Hall of Fame

 



flora temple

Year of Birth: 
1845
Immortal: 
Yes
Elected as Immortal: 
1955
Year of Death: 
1877
Gait: 
Trotter
Record: 
t,2:19 3/4
Sire: 
One-Eyed Kentucky Hunter
Dam: 
Madam Temple
Sire of Dam: 
Spotted Arabian Horse
Biography: 

Foaled in 1845 in Oneida County, New York and bred by Samuel Welch, Flora Temple was the daughter of Bogus Hunter and Madam Temple. She had a lowly start in life. Jonathan Vielee purchased her for $175, and when she began to show some speed on the road, hitched to a four-wheel wagon, he made a profit by selling her to George E. Perrin for $350 in 1850. From there she passed on to Perrin's brother John, who sold her to Hiram Woodruff, a top trainer in those days. When Flora Temple had raced her last race in 1861, she had appeared in 112 events, won 95 of them, and raced to wagon in record time of 2:19 3/4 at Kalamazoo, Michigan at the age of fourteen. She became a national favorite and her docked tail inspired a famous folk-song refrain "bet my money on the bob-tailed mare." Flora Temple died at the Erdenheim Stud Farm of Aristides Welch in Philadelphia on December 21, 1877.

 Erdenheim Farm, Chestnut Hill, PA

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 1994 book, The Immortals