Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-08-26
GOSSIP OF THE SARATOGA RACES.
Correspondence New York Horald.l

Correspondence New York Herald.l
The third day of the second meeting,
the five days of the first meeting of the
Saratoga Racing Association brought us
to the eighth day of the season. A de
lightful season it has been, notable but
not sensational, and this day only the
overhanging sky was streaked with
clouds, while the day was warm. Still
the large, comfortable stand was filed
with chatting happy people, while the
pools, which are here sold under ar
rangements equal to a banking estab-
lishment, were crowded with buyers from
every city in the Union. To buy pool
may be tampering with the blind god,
chance, but it raises the spirits of hun
dreds of spectators, and these, animated
by mild type of avarice make the ex-
citable part of the audience. The play
of character then comes out-defeat,
enthusiasm, sxcitability, moroseness--
and while pool selling is looked at by
some askant, il is necessarily one OF the
sources of revenue to the association
which aims to give good show regard
less of expense. The French Mutuel
pools, costing but FIVE dollars ticket,
invite the masses of young men and
loiterers, as to day, for example, when
tickets on the Mcdaniel stable brought
forty dollars odd. Larger operators,
acquainted with pool selling, bought IN
the region of $1,000 for less than 500:
Seeing DR.. Underwood, the universal
auctioneer Of these field pools, | said to
him
"Do not the French Mutuels take a
great deal from money otherwise in
vested in your field pools, Doctor2
"Not a bit. Most people buy both,
hedging the field with Mutuel tickets.
The more the merrierl
Were you the introduoer OF pool
selling into the United StatesT
81 was, sir. 1t is now seventeen
years ago, and then lived in Lexing-
ton, Kentucky. Well, ! give you my
word that every time we had a horse
race the betting money would be put up
in bad hands, or a counterfeit bill would
be put against a good one, or something
of that kind, and great many shoot
ing matches took place | thought
! it all over, for you know | was horse
boy from my youth up used to walk
from Dublin ten Irish miles to a race
and back again, and be sure OF licking
from my father when got home But
there was so much music in horse
Lord bless mel how could help itf
Now, do you see, at Lexington / be-
thought me of how they used to make
lists in the old country at the public
houses, and | conceived this system o
pool selling, and they've kept me at
ever since
What's the largest pool you eve
sold, Doctor2 sl-
Twelve thousand dollars at Saratogt
was about the biggest
How much money bas passed through
your hands IN pools in these seventeen
years2"
'Oh, don't ask me that; / don't thinl
/ ever counted. You see people hav,
been trying to bet that they can com.
nearer the sum than somebody else, ane
that would make my memory the sub
iect Of a contention. So never counted
it"
Thus lost the chance to preach q
great moral lesson from the amount o.
money wasted on pools.
The track was very good, the weather
was threatening. 1t should have been
Just the day for horses to run, except
that it was close. The first race was