MINOR HEIR 137 



first and second heats the crowd around Minor Heir's stall 

 was so large we could hardly get him in or out of the door. 

 It seemed that every one on the grounds followed him to the 

 stable. After the third and fourth heats he was deserted 

 by every one but 'Old Bob' and his assistant caretaker. I 

 asked the boys what had become of the crowds. They 

 pointed over to The Eel's stable and there they were, battling 

 for a sight of The Eel. After the fifth heat the crowd was 

 back with us and larger than ever. 



"It is too bad The Eel could not have lived, for he was 

 certainly a very great horse and one of the gamest and best 

 race horses I ever knew. Had he lived there certainly would 

 have been another two-minute pacer." 



As Mr. Dean says, Minor Heir was sold to Mr. Savage 

 by Mr. Isaacs so was raced but a single year by the Palatine 

 trainer. Of Minor Heir, Mr. Harry Hersey, trainer of the 

 horses owned by Mr. Savage, has this to say in a letter written 

 to the publisher of this volume: 



"Another purchase of my employer to fill a combination 

 we had in view was Minor Heir and he proved to be one of 

 the greatest little pacers in the land. His manners were the 

 best; he was a good doer, cheerful, everything that a trainer 

 could desire; tried every time his best and could go about 

 as far as anybody's horse. 



"One special event I recall was his exhibition at Indian- 

 apolis, at the State Fair where he raced with three other 

 horses and won in 1 :59, started back with the same horses 

 on Wednesday racing in 2:00%^, started again on Friday 

 and lowered his record to l:58l/>, then was put on the cars 

 that night and shipped to the Kentucky State Fair at Louis- 

 ville where he gave an exhibition on Saturday, a half over 

 the half-mile track in a minute. I call that a very good 

 week's work. He continued on South that fall and paced 

 the Dallas, Texas, mile track in 1:591/4, a mark that will 

 stand there for some time. 



"He was a most lovable horse, clever in and out of the 

 stall, a good shipper and if he had had the same opportunities 

 that Dan Patch had — days and tracks picked for him and 



