The sorrel queen of the turf
by Lisa Harkema
The first of the champions to have an unblemished career, Maud S was one of the best trotters in the high wheel sulky era and lowered the world record a whopping six times.
One of the many great trotters of the 1800s born at the famed Woodburn farm, the 1874 mare Maud S was one of several sold to Captain James Bugher (of the famous Cincinnati & Memphis Steamboat Line) and WP Hulburt of Cincinnati at an a farm auction in 1875. From the Cincinnati Enquirer, “They succeeded in buying several, among them Maud S (then without a name) and another filly, which looked so much like her that after they arrived home neither gentleman could tell which one he individually had bought; both wanted the same filly, and that one was not Maud S. They thought she was of the two the least desirable. After several discussions on the subject it was decided that Mr Hulbert could have his choice, which of not much value in comparison with Maud S.” Captain Bugher named his new filly Sadie Bugher.
Both Warren Peabody and Otis Dimmick, both skilled trainers with good reputations, tried their hands on the strong-willed filly without much success. The following year the then-3-year-old filly was sold to George Nelson Stone, president of the Charter Park Association by Bugher’s son Horace, who had taken over the mare after his father’s death in 1876. Stone renamed her Maud S after his 12-year-old daughter. The young filly was social and lovely to be around, but with a harness on her things changed. Stone moved the headstrong little miss to William W Bair, who had his stable at Chester Park racetrack in Cincinnati, and was the person to recommended to Stone that he buy the three-year-old filly. According to an article published after the mare’s death, “Bair had to rebreak her, and by infinite patience succeeded in getting into her good graces. That year, the three-year-old Maud S showed 1.13 (a kilometer rate of 1.30,7, mile rate of 2:26) over one lap on the half-mile track.”