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HISTORICAL RACE RECALLED When State Pride Was Dominant— Kentucky Against Mississippi. Hare are the recollections of a famous rate, as pei 1 by P.. Prank Moore of Hnrrodsburg. Ky.. who was an eyewitness and wrote fiom personal knowledge ami obsevvalion: "I was born sad reared on a sugar plantation in Louisiana, one hundred miles above New Orleans, no the Mis-jssippi river. On the evening of Mart h SW, !So4, ipiite a niimer of planters, up and down ihe river, gathered at my fathers home to take the Bayaa Ban and Sew Orleans packets steamer. .1. . Cotton, for New Orleans, to attend and witness thai race on April 1, 1o.- 4. Owing to a violent rain and triad storm, blowing the chimneys off ami otherwise disabling the steamboat, wo ditl not reach New-Orleans until the morning of Ihe race day. "When, we entered the office room of the St. Charles Hotel my father stumbled against W. .1. Minor, to whose pla nialion. twelve miles below my fathers, the horse l.e.ointe had been seal by his owier. Cot Jeff Wells, to become accaateeaed to the Water and rliasate, ami for full training on W. .1. Minor-, t r.i. k. "Wl en my father look Minor to one side to have .1 little horse talk, he asl.e.l him ah III a It petit sensational four-mile trial run l.ecointe had made on his track only a few teya before. Minor smiled ami mid: .Moore. Lecamte did make a little rim Ihe other day. but secrecy is enjoined upon me, and I t •••nnot speak of it: but I will say this much, that if il was a dry, good track today every dollar I couid command, nt grata, pl.-iiitHiioii ami everything on earth I possess woedd go on that horse beating any horse in the world that could be pitted against him. " The track, however, i.s very heavy and stiff in mud. and Lexington oining down here as a Bated mad horse, I would not lisk one cent on LeCOaste. Tit- track was very heavy an. I stiff, jus| suited to Lexingtons going, as the remit of the race proved. Well, east for ihe entries ami the race: FOUR STATES REPRESENTED BY FOUR GREAT HORSES. "The gnat Slate Post .Stakes was represented by four horses from four different states, wilh an entrance fee of IJ.daa, from each state, viz.: Lexington, from Kent u. -ky; I.ecomte. from Mississippi; Arrow, from Louis.-iiia. and Highlander, from Alabama. lecamte was born and reared near Alexandria, Itapides Parish. La., and was entered from that stale at first, but owing to the celebrated Virginia horse Planet h-ing unable to reach New Orleans in time I.ecomte was entered from Mississippi and Arrow suhstituteil by Duncan P. Kemier another Uraiaiaaa sugar plainer and turfman as the Louisiana entry. "Highlander had made a fairly good reputation BS a three ami four-mile horse. Some Mobile spor;sm.n h.-nl paid 0,000 for hiin and confidently entered him in the race from Alabama. "To make assurances doubly sure they engaged Kilpatrick Gea. Aadttw laekaaaa aM jockey to ride him. I.ut that was about all he did. for Lexington and Lecamte were under Ihe string when Highlander ami Arrow had not much more than eat. -red the homestretch. "When the hot at I were brought out to start Lex-ingioii drew the past and when they started took the lead, bin was headed at the qaarter by l-tomte, which kept the toad for three and one-half miles, running more beautifully antl gamely than any horse I hail over seen on a track. Lexington, however, kept within easy reach of him. evidently under a strong pull. At the last half-mile post the rider gave him his head and step by step he went up on Lecamte, until they were on even terms at the head of the homestrclch. LEXINGTON WINS EY A LENGTH. "It was then a struggle under whip and spur ti the wire. Lexington winning by a bare length. Arrow and Highlander wore shut out. and the •."tul beat was only between Lexington and Le. comic, and was simply a repetition of ihe first heat, except that Icxingtoii won by three lengtlrs. Bach excitesaeat was never before witnessed on a similar ot casion. and ! dont suppose such a concourse of people was . -,tr assembled on a race course. "Three of the largest and most commodious Steamers were chart art d at Louisville by men and women from Payette and adjoining counties of Ken-lu.-ky to convey them to New Orleans. The mayor of New Orleans proclaimed a half-holiday, and it in! - • at as if every man. woman and child in the city had tinned out. "I shall ever remember my sad experience of the day. I met in the Si. Charles Hotel early that morning an aM Keiitu.gy horse and mule trader triead, who told me he had in a near-by livery stable some fine saddle horses, and if I would gel Nome friends to j-in him we could have a more pleasant time than bejaaj crowded to death in the graiidsiainl. I thooght well of this suggestion, ami soon had friends to .j.in me. Soon after reaching the field wo were surrounded by carriages, busses, buggies and every conceivable conveyance and our view of the horses :tntl track was almost completely cut off. "Only now and then could we catch s glimpse of the horses through the slight openings, and, what was worse s till, we could not possibly escape from our enforced imprisonment until all was over and the v.ist crowd dispersed. "My father was in the grandstand among the jubilating Keataekmaa, and not only sacrificed cam-fart, but lo i heavily in pocket, because his state pride caused him lo meet the haulers of those happy Keatacktaaa who were yelling out :i to i on Lexing- ton after the first heal. Put all that fun and frolic w..s over for a time, and another like event was on Ihe tapis. "The following Saturday. April X, another jockey • Inb meeting al the Metarie race course began, ami Lexinuton. beeeaate had Baafee were the entries for Ihe faar-mile race for a purse of . "Ihe week jirt ceiling had been dry and balmy. characteristic of spring weather ill Louisiana, and Ihe track was in first -class order when ihe race was called. LECOMTES RECORD-BREAKING FOUR MILES. "The three entries appeared in splendid Carat and condition, and while Lazkagtaa was the favorite in the belting. Lecomte had plenty of batkers. The start was made with Lecamte in the lead, which he held to the finish, in the record-breaking time of 7:26. anil leading Lexington six full lengths. Ueube barely saved his distance, evidently being outclassed. The set olid heat was about as Ihe first, Leeeaato winning by four lengths from Lexington in 7:HS:lj. and Keltbe distanced. "Tbhl ended the -., litest between Ihose two horses, but Lexington on the Lnd of May. IS.m. m ide the run again time in a single dash of four miles. who-h was run in 7:19:l,. He, however, had every possjhl,. advantage— a fine day. fine track, a running statt and the fastest mile liorses for every mile in turn. "Vow what was the denouement of all this? Le-remfa was crowned champion of the American turf ami Di.-k Ten P.roeck. recogaiaiag this fasct, bought ami toafe him to Bag to ad with Pryor ami IVyoress in the spiing of 18M, but the hauipion never again appeared on the turf. He took old i. n the ocean steamer, which developed into pneumonia, of which he died shortly afler reaching London. Lexington wont stone blind at four and was sold to Alexander, of Woodford County. Kentucky, for *10.000 and put in the stud on his farm. "Leeomte got his name from a rich planter living on Cane Birer, Natchitoches Parish, Iuisana. and the town or village of Lecomte was built up after this rate on the sugar plantation of Jeff Wells, which was previously called I»di. sixteen miles from Alexandria. Wells wanted to bestow all the honors possible upon thai invincible horse, hence the nam • I.etomte."
