BLOOD HORSE, AMERICAN. The thor oughbred horse of America derives its existence directly from the best blood of that wonderful sub-family of British horses, the English thor oughbred. ' That they have not degenerated, has from time to time been amply attested on our own racing grounds, and especially so of late years, upon the English turf by American horses laboring under the disability of having been carried from their native climate to one less congenial to this noble animal. In the history of the English blood horse, will be given the salient parts relating to the origin and improvement of the English thoroughbred. Here it will be simply necessary to state something of the dates of the importation of the sires and dams to this country, and what they have performed. That the thoroughbred horse is the foundation upon which must be built all that is of most value in the trotting horse, the roadster, the carriage horse, and even the horse of all work, is now so generally acknowledged. that it seems almost un necessary to so state. It would not have been done, were it not for the fact that occasionally some narrow-minded individual will decry this wonderful sub-family of horses, because gam blers and other disreputable men have used them on the race-course for the purpose of cheating and swindling. As well might the trotting horse of America be consigned to oblivion, and, in deed, all horses of speed and pleasure, because their veins were strongly imbued with the blood of that wonderful make-up of bone, sinew, muscle, and nerve force—the thoroughbred horse. Fortu nately at the South, soon after the settlement of the colonies, and later in the West, the value of his blood was justly appreciated. So in the mid dle states. In New York, New Jersey and Pennsyl vania, the blood horse has long had an existence. Yet in Maryland and Virginia, and in Kentucky and Tennessee, the thoroughbred has been bred in his greatest perfection, and has produced a most glorious galaxy of sires and dams, inferior is speed, strength and stoutness to none on earth. The late William Henry Herbert, under the nom de plume of Frank Forester, carefully col lected a mass of valuable historical informa tion in his Horse and Horsemanship of the United States, and the British, Provinces of North America, and we give therefrom a synop sis of the salient points: In the reign of Queen Anne, the last of that house who sat on the royal throne of England, the English thoroughbred horse may be regarded as fully established; the Darley Arabian, sire of Flying Childers, Cur wen's Barb, and Lord Carlisle's Turk, sire of the Bald Galloway, being imported in her reign. Sixteen years after her death, and three years before the foundation of Georgia, the youngest of the royal colonies, twenty-one foreign and fifty native stallions, some of them the most celebrated horses the world has ever seen, such as Childers, Bartlett's Childers, the Grey Child ers, the Bald Galloway, Bay Bolton, Coney skins, Crab, Fox, Hartley's Blind Horse, Jigg, Soreheels and Trueblue, were covering in the United Kingdoms; and from some of those are descended almost all our racers of the present day. Six years before this the first Racing Calen dar was published in England, with nearly seven hundred subscribers. During this period it was, precisely, that the American colonies were planted; and, as might be anticipated, English horses of pure blood were at an early date intro duced; and in those regions, where the settle ment was principally effected by men of birth, attached to the Cavalier party, race-horses were kept and trained, lace-courses were established, and a well authenticated stock of thoroughbred animals, tracing to the most celebrated English sires, many of which were imported in the early part of the eighteenth century, was in existence considerably before the outbreak of, the old French.war. In the Eastern States, the settlers of which were for the most part attached to the Puritan party, and therefore opposed to all amusements and pastimes as frivolous at the least and unprofitable, and to horse-racing more es pecially as profane and positively wicked, very few horses of pure blood were imported; racing did not take strong root in them, nor in the last century were stables of racers kept to the east of New York. Virginia and Maryland as the head quarters of the Cavaliers—the former State having for a long time refused submission to the commonwealth and to stout old Oliver—as the seat of the aristocracy, fashion and wealth of the colonies, prior to the Revolution—took an early and decided lead in this noble pursuit; and, while the love of the sport continues to distin guish their descendants who are by far the most equestrian in their habits of any other citizens of the Republic, the result of the liberality of the free settlers is yet visible in the blood of their no ble steeds. It is probable that or may have commenced simultaneously, or very nearly so, in the two States above named. It was an attribute of the principal towns of Maryland some years previous to Braddock's defeat in 1753, and it is nearly certain that Spark, owned by Governor Ogle, of that colony, presented to him by Lord Baltimore, who received him as a gift from the Prince of Wales, father to King George III., came hither previous to that event, and was among the first horses of great distinc tion brought to America, though it can not be i shown, what was the date of his importation. About the year 1750, Colonel Tasker imported into Maryland the celebrated English mare Seli ma, a daughter of the Godolphin Arabian, one of the most distinguished mares that ever ran in America, and progenitrix through Rockingham, Mark Antony, and many others, of half the best and most fashionable blood in America. Nearly about the same time, there were imported into Virginia, Routh's Crab, old Crab, dam by Counsellor, daughter of Coneyskins, supposed to be in or about 1745. In 1747, Monkey, by the Lonsdale Bay Arabian, dam by Curwen's Bay Barb, daughter of the Byerly Turk and a Royal mare. He was twenty-two years old when im ported, but left good stock. In 1748, Roger of the Vale, afterwards known as Jolly Roger, by Roundhead, out of a partner mare, Woodcock, Croft's Bay Barb, Dickey Pierson, out of a Barb mare. Roundhead was by Flying Childers, out of Roxana, dam of Lath and Cade, by the Bald Gallaway, out of a daughter to the Acaster Turk. Woodcock was by Merlin, out of a daughter of Brimmer. Dickey Pierson by the Dodsworth Barb out of the Burton Barb mare. In about 1764, was imported Fearnought, got by Regulus, out of Silvertail, by Whitenose, grand-dam by Rattle. Thus Fearnought is come of the very highest and purest blood in England, and has left his mark largely on the blood-horse of Vir ginia. It is said that before his time there was little beyond quarter racing in Virginia, that his progeny were of uncommon figure, and first intro duced the size and bottom of the English race horse into America. This must be taken, how
