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OLD-TIME RACING AT CHARLESTON. Only Sick and Infirm Remained at Home Durinjj Race Week in the Years Before the War. Will. am K. Simmons contributes te th Chariest • -ws ami Courier an interesting article en raring si lucted in tin- old days at Charleston, which Daily Racing Form takes the libertj ot reprododag m nail, as follows: ■Ther • good raring at Palmetto Park. r ■ • park, though new and so hurriedly !.iie owl as lo lie -till iiiilii.i-.lnd and l «r.- of ..riiameiitat idi. is uevertbelesx attractive; not as attractive, t" i"-sure, as the eld Washington Race Course, ol llgbtful memory, but .■ will do. Tin- array ol »a i am seats no the grandstand is more conspicuoux than tbe occupied; while the held is remarkable for mptineas. Ind the attendance is atnuage; it is a crowd of outsider*. *How different from tbe old days when the courts adjourned, tbe schools were dismissed, and the shops were cloaed as tbe raring hoar drew nih. If there are none who remember from personal ibservatlou thai such was the enst.un. we have it oa tbe aut.i i ty, ii.au which noae i~ Letter, of Dr. John B. Irving, secretary of tbe old South Carolina .!.• i cbiii. and liistorian of the turf in tiii-- state. Hew iliffereui also from tin- animated oatpowriag ol t. pe. id. . when, a- Mis. K.iM-nei say-. Tace week was the great popular festival shared in by every owe. from the governor and ladles in the grandstand. :. tbe negroet who sal unmolested oa tin- fenct ban* only ile- sick mid intirni stayed at home. Tbe ■ in carriages; tbe gentlemen on their ban •!■ som.-t horses: the boys oa their ponies; the poorer kwI In carta and wagons of every kind: tbe negroae in ini.it.. I-. all thronged from every direction to tlTe It waa a gay open air Jollification, ool humored in I merry, thoroughly enjoyed by all. ln- ki id ■.■ thai multifarious and variegated prooesskw. an latermll e«l line Of r.H-n tidley ears, with hew i h. re i passing automobile. ••Still more strikin-- is the difference ol the scene wiiiiin th ..in-. There are fine boraea oa tbe nack. a.- Bin perhaps as th..-. of the eld day-, and ..ne feature that would have astonished oar grandfathers, a lew automobiles, but no tin.- carriages. ..!■ ehais.s. ,i- coaches and f •; no gentlemen in gloss top I i- and white buckskin on . bes . ancli ronsplcuoui figures a- General Hampton, General Samter, General Caatey, Cokwel Singleton, the Ki. hards.. ns. th.- Taylora, aol even their descend auts; ii" Venerable and distinguished dignitaries .. the land, clergymen and Judges touching elbows in the graadatand. instead . t those an array of strange face*, agreeable enough unquestionably, but seeming rather exotic and exhibltional without a local settlag. lie rariag i- .l.» .1. in fact tine, now that the track has b n brought into fanrly good condition. .in tha la very different from what it waa in the ".o days, the fields arc much burger, t.... large foi the talent who may be heard complaining ,,r the dlfil ii i ef picking a winner. Sometimes . than a doaen boraea can be counted in tbe race. Whatever I be talent maj have to -ay against them. large tk-lds are certainly pleasing !• the •*■■ Hut the chiei difference :•. be noted is in the length ,.i the race . Short dashes at the rule, oiostl under a mil., what cbleflj delighted the Carolina Ilea r I ill da.. Of Old were the long heat r.i..-. « ii. mile da-i was counted for nothing; even a two mile dash was regarded with comparative indifference: ih. four-mile heal race was tbe thing that stirred popular enthualasm. When William Henry Ih 1 1..|,-» i arolliia bred boree Adolphua waa matched -i ii.. in. i- Nigbtlngahjs Imported hone Shadow in a four-mile heal race, the whole town w ni wild, lh.it memorable race waa run January 31. it...i. and the imported boree, bred In England. , 1. rd Northumberland, won easily. Then he challenged, nit bout acceptance, an] borac in the province, rbat Mi. Drayton, then a young man and .•in ardent Boyaliat, was tbe same who afterward lb Inilllant advocate of popular rights and tbe republican form of government. Mr. Nigbt-an • 1 1 1 1 .::-.] ii t from Vork-niie. England, waa ■ cattle trader, and the founder of the New Market race eoviee. opened la l. iraary, 17ih . a short .li-ian. abovi Line street, the second In tbe province. The first, tin V.rk course, established in 17"..". stood fur hei up oa the Neck, not far from tbe -iie ..f Palmetto Park, it waa abandoned !.