have $40,000 yet only one man can have 

 Rarus.' 



"In the book made by the grim reaper no favorites are 

 played. In about ten days after my conversation with Mr. 

 Pierce he contracted pneumonia and it soon proved fatal, 

 thus ending all plans he may have made as well as his par- 

 donable ambition to be the owner of a two-minute trotter. 

 Lou Dillon and all his other horses had to be sold and they 

 were shipped in the late Spring of 1903 to Cleveland to be 

 dispersed at the May sale. 



"Another disappointment awaited me at the sale. Mr. 



