LIFE WITH THE TBOTTEKS. 239 



class condition and would win the race with ease. Mr. 

 Gordon asked me what I thought about it, and I made an- 

 swer that I thought it took a pretty smart man to be in New 

 York, while the horse was in Detroit, and tell anything 

 about the animal's condition, and so, while we did not go 

 about advertising the fact, both Mr. Gordon and myself felt 

 that our horse had a chance to win. The morning of the race 

 dawned clear and long before noon the crowds began to wend 

 their way to the track. I had Clingstone shod with shoes 

 weighing eleven ounces apiece, with leather pad and sponge. 

 The track was as hard and smooth as it could be. In the 

 betting WUkes was the favorite all the time and the talent 

 put their money on him at $100 to $50. 



In warming up Clingstone I gave him two slow heats, 

 stepped him out at three-quarter speed in the last eighth of a 

 mile, and liked him so well that I told Mr. Gordon that if 

 we drew the pole we would win the race sure. I had seen 

 Van Ness behind Wilkes so often I thought I knew just how 

 he would drive this race, which would be to go moderately 

 to the half-mile pole and then cut loose and try and win. 

 When they drew for positions Clingstone won the pole. 

 We scored, I should think, five or six times, each driver 

 watching the other like two men who get up to spar. The 

 word was finally given, when Clingstone stepped out and 

 took tlie lead and went to the half-mile pole two lengths in 

 front. There Yan Ness began driving Wilkes, and when 

 we made the turn at the three-quarter pole they were head 

 and head. From there to the seven-eighths -mile pole they 

 went like a double team, and both horses doing their best. 

 Wilkes broke and Clingstone beat him home easily in 2:15^. 



This heat resulted just as I expected it would. I told 

 Mr. Gordon before we got the word that I believed Cling- 

 stone would out- trot Wilkes when it came to the struggle, 

 and that I thought the heat would all be decided in some 

 one-quarter of the mile. I was satisfied to go as slow as Van 

 Ness wanted to and leave the battle to a brush, as in his work 

 Clingstone had shown speed enough to convince me that 