• ause of it- distance from the city. ••Another lauieii- riico wbicli int I .diici d a fill more famoua boree waa run on March h;. 177.:. be tw.eii Imported Pllmnap. d«*stlned t.. become Film- nap tie- Ki.ut. and Little David, an Ainci 1cm I, red horse which woa tbe previous sixteen races. It waa a four mile heal race, of tourer, ami Flimnap atoa with e.i-e. iii-tam inu hi- rival in tie laat beat. josinh Qulncy, of Bootoa, who waa here ostensibly In search of health, but really t.. sound tbe revolit-iioaarv tendencies of the Carolina*, witnessed th-race and recorded that the tirsi heat was run in eight i. limit- - and -. venteen seconds, which was go ing some. He also notes that two tbouaand pounds changed bands on tbe race, which shows there was some licitm;: even In those days. After the race Film nap sold at auction for ::,ooo pounds sterling. TOTS rirmnito was much coveted hi tbe British af i-r the breaking out of the revolution and they made strenuous efforts to capture him. even to b-.riginc; a negro groom for not revealing his place of concealment, lut they were unsuccessful. "By the way. the first cause of grievance Ui people ot South Carolina, and especially Cbarlesron-ians. had against the republican form of gov ■«-me.ir wan in relation to horse racing. Tbe eighth axtb ■ i association adopted by the Continental Congress, in 1774. pledged the subscribers to dw countenance and discourage eveay species of extravagance and dissipation, especially borae taring. •This. says the late Edward IteGrady. in his ;.,i wirable Historj of South Carolina, waa op sacrl tic ..ii tbe part of the Puritans of New F.ngland. where all theatrical perforaaahces were forbidden by law. and where there was no sin !i thing as a race course or a thoroughbred hot at, bal it was no little sacrifice In Virginia and South Carolina. Where tii • theater and the race course were tli nstaut resorts of all the people. The people of South Carotin. :. however, even while showing their willingness to tight for the cause of liberty, did not take kindly to the deprivation-, and especially did they disregard and violate this prohibition of racing. So the Ce:i-cral Asseml.lv took up the matter and in an net reciting tbe pledge of the association upon the sub ieci. prescribed thai If any person should violate the said association from the passage of this ordinance by any manner of borne racing, he should forfeit tbe slim of money he bet and the hone he ran. Wbetbe* this act waa ever enforced we do not know: but the progress of the war put a more effectual stop to the sport and dispersed the bors -. "Thai 0,000 two thousand pounds should be wagered on a single borne race a- recorded by Mr. Qnlncy, slews there was unite as much betting as now. if not nioie. when tile sport of racing was held iii tbe highest esteem, though, undoubtedly. in a different form. I K.kmakiiig i- a comparatively modern art. Gentlemen used to have their morocco covered k-. with vellum have-, iu which th.v recorded their wagera, and the differences were bal-1 aii.cd generally, though not always, al the end ol the day. As cash was not essential, the prevailing ;,i,, Dry un- probably to bet more than under the bookmaker system. In this connection an amusing st..i , is told of a man once well known all over the country. Returning to his hotel one evening after a day al lie ia..-. an acquaintance asked him how be had fared. Badly, very badly. be replied. I lort mii thousand dollars, and the worst ot H W, ten dollars in cash." An astute philosopher has said that the evil of gambling i- in losing. But the moral question aside, there i- no gainsaying that a small wager mightily enhances tbe interest of the sp..rl. "We must not omit to notice, siys the historian of the tuil that in the early days of racing in South Carolina, the gentlemen of .lie tun, like the ancient nobles, Biero and otbera, never ran their boraea for the pecuniary vain" of the prize 10 In- won. but - ielv foi the honor that a horae ..f tbeii own i.r... .ling am! training should distinguish himself. Daniel Ravenel and many others of the high-minded turfmen of those days, ckprcaaed -Teat .lisaprol.alii.il at any departure from the old customs "i their fathers and did all in their power to prevent he change when ii was proposed. Th. prize used to he, not a pur-.