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NOTED COLORED TRAINER Ealeigh Colston Born a Slave en John Harper Farm — Gained Fame on the Race Course. The recent death of Raleigh Colston recalled that in the "good days" of racing in Chicago, during the existence of Washington Park, and with Hawthorne and Harlem in full swing, race horses trained by Raleigh Colston more than held their own. The horses ran under the name of the Kentucky Stable and the old Jordan Stable, and Col. Jack Chinn, Morgan Chinn, Kit Chinn and George W. Morgan were all more or less identified with them. They won many good races, including the 1894 Worlds Fair Stakes, for two-year-olds, with Lissak, which beat the Californian, Rey del Caredes, afterward destined to achieve fame as Americus when racing in England for Richard Croker, and to become the sire of many good racers in Ireland, where he was sent after a sojourn of brief duration in Italy. Raleigh Colston was born a slave. July 28, 1861, on the Harper farm in Woodford County, Ky. It was always a pleasure to listen to a first-class horseman relate incidents of his exciting career. Colston insisted that Ingomar should never have been beaten in the race won by Joe Blackburn three days before the Sheridan Stakes of 1893, which Ingomar won, running the mile and a quarter in 2:10. Johnny Reagan was the jockey who rode Ingomar for the race in which he was beaten, but "old man" Charley Thorpe rode him in the Sheridan, Colston insisting to the last ditch that Reagan could not give the gelding a competent ride, based upon what he thought he saw in the Joe Blackburn race. The jockeys were therefore exchanged in the last few minutes. There was, of course, a good deal of weight in Ingomars favor, he carrying 112 pounds to 115 on Tyro and 125 on Clifford. Six others ran. Man j other triumphs have been achieved by this able Negro trainer, who as a boy rubbed the great Leonatus, which was never beaten as a three-year-old, and which broke down a short time after Colonel Jack had refused a fortune for him. offered by "Plunger" Watson. John McGinty was the trainer of Reonatus. "The first horse trained by me was Ban Fox," said Colston, in a conversation recalling some of the great days of the past. Ban Fox was sold by Chinn and partner to J. B. Haggin for 0,000. He trained horses for W. F. Schulte of Louis-ville and handled the stable of F. A. Forsythe for several years. It is not generally known that Colston rode in the first and second Kentucky Derbys. In the first, which was won by Aristides, he had the mount on Searcher, by Enquirer — Imp. Bonnie Scotland, and he finished out of the money. At that time Colston could make 100 pounds. He was raised with the thoroughbreds and started riding when but a slip of a lad. When 12 years old Colston rode Searcher to a mile record of 1 :41 3-4, at the old Lex-ington track, which was the best American mark for many months. . «
