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NESTOR OF TURF WILL BE THERE. Nonagenarian Who Still Retains Interest to See Running of St. Leger at Churchill Downs. _ I Louisville, Ky.. September 17. -The oldest rurf-,i man in all America, John Huffy, lias written to train er Lon Johnson, at Churchill Downs, thai he A hi j lie in Louisville to witness, on October I. the run t bins of Hie St. Leger Handicap, at the historic I course in South Louisville. Mr. Daffy is oinety-OBt years obi. He was prominent in turf affairs before 1 Wagner and Grev Eagle ran in a match race at the I Downs tor a purse of 0,000. Mr. Duffy was the , Brat president of the St. Louis Fair and Racing As-1 sociation. which held its meetings at the St. Louis ■ I Fair Grounds track. He held this position for about - twenty years. His successor was Charles M. [ Green. From whom Louis A. Delia acquired - the property. J Not only in name is Mr. Dully I lie pioneer among ! American racing men. but he is also the oldest actively engaged turfman in America and maybe in the - world. In partnership with Lon Johnson. Mr. Dully owns the t v. o-. oar-ohl P.annoek Ban, now in training ai Chare bill Downs, witli which he will make a try J for the Kentucky Derby in PHI. He will race this f rail a time or two at the Downs this fall in order . to get him accustomed to the starting gate. Then J In; will put him away until spring. Bannock Ban ■ is a son of St. Agnes, which is owned in partnership by Messrs. Duffv ami Johnson. In addition they J hare a yearling colt by Barney Schreibers 00,000 I imported stallion Sain, out of an English-bred mare, 1 regarded by trainer Johnson as the best prospect he [ has ever handled. [ Mr. Johnson now holds a power of attorney exe- rated to him by Mr. Dully, which declares the old I man in on all transactions. Years ago Mr. Duffy J came to Churchill Downs wilh the famous Missouri j trainer. John Davis. Davis had in his care a horse named John Davis and another known as April Fool. The did not belong to Mr. Duffy, but were owned by a friend. C. L. Hunt. It was in the fall of the I year, and though pitted against the stars then rat -! ing al Churchill Downs. John Davis proved the vic-i tor. Duffy carried away to Missouri thousands of dollars which he won from the KeatUCkfaUM. It was in the days when mutuel pooling was in vogue at the Downs and Dully realized 60 to 1 for his money. Ixing before he gained an international reputation as a trainer the famous John Hoggins was employed by Mr. Duffy, who also caused Crit Davis, the trotting horse driver, to forsake the sulky for a time and handle a stable of runners. It was while in his employ that trainer Davis won the Latonia Derby with Hand Or. Hand Or, in capturing the Latonia event, defeated Plaudit, winner of the Kentucky Derby, and hung up a record which stands today. While president of the St. Louis Fair and Racing Association Mr. Daffy became acquainted witli John Hachineister. at present a prominent racing official. Mr. Hachmeister at that time was a bookkeeper in a St. Louis hank. Mr. Duffy induced him to leave the institution and thus Mr. Hachmeister entered upon his career as a manager and treasurer of race tracks. It was Mr. Duffy who. in seeking a superintendent for his race course, secured the services of Capt. Bellaiie, one of the most unique characters known to racing. Capt. Hellaire was one of the best posted men on matters relating to the turf in this country, but no one knew it until he was discovered by Mr. Duffy. In those days Dr. Ben G. Bruce was racing secretary at Churchill Downs and the St. Louis track. Ed S. Gardner was a poolroom reporter and well known on race courses. Mr. Gardner was a stickler for accuracy in weights and conditions of races. Messrs. Gardner and Bruce invariably indulged in arguments while entries were l oing" received for races. Mr. Bruce would announce the weight and Gardner would say: "Colonel, tluit is wrong." Usually Gardner was right. A hurdle race in St. ]»uis proved the undoing of this pair of officials. Five horses were carded to start. Gardner and Bruce wrangled for one hour over the impost. The weights were at last satisfactorily adjusted. The race was run the following day. The winner was awarded the purse and the money to the second and third horses was paid. Now Captain Bella he appeared. He Showed that not one horse had been assigned the proper weight. Finally Bruce and Gardner admitted their mistake. As none of the horses had carried the proper Weight no ground existed for disqualification. Mr. Duffy, in conjunction witli Captain Bellaire. originated the unique system of having the race track harrowed and scraped. Hie racing association of which he was president owned the zoological garden in St. liuis. Instead of having mules to draw the harrows and scrapers Mr. Duffy and Captain Bellaire pressed Into service four elephants. Each elephant could do the work of a dozen mules. The elephants accomplished much more than the mules, besides