THE PROGRESS OF TROTTING

Southland Times, Issue 23437, 18 February 1938, Page 11

THE PROGRESS OF TROTTING

Greyhound Breaks

All Records

NOT THE FIRST GREY CHAMPION < For almost a century the bays, the browns, the blacks, and the chestnuts have reigned as champions of the trotting world. Delving back into the musty records of an almost forgotten age, you will find it' chronicled that in 1844 a grey mare sired by Engineer 11, and named Lady Suffolk, took a record over the Beacon course in New Jersey of 2min 28sec, thereby inaugurating the 2min 30sec list. Lady Suffolk started something there —something that has drawn many a quiet curse from harness turf statisticians when a communication is received from an irate subscriber demanding to know why his steed, Gotterdammerung, is only credited with a record of 2min 29;;sec, when the time was hung out 2min 29|sec, and really should have been 2min 29,’sec, writes John Hervey. The cock-eyed timers must have been timing with Big Bens, instead of Guinands. “Yes, we wuz robbed.” And old Lady Suffolk started all this almost a century ago. Again we have a grey champion trotter after a period in which this nation has fought four major wars and we have advanced in our methods of transportation from stage coach and covered wagon ,to air liner and streamlined train. On September 29 at Lexington, Greyhound, grey gelding by Guy Abbey— Elizabeth, by Peter the Great, having tied the world’s record of Peter Manning Imin 56Jsec the previous week, unceremoniously thrust the aged champion from his throne seat by trotting a mile in Imin 56sec flat, the third gelding in succession to wear the crown of the trotting kingdom. This chronicle of Greyhound starts where it left off in 1936, when he was the outstanding performer of the season with his three miles—one of them in a race—in Imin 57|sec. But a four-year-old at that time, it seemed a certainty that he would ultimately gain the crown. This appeared more certain after his first 1937 performance, which was over the half-mile track at Goshen, where he trotted in Imin 59|sec, beating the best previous record by 2-4 Sec, l-Jsec faster than any pacer had ever negotiated a two-lap course. Peter Manning had tried many times over a halfmile track, and his best effort was 2min 2Jsec. The next official appearance of Greyhound was at the Goshen mile track meeting, where he was programmed to go against the record of Peter Manning. Sep Palim was not ready for this attempt as yet. He took the grey over to the half in Imin l|sec, then let him step the last half in 57sec, the mile in Imin 58$sec, beating the track record a full second.' Then he was sent west, and after the 'long ship to Springfield, he won the only race he started in during the season, trotting the second heat in Imin

The next official performance of Greyhound was at the Indianapolis track, where he trotted a mile and ahalf in 3min 2Jsec, establishing a new world’s record for the distance. From the Indiana track he was shipped to Lexington, and it was over that recordsmashing track that he became the king of all trotters five days before the 15th anniversary of the lmin 56’sec mile of Peter Manning. The future? A lmin 55sec mile before the grey becomes a pensioner on the Illinois farm of E. J. Baker is the guess of John Hervey.

Those who saw Peter Manning establish the world’s trotting record of lmin 56fsec at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1922, decided that the ultimate in trotting had been reached. At least they were right for. 15 years. But this past autumn, also at Lexington, Greyhound smashed the old mark by sailing around the Blue Grass track in lmin 56sec.