Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1885 — FLORA BELLE. [ARTICLE]

FLORA BELLE.

Antecedents of u Famous Pacer. [Letter from Vincennes.] The celebrated Flora Belle, one of the fastest horses in America, is a Vincennes mare, and sporting men here and the citizens generally feel proud of her. She is the property of Mr. Jim McCarthy, of this city. Flora Bello is not on the* turf this season, as she is now in Kentucky, being in foul by Nutwood. Flora Bello's best records were 2:16}, made in Buffalo, and 2:13} iu Rochester, N. Y., in 1883. She made better time than that later on at East Saginaw, Mich., where she made it in 2:11, but she got no record for that. Flora Belle was once the property of William H. Neal of the Meredith House, of Washington, Ind., Mr. Neal is very enthusiastic over his favorits. He tells the following interesting and remarkable story of the great pacer: “I bought Flora Belle from an old farmer near Bedford, in Lawrence County, when she was a colt, paying him three tive-dollar bills for the animal. 1 was buying hogs through Lawrence County, and I had bought a small drove from the man of whom I afterward purchased the colt 1 wasn’t iu the horse business then, but the old fellow insisted on selling me a scrawnylooking, po ay-built colt he had. He said he had paid $5 cash, and ought to have $lO more for his trouble in raising the colt. So I paid him his price and drove the colt to Bedford with the parcel of hogs. The next year sue began to lengthen and look like she nad some speed in her. I broke her to saddle, and she could outrack anything I ever saw. One day I was racking her when she suddenly changed her gait to a pace for the first time and fairly flew along the road. She rover got a chance to rack again, for I began to cultivate her for a pacer, and she rapidly improved, but at that time I did not think of going on the turf with her myself, and in the spring of 1880 I offered to sell her for $125, but did not find a purchaser. ” “When was her first race made?” was asked.

“On the Daviess County Fair Ground track, at the Fourth of July races in 1880," was the reply. “I then had two or three other horses, and came here from Bedford to take in the races. I didn’t intend to enter Flora, but she showed up so well I saw she could beat anything on the ground, and entered her for second place. John burke got first place, but Flora could easily have beaten him, only I did not want to give her a record on her first race. Just after that race I sold a half-interest in the mare for S3OO to Dr. Net Wilson.”

“How did she get the name of Flora Belle?"

“I didn’t call her that at first. Her original name was Sally Black, but a young woman in Lawrence County to whom I once loaned the mare to ride to church objected to the name, and I gave her permission to change it. This she did, embroidering the name Flora Belle on a fancy linen horse-suit. I campaigned with Flora Belle during 1880 and ’Bl, through part of Indiana and Illinois, and the mare steadily gained a reputation. In the spring of 1882 we sold the mare to Jim McCarthy of Vincennes for $3,000. We parted with her too soon.” added Mr. Neal, regretfully. “If we had kept her three months longer she would have brought SIO,OOO at least. Flora Belle is a great horse, and she mads Jim McCarthy stacks of money. ’’ "Did Flora Belle come out of good stock?’“Her sire and dam were of good b’ood, but neither of them was fast, and Flora Belle was a sort of an accident, as it were. After she sprang into prominence, soma fellow hunted up the ol’d stallion. He was working as a dray horse. Several mares were bred to him, among them Flora Belle’s dam, but of course the quality of the colts cannot be determined as yet. It is not likely, I think, that any of them will ever begin to rival the Belle. ” Mr. McCarthy says he believes she could be forced as low as 2:08. He will put her on the turf again in the fall of 1886, and thinks she will be able to do as good work as ever.