ever, with reservations, as it is evident from what has been stated in regard to Selima, that four mile racers were the fashion, in Maryland at least, fifteen years before that date, and it is only to be understood in the case of second-rate racers, that quarter running was in vogue at this period. These capital horses were shortly followed by lVforton's Traveller, who was probably got by Partner, a grandson of the Byerly Turk, and grandsire of King Herod, dam by the Bloody Buttocks Arabian. These were probably the best early horses that were imported into America; and to these, with the mares Selima, Queen Mab, Jenny Cameron, Kitty Fisher, Miss Colville and a few others of about the same period, may be traced all, or almost all, the families of running horses now existing in the United States, in a greater or less degree, and with nearly as much certainty as the English champions of the olden day may be followed up to imported Arab And Barb on both sides. From Virginia and Mary land, the racing spirit ex .ended itself rapidly into the Carolinas, where it has never to this day flagged. The oldest race-courses in this country, which are yet kept up for purposes of sport, are the Newmarket course, near Petersburgh, Va., and the Washington course, near Charleston, S.C. At Alexandria, Va., there was a race-course early in the last century, and the courses in the neighborhood of Richmond have been in existence above seventy years. Not very long after this date, and previous to the Revolutionary war, there were two race-courses on Long Island, in the State of New York—one called Newmarket, near the centre of Suffolk county, and the other near Jamaica in Queens county, at both of which trials of speed were frequently had; but whether there were meetings at stated intervals and for regular prizes is not known. It was not until about the commencement of the present century, however, that what may be called race-courses proper were established in New York; the first club for the promotion of the breed of horses by means of racing, taking date from 1804, in which year the old Newmarket course was remodelled, and regular meetings with two and three-mile heats were established. Long prior to this time, however, the improvement of the breed of horses had created much interest in that State, and as early as 1764 and 1765 two celebrated horses were imported — Wildair, by Cade, and Lath, by Shepherd's Crab—by Colonel Delaney of Kings Bridge, who also imported the C'ub mare,. dam of Mr. Gibson's Cub mare, killed on the course at Lancaster. Both Wildair and Lath greatly distinguished themselves as sires; the former was esteemed so valuable that he was reimported to England. Another horse, Sloven, said to be by Cub, is stated by -Skinner and by Edgar, on the faith of a pedigree signed Jacob Adlie, to have been imported also into NewYork in about 1764; he is not, however, to be found in the British Stud-book—Weatherby's; and I am not aware that any of the greater champions of the American turf trace their descent to Sloven. In North and South Carolina racing commenced with spirit, second (if second) only to the date of its commencement in Virginia and Maryland. Flimnap, Sweeper and Toby, all horses held in high estimation at the time, were imported be tween the years 1760 and 1770; the former a grandson on both sides of the Godolphin Arabian, and both the others tracing to the same great progenitor, and to other ancestors scarcely of inferior note; the last named was imported by Colonel Alston, of racing celebrity in North Carolina. Into Pennsylvania, which State has never shone particularly on the racing turf, were brought two horses, Gray Northumberland, also called Irish Gray, said to have been bred by Lord Mazarine, and to have been a racer in high form, supposed imported by Mr. Crow, and about the same time, Old England, pedigree also unknown, but supposed begot by Old England, son of Go dolphin Arabian. To these must be given the credit of running one of the oldest great Amer ican time races on record, so long ago as 1767, against two other horses, one of whom, Selim, it is not easy to identify, three of the same name appearing to have covered nearly at the same time. The English sires most renowned in post-revolu tionary days, until we come down to the day of the Leviathans, Sarpedons, Trustees, Priams and 'Glencoes, have been: Medley—imported into Vir ginia in 1783, by Gimcrack; dam Arminda, by Snap. Shark—foaled in 1771, and imported into Virginia by Marske, out of the Snap mare. Dio med—foaled •in 1777; imported' into Virginia, 1798. He was by Florizel, dam by Spectator. Diomed is probably the greatest sire of the great est winner-getters ever brought into this country. Had he got none but Sir Archy, out of imported Castianira—who brought him to America in her belly—that renown alone would have been more than enough ; for scarce a recent horse in England, unless it be Pot8o's, has so distinguished himself as a progenitor. Gabriel-foaled 1790; import ed into Virginia, was got by Dorimant ; dam Snap mare. The year of Bedford's importation is not exactly known. He was a great stallion, and there is hardly a family of horses in the Southern States which do not in some degree, more or less, partake of his blood. He was a singularly formed. horse-a rich bay-with a peculiar elevation on his rump, amounting in appearance to an unsight liness, if not to an absolute deformity. This mark, known as the Bedford Hump, he has trans mitted to his posterity, and, whatever may have been the original opinion as to its beauty, it has been worn by so many celebrated winners, that it . has come of late to be regarded as a fore-shadow ing of excellence, rather than a deformity. It has been worn by Eclipse, Black Maria, her brother, Shark, Boston, Argyle, and many others of note. The editor would here remark that what one authority says of Tennessee may also he said of Kentucky, which immediately that her sons be came forehanded enough they commenced to breed thoroughbred horses. At the north, as settlement made good roads practicable, the attention of breeders was turned to trotting horses. That.they also were indebted to the staunchest thorough blood for their success, the record of the modern trotting phenomenans will attest. It will not be. necessary here to follow the account of successive sires and dams as they have appeared. It will he sufficient as a matter of interest, to present a record carefully prepared of the fastest and best running time, and most creditable performances made at all distances, to end of year 1879; the time being in minutes, seconds, and quarters of a second: ' Half a Mile:-Olitipa, by imported Leamington, Sara July 25, 1874, 0.47%.