- of gold or silver, but a piece of ;.!at.. The change referred to. ine •■-lal..i-lim. in "I -take- and pur-es. came after the revolution, with the openlug ol tbe Washington Race our-., i.i 17!tJ. Some horse owners held "lit against the new order ol thtnga until the middle ..f the nineteenth century. Among them was General Cantey, of Camden, •on.- of tboae gentlemen, who, objecting t.. run bla buret! for money, yet dearly lOVed the race. He s.l I istie.l hi- col.-c iellce 1 iV II VT putting hi.- winnings into hi. own pocket, hut uivinu them p .oe ..f the Camden charities, or to the Orphan House. •It is Interesting to recall that John Randolph, of Roanoke, distinguished hbwaelf on tic Waahingt n c -in-. . in 17. 7. in a match with Sir John Nishitl. of Dean Hal1, th.- ancient bouse of Nispitt, near Edlo burgh. Each rode his own borae and Randolph won. Fin not even a match between two sack famous gentl is . .ui. i awaken the ia teres of the t ar- mile beat races. t tboae were very trying on the horses .n.d r.-siilti d in the disabling •■: many a fine animal. In ls:;-j. for* example, Colonel Sing i superb mar.-. Clara Planer, in a match for *•".." 0 .1 side aain-* ..I. W K. Johnsons Bonnets OBlne, after win line the first heat. hrOkt I bSOdOO ill i foreleg in the second heat, and came home on three leg-, only two lengths behind. "Too match apace would i .- required for ■ mare enumeration of the horses thai distinguished them selves on tbe Washington Courae, hut ■ few of ih--m.re f.iinoii- maj be mention i. Colonel Alstons ilisirnn mare Betsy Baker, bj tbe celebrated Film aap, beat the redoubtable Comet In I7s; . and for several years -he and Gen. William Washing . -Rosetta were brilliant rivals, alternatel] beating each other. In F»17. General Wynns brown filly. Ladj l.igi.if. i. accomplished the unprecedented feat of winning three days out of four, defeating some of thu best horses in the state, including the fam.us Transport. She was in constant training from three years old to eleven, and, by compulation at the height of her career, won 150 out of 101 miles run. Colonel Spsnns bay horse Bertrand w is the star of 1S20. He came from the famous Bed ford stock and. between :; and ." years old. never lost a tour mile heal race. The great chestnut horse Tally-Ho made his appearance In Charleston in 1V4S. us a three-year-old and ran third to C P. Hares brown filly, by Willis, out of Mary Lea. The succeeding year he immortalized hbwaelf by winning the greatest four-mile heat race up to that tine, over the old Long Island Course, near New Sort City, heating Boatona and Free Trade, and making the best time on record. •It will lie lining to say a few words in con elusion about tbe old South Carolina Jockey Club. 1 1 was the oldest jockey club in the Fnited States. Tbe date of its organization is not given by-Dr. Irving, hut it was probably after the Revolution. It purchased the Washington Course from tin- heirs of the founders in 1830. In the following year the Mane was inclosed by a seven-foot fence and then, for the Brat time, "a small assessment was levied on foot pas-erigi r-. ReapectaUe strangers from abroad, or from other states, were never allowed to pay for entrance. They were received as guests and provided with tickets and badges entitling them lo the hospitality of the club during the entire meeting. The Jockey CIul. dinner on Wednesday evening and the Jockey Club ball on Friday night were the chief s.M-icty eventa of the week. In 1890 tbe ciuh had over 200 mi mhera ami an Income of more than 510,000 derived from subscriptions, real estate, bonds and bank stocks. Ih sides the race cur-e. it owned a large farm adjoining, where horse owners could get supplies and accommodation for their help. "Its last successful inciting was held in 1800. No meeting- w.-ie held dining the Civil War. and oauj one tried afterward. That was a failure so. after remaining dormant for a number of yean, it sold its real estate and went Into liquidation. It had owned a large stock of old Madeira wine, part of that had been saved from the devastation of war, one lot by being stored in the Lunatic Asylum, at Columbia, another in the loft of Mr. Henry Gourdins stable in this city, when it was overlooked by tbe Federal invaders. That wine, given to the Charleston Library Society, was sold to one of the Barlaga, of Loudon, at 00 a bottle, and it netted Ih LI brarv Society 100,000. The last president of th-Jockey ciuh was Major Theodore G. Barker, the venerable retired lawyer, still sociallv prominent and active as head of the St. Cecilia Society.
