CHAPTER XXXVII
MY DEFEAT BY OWEN KIMBALL IN CHAMPIONSHIP—MONTREAL
The last race of the 1900 championship season was scheduled for the Montreal track on September 24. I was entered in three events on that program, the third-mile, the one-mile and two-mile handicap events. Although I had what was generally conceded to be a safe margin to insure my winning the championship title for the season, there was an outside chance that my closest rival, Frank Kramer, by winning the mile championship race at Montreal and the five-mile championship event on the Hartford, Connecticut, track a week later, could tie me for the laurels.
With those facts in mind I determined to put everything I had into my races at Montreal that I might start in the Hartford events with a margin over Kramer that he would be unable to wipe out as we sprinted like mad for the laurel wreath. This marked my first appearance in Montreal since I won the world’s championship title the year previous. When I first came on to the Queen’s Park track for my warming up sprints I received a tremendous ovation indicating that the crowd had not forgotten my riding to the International honors on the same boards in 1899.
Despite the fact that I was in excellent condition on this occasion Owen Kimble defeated me in the one-mile championship event, the feature number on the all-star program, this being the only championship event I lost that season. However, I won the third of a mile handicap event from scratch, and was very anxious to test my speed in the two-mile handicap event when some water I had drank made me so ill that I was unable to start in that race.
Among the star riders who participated in the Grand National Circuit Meet in Montreal on this occasion were Owen Kimble of Louisville, Kentucky, Frank L. Kramer of Newark, New Jersey, Floyd Krebs of Newark, New Jersey, Saxon Williams of Buffalo, New York, George Collette of New Haven, Connecticut, and C. T. Boisvert of Montreal.
In the one-mile International professional championship race I won the first heat with Saxon Williams second, the time being 2:30 2/5. In the second heat Frank Kramer was the winner with George Collette second, the time was 3:13. Owen Kimble won the third heat in 2:40. I won the first heat in the semi-final in 2:22 1/5. Kimble was first in the second heat of the semi-final with Collette second, the time being 2:14 4/5. Kimble won the final heat with myself second in 3:48.
