Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1916 — GRAND CIRCUIT HAS BIG YEAR [ARTICLE]

GRAND CIRCUIT HAS BIG YEAR

Harness Horses End Thirteen Weeks of Successful Racing—Sport Was , Clean and High Class. The grand circuit, with its thirteen consecutive weeks of mile track racing and which for forty-three years has been the life of the trotting industry, failed to produce the many expected new champions this year, but for general speed the Reason just ended was a whirlwind, and from the viewpoint of high-class racing and clean racing it was the best in the grand circuit’s long history. At the beginning the most momentous year of all was anticipated on the form of several horses, but a terrific match race early in the year took the edge off two of the greatest trotters that ever looked through a bridle — Lee Axworthy and Peter Volo —and while the last named four-year-old did recover to win in the fastest two heats ever trotted by a stallion 2:02%, his form was not full, and now that he has been permanently retired the world will never know the capacity of this marvelous trotter. Then the promise of some rare pacing was spoiled when C. K. G. Billings bought William and retired him from the racing turf. Margaret Druien found nothing that could extend her during the time she was at her best, and Etawah never reached the form expected from him, although the great flashes of speed he displayed indicated a champion performance. William added his name to the list of horses that have beaten two minutes and Directum I took a long slice out'of the record for pacing in the open when he won in 1:56%. Add to these performances the 2:05% of the three-year-old Mary Putney and the 2:07% of Volga at two years*and the story of Important record breaking in the grand circuit is told.