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ORANGE COUNTY AN EQUINE PARADISE I Track at Goshen Horse Lovers Mecca for Many i Years Old Says Recalled. GOSHEN, N. Y., August 20. No section of the United States has n greater charm for those who love a good horse than Orange county, and this j lovely village in the heart of a region truly his-toric from an equine viewpoint is the Mecca for racing enthusiasts during the first week in August,. , when a three-day program is decided over the picturesque half-mile course which is located in the center of the town. , No other race meeting held in America compares . with it from a sportsmans outlook, as it is betless and given as a tribute to the harness horse by Mrs. E. II. Harriman. It is hallowed ground over which the horses race. Admirers of the thoroughbred and standard bred alike approach it with reverence , when they recall that Messenger, the English , thoroughbred whose blood is found in the pedigrees , of many of our best horses and who fathered the great American trotting family, held court here in , 1S01 and displayed his splendid proportions beneath the majestic oak which still rears its sturdy crest near the head of the stretch. The hoof beats of the thoroughbred made music , on the Goshen hillsides from 1805 to 1850, when Orange County attracted the attention of the country through the excellence of its trotting horses. From that time to the present harness racing lias been continuous and worlds records have been made over the espleudid course. In the early days of racing in Goshen there was great rivalry between Messenger and Baronet, the , latter also an English horse of blood. There were many disputes as to the merits of the get of these horses, and a test at mile heats, best two in three, for three-year-olds was finally arranged. This race was held in 1805 and thirteen went to the post The produce of Messenger finished first, second and third, the victor a gray, like his immortal sire. Unfortunately Messenger was removed from Orange county about this time, but he had remained long enough to demonstrate his wonderful prepotency. His accomplishments and qualities can best be described by quoting that eminent authority, John II. Wallace who said after referring to the fact that Messenger had sired Millers Damsel, the dam of American Eclipse. ANCESTOR OF TROTTING- HORSES. "Hut Messinger is better known now as the ancestor of a tremendous tribe of trotting horses whose name is legion. We have seen how Mambrino not only got fine race horses in England but founded a line of trotters whose fame lias endured ever since and got many weight carrying hunters. His own son, Messenger, repeated these achievements in America, and we hold his best line of trotters to be that direct one which has come through Mambrino and Abdallah to Hambletonian. "Wherever Messenger sent a son, especially if he had access to good mares, a fine, stout, long lived race of horses was the result, There are not in the history of the turf, or in the stud book, or in traditions of the general breeders, any two horses from whom has flown such peculiar, such general and such varied excellence as Mambrino in England and his son Messenger in this country." - In such an atmosphere as this the trottng horse became a type. Goldsmith Maid, Dexter and other immortals were born in Orange county and went forth to astonish the world, the former racing from her sixth , to her twentieth year, equaling her own worlds record of 2:14 when she was 18 years of age arid;- earning the enormous sum of 05,000. This is a greater total than Sysonby, Domino, Colin or any of the other great money winners of the thoroughbred family in the United States won during their careers. Alden Goldsmith and his sons, James and John, kept . Orange county in the forefront wherever the harness horse was raced, while the products of Charles Backmans Stony Ford Stud went to Kentucky and California to establish families whose descendants are found today in every corner of the world. LATE E. H. HARRIMAN FOND OF HORSES. Edward II. Harriman, a leader in anything he undertook, moved to Orange county at a time when the breeding industry was lagging and when racing was at a low ebb. Always fond of a good horse, he paid 1,000 for the stallion Stamboul, made an alliance with his friends Rensselaer Weston and John 11. Townsend and determined to revive the horse glories of the region. His early activities were confined to a combined horse show and race meeting and to the establishment of the Glen Arden Hunt, which was prosecuted under the vigorous leadership of its master, John It. Townsend, not only in this country but in Ireland and in England as well. Mr. Weston had been a boyhood friend of the great financier, and when .the. Hughes law in 190S placed racing in jeopardy Mr. Harriman authorized him to prepare an ambitious three-day racing program during which there would be no speculation. Disaster was prophesized for the venture, but the first of these meetings was a most pronounced success, and since that time there has never been a deficit. Mr. Harriman, unfortunately, was too ill to attend it and died on September 9, 1909, with the knowledge that the people will flock to a good horse race even-when there is no medium for wagering. The deatii of Mr. Harriman, however, did not halt the project or alter tiie plan for the entertainment of the sport loving populace one iota. Mrs. Harriman took counsel with Messrs. Weston and Townsend, and every year since the death of her husband three days, racing for ,000 purses bring from all "paftsof the -country the best trotters and pacers that are in training. A nominal charge of 50 cents only is made at the gate and the entire countryside turns out for the occasion. Mrs. Harriman occupies her box every day, surrounded by her friends. C. K. G. BILLINGS A CONTRIBUTOR.. That good sportsman, C. K. G. Billings, ever anxious to help the cause of the horse, has on oc- casions contributed to the entertainment of the throngs, which come from as far distant as Chicago and Cleveland for the occasion. One year he sent the peerless Uhlan, 1:5S, and Charles Tanner, and this unrivaled combination estabished a worlds record of 2:02 over the fractional course. Mr. Tanner served his apprenticeship under the Goldsmiths and is known to every man, woman and child in the community. The famous reinsman and liis splendid champion received ;i tremendous ova- t ion. In addition to framing a program which brings a wealth of racing material to his track Secretary Weston lias endeared himself to horsemen by offering and inducng others to give special awards to drivers and horses that may accomplish noteworthy performances. All this makes for sharper racing and keener interest. He has also fostered matinee racing and engaged the attention of such representative men as Richard Delafield, Itobert Goelet, W. Averell Harriman and Pierre Lorillard, Jr., for this pastime. The interest in the harness horse has been sustained so admirably through his untiring efforts that there is no danger of Goshen losing its pride of place with the horse loving public. Not only does Goshen furnish a course second to none over which its racing tests are decided, but in the Goshen Inn, which is an adjunct to the racing property, there is afforded a temporary domicile unsurpassed anywhere even in these days of luxurious hostelries. It is an almost exact reproduction of "The Limes" in the Melton Mowbray hunting district in England, and it lias the appearance and mellowness which one associates with age. From its broad red tiled porch the trotters may be seen at work or in the more strenuous efforts of the race. Magnlficient oaks and elms dot the slopes and crown the hillside in the vista where horses and cattle graze ankle deep In clover. It is truly a paradise for the horse and those .who believe in him as one of mans best friends.
