EVERY MAN His OWN TRAINER. 37 



Stiff race the week before at Ithaca, N. Y., and it was tight 

 work for him to trot in 2:30. I done very little with him dur- 

 ing the week, and at Lyons he trotted against the stallion 

 Damon, 2:23^^, and Versales Girl, 2:25^. Lysander Boy at 

 that time had a record of 2:32. We wanted to start him in 

 the. Grand Circuit and desired to keep him eligible in the 

 2:30 class. On moving him in the morning I found I had a 

 good horse, and I labored very hard with Van Ness, the 

 driver, and Mr. Holdrige, the owner of Damon, who had made 

 a record in New York the week before of 2:27, to divide the 

 purse with us and have an easy race, but they did not think 

 us worth it, so I went to the officers of the association and 

 said, " You have a good crowd here to-day, and it being the 

 opening day of your track you . naturally want a good race." 

 Alex. Tower replied, " Yes, that is just what we want," and 

 said, " Jack, what do you want?" I replied, " I want to re- 

 main in the 2:30 class." After consulting with the other offi- 

 cers, he said, " Jack, go on, we will protect you.'' We did 

 go on ; I won the first heat in 2:27 ; Versailes Girl won the 

 second in 2:30 ; Lysander Boy the third in 2:24, and the fifth 

 in 2:25, hands down. The Lyons track was a new half-mile 

 ring, and this was the first race trotted over it. I did not give 

 or take a dollar and gave them a first-class exhibition. 



This is not the only case, as I could mention numerous 

 colts and horses that have done the same thing in acquiring 

 speed. This was not the first surprise this horse had given 

 me, as he had developed wonderful speed in a few days when 

 I got him properly balanced on his feet by shoeing. I had 

 probably shod him twenty different ways before I got him 

 right. I found when he was right I had a trotter. He was a 

 horse of a good deal of action in front, big gaited and went 

 very close behind, almost one foot over the other, and hit his 

 shins very hard so as to make him hitch and hobble and break 

 after going a little way at speed. In shoeing him 1 used a 

 thin but good width of web in front, weighing six ounces, and 

 behind a shoe weighing one pound, with most all the weight 



