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I i , . . POOR "PIKE" BARNES AND HIS RIVALS. His Feats in Competition with McLaughlin, Garrison. Murphy and Other Stars. New York. January IS, — Now that poor "Pike" Barnes has been laid away in his last resting place. some reminiscences of great races I saw him ride in different parts of the country may be opportune. You know, of course, that his name will go down to posterity forever linked with that of Proctor Knott, the winner of the first Futurity. That was in IM, nearly twenty years ago. and my recollec- tion of some of the incidents of that race are very vivid. For stance, few now hear of "Crab Apple" Enoch Turner, the little dried-up old man who Rsdc Galea for "Pop" Cray, and who. by taking the out- side of the old Futurity course all the way los; more than enough ground to have won the first struggle for the now famous classic. Poor Turner committed suicide in a stable long afterward. I lielie.ve. He rode many winners at the old Brighton Beach course, where I was judge for • a long term of years. The second colt in the first Futurity was Salvator, which was running only his second race, his first having been in the Junior Champion at Monmouth Park a few days before , that, when he ran unplaced. There were fourteen starters for this first Futurity. The following jockeys rode in il. their mounts finishing in the order in which their names arc given: Barnes. Hamilton. Turner. Ceorge Taylor. Fred Taral. William Hayward. James McLaughlin. Anderson. Isaac Murphy. Eilke. Fred I.ittletie d. Isaac Lewla, Breckinridge and Palmer. At least four of these, including the first three, are dead. Three years later I again saw Barnes ride the winner of a great race — the Brooklyn Handicap of 1 Mil. won by David Pulsifers Tenny. It was the first season that it was a 0,000 race, of which S1.-.000 went to the winner. There was a great deal of shifting iu the odds because of the false re-e IMiris as to Tenny s condition, and poor old dead- aiid-gone Ralph Bayard cut loose from his life-long friend. Pulsifer. as a result of Tennys victory. On the closing days of Aqueducts late meeting, in November last. I saw Ma, Pulsifer at the track. He looked thin and sad. and I have no doubt he has experienced many lean days to offset the fat and prosperous ones of the period between 1SSS and MM; when he was a power on the turf and when nothing could go wrong with him or his horses. The fact that a brilliant field of horses could be beaten, as they were, in the slow time of 2:10 for the mile and a quarter when Tenny won, was purely caused by the unwieldy field and the lack of desire on anv riders part to set a fast paec. The track. too. was "dead." for the weather had been showery. That the lieaten horses were good enough to make it a faster race if their jockeys had so desired is Continued on second page. POOR PIKE- BARNES AND HIS RIVALS. Continued from first page. seen by the enumeration of the field: Tenny, 128 pounds: Prince Royal. Tea Tray and Banquet, 108: Judge Morrow. US. which won the following season: Cousin .Teems, Russell, a two-year-old carrying 106] pounds: Riley. 120: Castaway II.. 115. the winner the preceding year. •Hickey" Brown in the saddle: Santiago. Senorita. Sauiiterer. Luuntaka. 112, whieli M llie Suburban a month later, carrying 110 pounds and running the distance in 2:07: Uncle Boli. which had won ihe American Derby the year before: Nellie Bl.v. King Thomas, the 0,000 "lemon." Willi only 97 pounds up: Carroll. De Muth. Burlington, the "gentleman in black;" Once Again and Eon. 10S. It was a very easy victory for Tenny. upon Which Barnes was sitting perfectly still to the head of the stretch. Without doubt. 1KSS was Barnes" greatest year. He won 200 out of 620 mounts. This was a per outage of very nearly .::::. His greatest rivals lhat season were -Jimmy" .McLaughlin, who won seventy -two out of 273 mounts, or .20 per cent., :iud Carrisou had won seventy-one out of 19S mounts, or .::.". per seat, Overton. Isaac Murphy. Hamilton. Stoval and R. Williams, all colored, were at that time good riders. Overton one day at Chicago a few years later, won six races — every mount. There wore seven races that day. but he rode in only six. It was on Friday. July lo. MM. The winning horses were Gorniun. Poet Scout. Guido. Philora, Balgowan and Take Notice. Five out of the six were favorites. Overton was a remarkably broad-shouldered, erect, manly-looking, coal black negro. I can distinctly recall his shy look at me after he each lime landed Ills winner. Four years later it devolved upon ine • as a steward at the Coney Island Jockey Club meet ing to investigate a ride of Overtons on "Jimmy" McLaughlins Weinberg. Because I had seen the accused do such honest and remarkably successful work iu the saddle at Washington Park, my associates were enabled to glean at first hand the exact character of Overton, aud he was not found guilty on that occasion. Of Overton, as of hundreds of others iu his vocation, it can be truthfully said that they surely must have taken the greatest delight in riding winners, else they never would have rolled up such phenomenal records of winning favorites during their career-;. It is of course comparatively fresh in the minds of many of your readers that the so-called "colored confederacy" enjoyed the reputation of knowing just what was "going to come off." and that Charley Jordan and his pals made fortunes. There may-have bteu more foundation for this, but this I know— the riding at Washington Park, when it was my good fortune to be one of the judges there for five years in succession, was under the keenest scrutiny, not only at my hands, but on the part of sonic very good experts who did not sit in the judges- stand, but who sat in the press stand aud I do not believe that cleaner sport was ever seen anywhere. j. j. Burke.
