Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-02

1 want % bet On 1vt5y rec4 ma suet
slwxys losing way 70 play the races.
There's ~ much 10 knowing when not
to bet a. there Il betting right, but you
| can't make woman believe IT,"
Further inquiry revealed the fact that
! there does exist in this city number
Of Young men Of good address who fol-
low the same profession rs did the
ex-bell boy. and that they find 1t COM
Portable and pleasant way to sum-
mer's existence. To be an escort the
young man must have good address.
fair education, q thoroughly controlla-
bic temper--for when woman who is
betting loses she also loses her temper
and vents her rage on her escort "a
| good knowledge Of turf events, the
breeding Of horses and their perform
ances. and familiarity with the merits
and dement's Of Jockeys. He must also
always have good clothes and be able 70
seem the gentleman escort rather than
the professional. Among women who
bet these escorts are well known oy
reputation. and the best dressed, best
informed. and most polite have no
trouble in finding plenty to do at their
strange business. The writer knows oil
one Of them who has escorted parties
Of from two TO four ladies from this
city TO Monmouth Park nearly every
day this season, who was equally well
engaged during the Sbeepshead-Bay
meeting, and who, on the off days, was
also engaged as escort to one or more
women to the Brighton Beach track.
The women whom these escorts serve
are almost invariably women of thor.
oueh respectability-true wives and
good mothers. They have the betting
fever, that is all. The excitement OF
the risk attracts. They see, too, In
success at the pool-boxes means OF sup
plying clothes, jewels, and articles dear
| TO the feminine heart that their hus-
bands limited means would not permit
| them to indulge in. Some Of them are
| from the West, and there acquired the
passion both for the sport and
the betting. Some of these,
who can overcome the peculiar
preiudices and whims which so often
control woman's judgment, have been
very successful as bettors, and can
count their winnings from small orig
inal investment by thousands. Others
whose within overrides judgment have
already seen ell their pin money vanish,
AID are forced to content themselves
with making choice Of winners from
published lists of entries, and then
figuring out their possible WIN
nipgs or losses from the re-
ports of the races published the
following morning. This is poor COM
pensation for the real thing, but it is all
that remains to them, and hundreds do
it. The are hundreds Of women in this
city who are as familiar with the per-
formances Of runners as many men who
" follow the races" for living who
know pedigrees by heart, and who are
fully posted on the merits Of all the
prominent jockeys and trainers of the
country. Very many of them are ex-
cellent judges of the "form" and "con-
dition'' of horse, and it is by no
means an uncommon thing to see men
at the courses who back with their
money the judgment of their wives,
sisters, or mothers, conceding it to be
better than their own.
The average betting woman is, how
ever, very different creature-impul-
siye, illogical, and whimsical. A bet
made she usually regrets it. Posted as
to performances Of horses and jockeys
they are, but the knowledge is of
little use, as it is not taken advan-
tage of when they come to place their
money. A fayorite among the jockeys,
no matter what his mount may
be, often decides the way in which
their money is to be placed, Of
toner still the money is placed upon
the representative Of fvorite stable.
There is hardly one betting woman in
ten who will not place her money on
horse owned by one of the Lorillards.
When both have entries for the same
event prejudice in favor Of the one or
the other decides the placing of their
money. The second factor in lead
ing them to a decision in such
case as that named is the jockey :;
the third, the positions Of the horses in
the bookmakers' estimation. Women,
as a rule, have no use for short horses.
They prefer to back the favorite on the
theory that the favorite usually wins,
and, though the returns for their invest
ment may be less, that it's better to
make little than to lose all. Risk
they don't want to think OF. Certain
ties are what they are after.
With the novices among betting wo-
men their entrance into the fascinating
game is attended by many queer no.
tons. They are ignorant as to the
merits of horses and riders. The novi
tiate then looks over list of horses,
and finds a name that pleases her
and places her first IS in the mu
tual pool-box to back horse whose
name she fancies. Old betting
men say that Caramel has prob
ably been more favored in this way
than any horse on the turf, anC
hundreds of women have lost their frs
s. because that is "such sweet
pretty name" The women learn better
after awhile. Another stumbling BLOCK
for the novices are the colors sporteC
by the jockeys. A favorite color OF
spruce jockey often draws out from
: the pocket-book of some fair on,
the first IS she has ever bet on the un
certain chances of dash around
the track. If she wins the color eve
remains her favorite. If she losel
that color also lcses forever for her al
attractiyeness it may have before had
, Once woman is Sin the swim" o
the running track, however, she will
remain there just as long as her none,
holds out, and even then the fascina
ton Of the track clings to her and sh
is ever its slave.