Goldsmith Maid (1857- September 23, 1885) was a prominent Standardbred racemare in the 1870s that was called the "Queen of the Trotters" and had a harness racing career that spanned 13 years. Her last race was won at the age of 20 against a much younger horse named Rarus. She was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1953. Maid was not able to be trained as a harness horse or for any other occupation that would be of use on a farm due to her refusal to be hitched to a cart or pull a plow. Yet Decker, taken with the horse's lively spirit, kept Maid on his farm for seven years. Though she was untamed, one of Decker's hired hands secretly rode Maid in several local horse races and she gradually become known as a fast, albeit ill-tempered, runner. In November 1864, Mrs. Decker, tired of the horse's infamous reputation as "Decker's worthless mare", persuaded her reluctant husband to sell Maid to his nephew John H. Decker for $260. Decker in turn sold Maid to William Tompkins, a harness racer, a few days later for $400 while en route to his home in Newburgh, New York. Tompkins was also unable to race Maid successfully, with the horse refusing to adopt an even gait that would not endanger both sulky and driver. He sold the horse in the early months of 1865 to Alden Goldsmith for $650 and a second-hand buggy. Goldsmith changed the horse's name to Goldsmith Maid and put her under the training of William Bodine.In the spring of 1865, Maid was 8 years old, unbroken and had a persistent upper respiratory infection that would last throughout her maiden season. Bodine and Goldsmith, learning from their predecessors mistakes, decided not to use check reins, a martingale, blinders or a whip with Maid, instead treating her with kindness and allowing her to set her own pace. Goldsmith Maid trotted her first race in August 1865 and won several local races. She set track records in Goshen, New Jersey (with a best time of running a mile in 2 minutes, 26 seconds in three heats) in 1865 and Mystic Park racetrack in Boston in 1868 at a time of 2:21½. Goldsmith, sensing that the 11 year old Maid was nearing the end of her career, sold her to Budd Doble, a popular harness racer and trainer, in 1868 for $20,000. Maid continued to race for another six years for Doble, notably winning races in Buffalo, Sacramento and East Saginaw, Michigan against male contenders half her age.[1] From 1869 to 1874, Goldsmith Maid became immensely popular with the American public, attracting thousands of spectators to special match races that pitted her against the nation's top harness racers. Doble earned so much from these matches, and the horse had become so popular that "The Maid" traveled to these engagements in her own private railroad car. In 1874, Doble set a harness racing world record (one mile in 2:14) in Boston with Maid, who was by then 17 years old. Goldsmith Maid was sold to Henry N. Smith, who owned Fashion Farm in Trenton, New Jersey, for $35,000 in 1874. The last four years of her career were spent defending her title, which she continued to match on several occasions. Her last race was in Toledo, Ohio on September 27, 1877 against Rarus, who tried to break her record of trotting a mile in 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Rarus failed on that attempt, but did later succeed in breaking the record. Goldsmith Maid won over 350 heats and won 92 out of 121 races. She earned a total of $364,200 in her career, a record that would not be broken until the 1950s. Goldsmith Maid was retired at age 20 after a 13 year racing career to Smith's farm in Trenton. She produced three colts, but none of them inherited her speed on the track. In her retirement, she became a local celebrity and major tourist attraction for Trenton, attracting many visitors to Smith's farm in the summer. Goldsmith Maid died suddenly on September 23, 1885 at the age of 28 after developing pneumonia, and when her body was examined after death was found to have an enlarged heart. Her death was widely covered by the press and The New York Times reported that there was a period of national mourning after her death.