208 ILLUSTRATED STOCK DOCTOR. 



the blood of its best equine families, considerately and kindly compiled 

 for me from his own memoranda of old times, and from personal recol- 

 lection of events, even beforp General Jackson and his contemporaries 

 were on the turf, by a veteran turfman and a hereditary breeder, Mr. 

 "William Williams — to whom I take this occasion of tendering my most 

 grateful and respectful thanks. 



Bace Horses at the North. 



Prior to the Revolution there was a course for racing, near New York, 

 about the centre of the county, called Newmarket, and one at Jamaica 

 called Beaver Pond. As early as the year 1800 courses were established 

 at Albany, Poughkeepsie and Harlem, New York. On these tracks 

 purses of from one to four miles were contended for. In 1804 an organ- 

 ization was formed extending for five years. The Newmarket course was 

 remodeled, and regular races were held in May and October of each year, 

 at which purses were contended for at four, three and two mile heats. 



Among the celebrated horses of that time, some of which have left 

 their impress to this day, were Tippoo Sultan, Hambletonian, Miller's 

 Damsel and Empress. Among these, as worthy of especial mention, 

 were Hambletonian, as the progenitor of mighty trotting stock. Miller's 

 Damsel as the dam of American Eclipse, and Ariel, whose granddamwas 

 this gray mare Empress. American Eclipse was the king of the Amer- 

 ican turf of his day, and Ariel may certainly be said to have been the 

 queen, since out of fifty-seven races she was forty-two times the winner, 

 seventeen of them having been four mile heats. They both of them may 

 be said to rank with the best race horses of any age or country. 



The pedigree of Eclipse may be summed up in the language of Frank 

 Forrester, as follows : American Eclipse, bred by Gen. Coles of L. I., 

 foaled 1814 ; was got by Duroc, his dam the famed race mare Miller's 

 Damsel, by imported Messenger, out of the imported Pot8os mare ; her 

 dam by Gimcrack. Duroc, bred by Wade Mosely, Esq., of Powhatan 

 county, Virginia, foaled 1809 : was got by imported Diomed, out of Mr. 

 Mosely's "extraordinary race mare Amanda," by Col. Tayloe's famed 

 gray Diomed, son of imported Medley. Thus far Eclipse's pedigree is 

 unquestioned; for the balance see American Turf Register, p. 50, vol. 

 4. Of Sir Charles Bunbury's Diomed, imported into Virginia 1799, hav- 

 ing filled the measure of his glory," nothing more need be said. Mes- 

 senger, foaled 1788, imported about 1800 into Pennsylvania, was also a 

 race horse of repute at Newmarket; he won some good races, and lost 

 but few. He was a gray, of great substance ; was got by Mambrino, a 

 very superior stallion, his dam by Turf, son of Matchem, Regulus — Star- 

 ling — Snap's dam. See English Stud Book, and American Eclipse's ped- 

 vgree in full, American Turf Register, p. 51, vol. 4. 