which the association derived from the oxjieriment no end of advert ising. I! was while attending the races at Churchill Downs that Mr. Duffy took a fancy to a chestnut coll |»y Australian which bad won two raeea at Lexington and then captured the two-year-old colt race at the Downs. That colt was the lirst thoroughbred race horse that Jatnes R. Keene ever bought. It was Mr. Duffys activity that caused the Wall street magnate to pay 5.04M» for Spendthrift, the son of Australian. Mr. Keene. op to that time, had dealt only in harness horses. He owned some good trotters, among them heing Sam Purdv. which hi acquired for O.0OO. The following year Mr. Duffy again came to Churchill Downs and entered into a deal with George M. Rice lor Lord Murphv. winner of the Kenlueky Derby in 1K7T». Lord hfarphy wan the St. Leger that year anil hardly had bis aiaillll I been displayed as Hie winner than J. S. Bathgate appeared with a check for SBXOOO. and this sum hough t the son or Pal Malloy. To Mr. Duffys amazement the check bore the signature of .lames R. Keene. For Hie second time the famous turfman of this day had taken from him a great horse. But Mr. Keene was not as fortunate with Lord Murphy as he had i ocn with Spendthrift Lord Murphy was sent to Baltimore to run in the Dixie 1 Stakes, but Monitor vanquished him and he failed to earn any laurels in England when he was shipped ■ernes the sea. Mr. Daffy has often said that Mr. Keene. when he bought Lord Murphy, should also have purchased his trainer. George H. Rice, who won with Lord Murphy the Kentuckv Derbv and St. Leger. For years Mr. Duffy annually Joayaeyed from SI. Louis to Churchill Downs. He never missed a • St. lager. Now thai that famous race is to In- re-vivid he is coming hack, as he has said to .lohnson. to see if it compares to the days of old. when it 1 attracted wide attention. Mr. Duffy figured prominently in the St. Leger of 1SS1. Green R. .Morris won Hie event that year 1 with Fellowplay. a handsome sou of Longfellow — 1 Platina. by Planet. Mr. Duffy owned no interest in 1 Fellowplay, but half of the great gelding belonged to his neighbor, J. D. Patton. When the race was 1 run Mr. Duffy came to the Dow no with Mr. Patton and lK t a large sum of money on the son of Longfellow. Mr. Patton was tall, broad-shouldered and resembled i a western pioneer. He brought to the 1 Downs Ethel Gray, and that wonderful performer is 3 yet alive, a pensioner on the farm Iter owner left to his heirs. The last St. Leger Duffy witnessed was in lv.H , when tJaete Bob. the American Derbv winner of thai season, won the great fall race at the Downs. He told II. Eugene Leigh, then the trainer of 1nele Bob. i that he always yearned to own the winner of 1 the St. Leger. but he knew It was useless to try to buy Dade Boh. since the owner of that horse George B. Hankins. was the assessor of millions! It I would require much space to detail all of the creditable J winners Mr. Duffy owned or in which he held an Interest. At one time live or six horsemen 1 had racers partly owned by Mr. Duffv. Had trainer Hoggins rem lined wilh Mr. Duffy be would have owned one of the greatest Stables in America, hut Huggins one winter drifted to Texas and never returned to the Duffy table. Huggins. in i he lme Star Slate, picked op Largentine. and the fame he earned with her gained tor him the position he held later with Pierre Lorillard. At length trainer i Huggins went abroad, where ho gained a reputation not surpassed in the realm of training on either side of the ocean. Pierre Lorillard on one occasion remarked that When Huggins ceased training be weald cease racing, n is notable to recall that so many of the great trainers of a later generation, like Huggins. first a t trai led atteetioa by the performance of horses over the Churchill Downs track. fake. f,,r example, Peter Wimmer. He came into notice by training the Illustrious Belle Meade, which won her most daallng laurels at Churchill Downs, she was jointly owned by Dixon ft Wimmer. but her trainer was the only one of the firm eloselv IdentI Sea with racing at the Downs. Later trainer Wimmer came to Churchill Downs w ilh i lie great racers owned by Lartabee and Easton. This Brm had Poet Scout, Ship Mate. First Hate Baa PaJUMaii, High Tariff Julia I... High order and Kinley Mack. Mr. Wiuiiner is coming hack to the Downs this fall to race a Stable he has been campaigning in the east. It is his lirst rial I here in many years. He still thinks that if he owned a ■By as good hs Belle Meade he would hav a chalice wilh such a colt as Novelty and such a gelding as Governor Gray. Mr. Duffy is reinarkahly well preserved. Never possessing a heavy physique, he is still erect, walks well and transact! his lnisiness with the same promptness that characterized his method* in earlier days. He is one of the I ngest sl.kholdcrs ji, Hie Mercantile TfUSl Cttmpauy, in Sl. Louis, and is -is keen an observer of the business of that establish ment as when it was linst established,
