18 MEMOIR. 



the foundation was laid for what was afterwards known 

 as the Quadrilateral Trotting Combination, and a series of 

 meetings on consecutive weeks in 1873. I did the balance 

 of the work by correspondence, designed the first letter 

 heads bearing the title of the combination, the names of 

 the stewards, as well as the name of the secretary, 

 Samuel Briggs, the Secretary of the Cleveland Club, be- 

 ing named for the place. The first meeting of the Quad- 

 rilateral was held at Cleveland, July 29 to August 1, the 

 dates for the other members' meetings being Buffalo, 

 August 5 to 8; Utica, August 12 to 14, and Springfield, 

 August 19 to 22. The premiums for the four meetings 

 amounted to $169,300. 



'Tn 1874, the stewards of the Quadrilateral Trotting 

 Combination held their first meeting in Utica, as C. W. 

 Hutchinson's guests. The dates for the year were se- 

 lected and programmes announced, but before the bell 

 rang it was learned that an association at Rochester had 

 decided to open its new mile track with a meeting the 

 same week as Utica. The clash injured both meetings. 

 In 1875, Rochester and Poughkeepsie, where a mile 

 track had been built the preceding year, became mem- 

 bers of the circuit, the name for the series being changed 

 to the Central Trotting Circuit. This change resulted in 

 another clash on account of Poughkeepsie selecting the 

 same dates as Buffalo, and in order to secure entries the 

 Poughkeepsie association cut its entrance fee to 5 per 

 cent, of purse. This was the first time that such a low 

 entry fee had ever been heard of, the rate being 10 per 

 cent., and it remained at that figure in the Grand Circuit 

 until 1892, when it was changed to five per cent, to enter, 

 with 5 per cent, additional from the winners of each di- 

 vision of the purse. 



