Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 825

Museum Catalog Note *The Race-Track Sport: Kentucky Sharpers Brought to Bay* by Albert W. Aitken opens with Jackson Blake, a horseman traveling to Lexington's race meeting, discovering a thorn deliberately lodged in his horse's hoof—apparently sabotage from two suspicious men at a mountain cabin where he briefly stopped. Blake meets Belle Hawkins at a roadside spring and accepts shelter at her family farm despite her cryptic warnings. Her brother Jefferson Hawkins extends hospitality while studying Blake intently upon hearing about the thorn. The narrative suggests criminal activity in the region—illegal whiskey distilling and Kentucky sharpsters—with Belle caught between loyalty to her rough cousins and concern for the stranger. A third man arrives flirting aggressively with Belle as Blake settles in. The story emphasizes Blake's keen observational skills and the growing tension surrounding his seemingly innocent arrival.