Hambletonian Influenced Pacing
Trotters Were Elite Before Rysdyk Bred Messenger's Grandson
William Rysdyk raced Hambletonian to prove his trotting worth, then bred the colt to acquire a small fortune. In the 1860s, Hambletonian's get were great pacers.
Hambletonian was foaled on May 5, 1849. His birth changed harness racing . A son of the ferocious Abdallah, and grandson of the Thoroughbred Messenger, Hambletonian was hitched to wagon and proved he could beat the best of the era's trotters.
That proven, Hambletonian's owner, William Rysdyk, set about scheduling his colt for stud services. Breeders flocked to the stallion. Today, his get traces to the English imported Eclipse, father of the American Thoroughbred, and to Little Brown Jug, pacing's first marvel, and to world champion trotters Dexter and Goldsmith Maid.
Ugly But Effective
Rysdyk's colt wasn't much better looking than his daddy, Abdallah, but he consistently produced winning offspring. Rysdyk, an Englishman, named Hambletonian after a Thoroughbred of 1800 who reputedly came from the little Yorkshire village called Hambleton.
Abdallah, called the ugliest horse who ever lived, became well known in his day for a personality that was everything opposite of gentlemanly English desires. Unable to break the colt to wearing harness, his handlers trotted him to saddle. The ill-tempered Abdallah sired winners like himself. They were game and strong, possessing endurance and trotting ability far above the rest.
Hambletonian inherited his sire's looks. A huge chest, massive hind quarters, and a muscled build gave the colt a powerful "trotting pitch". This term refers to a horse's downhill conformation, that is, the animal's rump is noticeably taller than his withers. Such a configuration translates to great speed.
1860s Brings Hambletonian Champions
Rydyk's notion to use Hambletonian's physical attributes to produce plentiful speedy get was on target. By he 1860s, his progeny were willing winners.
Hambletonian's son, Dexter, reached championship status as a trotter. He clocked a 2:19 mile to break the fourteen year reign of Flora Temple. Later in the same year, Dexter lowered his time to 2:171/4. He was immediately sold for $35,000, the largest payment ever made up to that point for a trotter. The buyer, Robert Bonner, pointed Dexter to stud. Dexter remained with Bonner until his death twenty years later.
Goldsmith Maid was Hambletonian's Granddaughter
Alden Goldsmith thought his Nellie could trot up a storm. She proved him right when he took her to the half mile track in Goshen, New York, a short distance from his farm. Nellie won her race that day, and she soon became Goldsmith Maid, a trotting sensation. Seven times, she broke the world trotting record. She won over $300,000 in purses.
Pacers Come of Age
Governor John Tod of Ohio bought Sweetser, a gray pacing gelding in 1877. He put in place a free-for-all pace at Cleveland's Grand Circuit meet. Sweetser won. Before long, pacers came full circle into the limelight.
Sweetser, Sleepy George, Lucy, and a rotating number of others began to win big as pacers, giving birth to the "Big Four" who dominated the day.
Little Brown Jug Gives Pacing Its Due
Bred in Tennessee, sired by Gibson's Tom Hal, of the reigning Hal family, Little Brown Jug served as plow horse, children's saddle horse, and family transport to church on Sundays.
His farming owners, due to frequent rides on Little Brown Jug, learned he could pace. The colt was sent to a driver-trainer, for whom Little Brown Jug paced his heart out. Winning and fame soon followed.
Yes, that Little Brown Jug race meet each year in Delaware, Ohio is named for him of the powerful, driving back legs that catapulted a farm colt to world pacing fame.
