ETHAN ALLEN “CONDITIONS” FOR RACING — BY RACING

This article focuses on Dexter and the beginnings of the American Standardbred, but one must consider how great a horse Ethan Allen truly was in order to fully appreciate what Dexter was pitted against. In this print portraying an exciting “dead heat,” Ethan Allen goes with running mate to wagon against a horse named Lantern and mate. Lantern, it should be noted, was by Black Bashaw by Young Bashaw, tracing back to Khasnadger, one of the few “Asil” Arabians that were present in America before the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 (see “America’s Major Horse Breeds Emerge,” EQUUS 473). Lantern’s paternal grand-dam traces in tailfemale to Messenger, and he is out of a Canadian-Morgan mare. Lantern’s pedigree thus represents the diversity of blood which is the norm among Standardbreds.

J. Dunn Walton was an experienced 19th century purveyor and trainer of harness horses who made his career in the days of the old high-wheelers and who witnessed this race and many others. Writing in the July 9, 1897 issue of “Turf, Field, and Farm,” Walton remembers the horses, the strategies and the races of fifty years before:

“Ethan Allen was a small, rather slight-built horse, and not much of a weight-puller, but with running mate he could beat anything that wore iron. He met Lantern to this rig at Union Course, in 1858, for $5,000. Sam McLaughlin drove Ethan and Horace Jones drove Lantern. Sam intended to dump the race but after winning the first heat in 2:29½, Lantern was so slow that he was obliged to win.

“In 1859 they met again for $10,000 and the crowd was tremendous. Lantern and mate won the first heat in 2:24½; then Ethan took the 2nd and 3rd in 2:27½, 2:40; the 4th was [a dead heat] in 2:35 and Ethan won the 5th in 2:35. It is well known that Ethan Allen and running mate took a record of 2:15 against Dexter in 1867, and this was for a long time the fastest trotting record at any way of going.

“Ethan Allen’s [singleton] harness record was only 2:25½, but I have myself timed him a mile at Fashion Course in 2:20 and another quarter in 35 on top of it. He was as pure-gaited a horse as I ever saw, with very high and showy action, but he knew nothing but trot— quite the reverse of his sire.

“In 1853 I remember a great race at Union Course, Long Island, between the 4 year olds Ethan Allen and Rose of Washington. It was for $1,000….there were no pools nor books in those days, nor was money put up as a rule. Thousands of dollars would be bet simply on word. Ethan Allen won straight heats in 2:36, 2:39, 2:42. He went from there to Boston and won four races in succession….later, at Union Course, he shut out George M. Patchen in 2:28 to 100-pound wagons.”