A RINGER. 75 



looked for, Catchfly being the choice. The other winners 

 during the week were Belle F., Zoe B., both of which 

 trotted their races in the mud; Lorene, Harry Wilkes, 

 Richhall, St. Albans and Nobby, Splan getting first 

 money with the last named after a seven-heat dispute with 

 Felix, Florence M. and Secret. 



The first "ringer" ever seen at the mile track in Cleve- 

 land scored for the word in the first race at the fall meet- 

 ing in 1884. When the entries were sorted, Secretary 

 Fasig found one for a black mare named Baby Mine, in 

 the three-minute trot. She was represented as being by 

 Lambert Chief. The entry was signed P. Hinchey, Oil 

 City, Pa., and postmarked Boston, Mass. Advice was 

 received by local parties to follow the play of Eli Ager, 

 and when the betting began on the three-minute class 

 Baby Mine was the choice. This, with the fact that the 

 man in charge of the mare was not certain as to his own 

 name or the name of the man he was working for, caused 

 suspicion to fall on Baby Mine, and, as might be expected, 

 she was protested by Charles Frost, of Cambridge City, 

 Ind., the owner of Lena Swallow, one of the nine starters 

 in the same race. When the word was given Lady Cleve- 

 land stepped out and won two heats, Baby Mine finishing 

 4-2. On the next trip Lena Swallow finished in front, 

 with Baby Mine second. The Judges saw that the man 

 who represented himself as P. Hinchey, of Turners, An- 

 droscoggin County, Maine, was not trying to win with 

 Baby Mine, so they put up Volney French. He won in 

 short order in 2 \2yy 2 , 2 :2&%, 2 132^, the time in the first 

 heat being, as it was eventually shown, three-quarters of 

 a second faster than the record of the mare under her 

 true name. Through confidential sources Colonel Ed- 

 wards learned that the true name of Babv Mine was 



