THE TROTTING-HORSE OF AMERICA. 3ll 



race, lie had gone in 2m. 25;^s. under the saddle. He was, 

 therefore, no mean opponent for the very hest. 



The day for this trot was the 21st of November. It was 

 a cold, raw day, with a strong wind blowing; and the course, 

 as is almost always the case so late in the season, was 

 heavy. James McMann drove the little mare ; and Dan 

 Mace, a rider and driver of uncommon resolution and ability, 

 was on the stallion. Mace is one of the best drivers that 

 we have ; but, according to my notion, his horses break more 

 than trotters ought to do. I think it should be the aim of 

 the trainer and driver to keep the horse at or near his best 

 on a trot ; to teach him to stay there when going fast ; and to 

 depend upon his steady-trotting powers, instead of using 

 him to relieve himself three or four times in every mile by 

 getting up. But, in a race, Mace is an opponent that needs 

 watching. He is very resolute, and the horses he handles 

 know it. His judgment is good, at times when judgment is 

 absolutely required, which is just when some people lose it 

 And, besides all that, he knows enough to wait until his 

 time has come, when he has the right sort of horse. The 

 races he won in that way with Buffalo Prince — five or 

 six, and I think, once or twice, seven heats — were very cred- 

 itable to him ; and it is no more than proper that I should 

 say so. But, with all his skill as a driver, I think he was, 

 as a rider, equally in the right place. His style is not quite 

 as elegant as is sometimes seen ; but he seems to grow out 

 of his horse, and to squeeze him with a clip of the knees 

 like the gripe of a vice. His hand upon the bridle is light 

 and delicate until the horse needs help to finish ; and then he 

 takes hold of his head with a power that seems to be almost 

 irresistible, and fairly launches him over the score. He, as 

 I have said, was upon George M. Patchen at the first of his 

 meetings with Elora Temple ; and he afterwards rode Gen- 

 eral Butler, when he beat Patchen under saddle, and was 

 compelled to go in 2m. 21s. to do it. 



There were not many at the Union Course wlicu Flora 



