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, t ] . 1 1 ! c £ j s r e i a £ * ■ a c £ c j £ t 1 I * £ r 1 l c j j s r J c t t i f I Two-Minute Miles Goal Of Every Trainer-Driver Sep Palin, Late Doc Parshall Top List With 13 Such Horses Each Every sport has its point of perfection. In baseball its the no-hit game; in golf its the par score; in bowling its that 300 line. In harness racing its the two-minute mile. Every owner, since his first yearling, dreams and strives for a trotter or pacer able to negotiate the regulation distance in the "magic time". Every driver-trainer, from the day he first takes his seat on a sulky, envisions his first ride behind a two-minute horse. The two -minute mile is that more or less elusive mark that all strive for but only select few reach. Charts, since statistics have been available, always list those who have entered the "charmed circle" of two-minute drivers. The honor of driving a horse for its first two-minute jaunt is a stamp of success as trainer. Today two men head this list of kings. Sep Palin, the veteran Hoosier and the late Hugh "Doc" Parshall, Urbana, Ohio, are tied with 13 each. To many sulky enthusiasts the number of two-minute miles during any one single season marks that year as a good or mediocre one. Last year there were 26 miles in two minutes or better. This is above average and therefore, to the ardent trotting fan, it was a great year for speed. There have been years with more but not many. Of this number in 1950, four were by trotters the remaining 22 by pacers, generally regarded as the fastest gait. Breeders, naturally, are continually on the alert to acquire a stud with a two-minute record or better. It adds to the prestige of the farm and this in turn brings better prices for stock. In fact sires are acclaimed by the number of two-minte horses produced. In this category the well known Volomite, standing stud at Walnut Hall Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, leads the field. This stalwart son of Peter Volo — Cita Frisco has 23 miracle mile off-spring to his credit, ten of which are trotters and thirteen pacers. Next in line among sires is the leaders own sire Peter Volo and Scotland, each with ten. Practically all two-minute miles are acquired on the regulation mile track where the performer has only two turns to negotiate and the straight-aways are longer. Only two horses, according to official records, have registered two-minute time or better on a half-mile oval. They are the famous Greyhound, now retired, and Billy Direct, now deceased. Greyhound, the worlds trotting champion, turned the trick in 1937 at Goshen, N. Y., and Billy Direct, the worlds pacing title-holder, at Alta-mont, New York in 1939. Both went in 1:593/4.
