1 88 1 MEETING. 53 



orite, and won after losing two heats to Bay Billy, Lucy 

 and Ben Hamilton, being distanced in the first heat, while 

 the old-timer, Sweetser, with "Cart" Wilson up, caught 

 the flag in the fourth. Midnight was the favorite in the 

 2:15 trot. In the first heat Hopeful flew to the half in 

 1.06^4, but faded in the stretch, Midnight winning on a 

 jog in 2 :i9/^. Charley Ford was not driven for the heat 

 on account of a knee boot slipping down. On the next 

 trip Ford and the favorite had a brush in the stretch, the 

 black gelding winning by a length in 2:19^4. Dustin 

 tried again in the third heat, and this time he was success- 

 ful, as Midnight gave it up at the distance, and Charley 

 Ford won in a jog in 2:20^4. The finish of the fourth 

 heat presented one of those characteristic finishes that 

 caused Robert McGregor to be called the "Monarch of 

 the home stretch." At the distance Ford had the heat 

 won, with McGregor a length away. It looked as though 

 he had made his brush at the three-quarters and failed, 

 but when Crawford called on him he came again, closed 

 with the leader, nailed him at the wire, and won by a nose 

 in 2 :22. The next two heats went to Charley Ford. In 

 the deciding one Charley Ford had the field a distance out 

 when Jerry Munroe ordered Dustin to take the gray horse 

 back, so that he literally walked under the wire in 2 130. 

 The special features at this meeting were two trotting 

 races at two-mile heats and an exhibition of Great Eastern 

 with running mate. The big gelding did not perform sat- 

 isfactorily, his fastest mile being trotted in 2:21. In the 

 two-mile races the event for the 2 138 class was won by an 

 outsider named Stranger in 5:09^, 5:10, while the class 

 for the 2 124 horses was awarded Post Boy after Calmar 

 and Amber had each a heat. Calmar won the first heat by 

 a length from Post Boy in 4 152^. The same distance sep- 



