188 LIFE WITH THE TKOTTEBS. 



Wedgewood broke, and I had no thought that the judges 

 would give the word. He came galloping to the stand and 

 they said "go" with the horses strung out like Brown's 

 cows. Keene Jim had at least twenty yards the lead of 

 everybody, and sped away as though he did not intend to 

 be caught. Patchen broke immediately after the word was 

 given. I was sure Murphy would not try to win the heat 

 with him, and if he did I was positive they would beat him, 

 so felt no uneasiness, thinking that Keene Jim a horse that 

 had not yet won and was not dangerous in the race, would 

 take the heat, but I figured wrong. Murphy caught his 

 horse and set sail. He overhauled Keene Jim at the distance- 

 stand and beat him out in 2: 20 J. 



From where I sat the race looked a little ' ' binding. ' ' Here 

 was Patchen going every heat in 2:20, or better, and he had 

 just won the third heat in 2:20 J. It was a prospect which, to 

 say the least, I saw nothing very rosy about, with myself and 

 all my friends up to our necks in the pool-box, and from 

 what I knew of the gentlemen driving the other horses they 

 would be delighted to pour ice water down our backs. I 

 saw that I had a few first-class heelers to cool Wedgewood 

 out after this heat. Jack Phillips had the price of a few 

 barrels of flour on the horse, and after the heat he came 

 down to the cooling ground and took off his coat in about 

 the same manner I had seen him do when he was a farmer 

 boy around Watertown. He told me to sit down in the 

 shade and cool myself out, and he would see to the cooling 

 out of the horse. This is a matter that people sometimes over- 

 look. U you have driven a horse a hard heat and you are 

 tired, and your nerves unstrung, it is not likely to aid you 

 much to get out of the sulky and go to work to help cool 

 out the horse. I think that after a severe heat a driver 

 needs some time for rest and to get his nerves in order for 

 another trial. While as a rule the drivers of trotting horses 

 are necessarily men of strict sobriety, it is notwithstanding 

 true that in situations of this kind some of them at times 

 resort to a stimulant to brace themselves up for the impend- 



