1 88 THE TWO-MINUTE PACERS 



everything on the little horse. It was said he threw his stifle 

 out sometimes when he was worked. He never did but they 

 believed he did and blistered him to cure him of it and as 

 they made the blister very severe they always tied his tail 

 with a rope to an overhead stringer when they applied it. 

 That left it awfully sore and when I got him it was so sensi- 

 tive that when he switched it and hit the shaft he would nearly 

 go crazy with the pain. 



"Well, Mr. Button just jogged him to heavy cart and let 

 him 'slop around,' as he said it. Then Capt. Shaw took a 

 great fancy to him and as part of his education he drove him 

 in the matinees at North Randall all summer, giving him a 

 record of 2:07'^, the best of the year for that track at mati- 

 nee racing. And he fed him sugar every day and that helped 

 to civilize him. I seldom sat behind him except on the 

 days when I wanted him to step. The alleged ailment never 

 bothered him at all except in the stall when his stifle muscles 

 would sometimes cramp the same as a man's legs often cramp 

 while he is in bed. He always had the cleanest legs you 

 ever saw. 



"He was the oddest horse in the world about his feet. 

 If there was one shaving too much off^ of a foot he was un- 

 balanced. He did not need so much weight but must have 

 the right length and the proper angle. As a trotter he wore 

 7 ounce swedge shoes in front with 3 ounce toe weights; the 

 toe was 3%^ inches and the angle 47^/2. Behind his shoes 

 were 3 ounce plain with 3^ toe and 53 angle. His rigging 

 was a plain bit, check as loose as could be worn, elbow boots. 



"We tried him out as a pacer for the reason that when 

 he won the Transylvania he took a race record of 2:031/4 ^^^ 

 that meant there would be no classes to speak of for him at 

 the trot. I told Capt. Shaw if he would let me put him to 

 pacing I would give him a record as fast as his trotting rec- 

 ord. He said he did not believe I could do it but finally 

 agreed and let me have my way. And I might say that 

 making a pacer out of Prince Loree put a lot of these white 

 hairs in my head. 



"All my best friends, following their best judgment, gave 

 me their advice regularly. Some would say to use a lot 



