172 MEMOIR. 



In 1893, when William B. Fasig was located in New 

 York as manager of the Trotting Department of the Tat- 

 tersall Companies in America, he was elected Vice-Presi- 

 dent of the Driving Club of New York, and, while dis- 

 charging the duties of that office, contributed materially 

 to the success of the Grand Circuit meetings at Fleetwood, 

 not only that season, but also in 1894. In the spring of 

 1895, he returned to Cleveland and resided there during 

 the summer months of that and the succeeding year, the 

 most of his time during the racing season being devoted 

 to a stable of trotters which did not prove what he termed 

 a "glittering success." In 1895, he started Palo Chief, 

 Wyreka, Rifle, Eloise and Musket, the "unluckiest horse 

 in the world," while, in 1896, the old standby, Eloise, 

 kept up Benny's reputation in the Buckeye State by first 

 equaling Mayflower's mile in 2:16^2 at a matinee of the 

 Gentlemen's Driving Club, and finally landing the cham- 

 pionship honors for the year with a mile in 2:16^4. 



In 1897, Fasig returned to New York and accepted 

 the management of Charter Oak Park, which had been 

 purchased by Orlando Jones and A. J. Welch. In June 

 of that year he made his first trip to Hartford, Conn., and 

 started to create a little interest in the inaugural meeting, 

 for which Monday, July 5, was selected. In a short time 

 he had every one who reads the newspapers in New Eng- 

 land, and that is about ninety per cent, of the population, 

 satisfied that the first mile in two minutes to harness would 

 be paced over Charter Oak. With quarter-page adver- 

 tisements in the daily papers, reading notices and posters, 

 he kept the interest alive to the last minute. It is not 

 necessary to give the details. For that day's racing twenty 

 thousand tickets were printed and all of them were sold 

 before noon. On a conservative estimate, there were over 



