The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1889-08-29
TRACE %SUpERSTITIONS.
QUEER BELIEFS HELD BY THOSE
WHO BET ON HORSE RACES.

SOG6n 6eIiEFS TEIO 6Y iHOSe
WHO BET ON HORSE RACES. :.
1ascots and Jonahs Almost as Numeross
~ the Bettors-Cross Eyed Persons and
Hunchbacks-An Old Race Goer Says tho
Signs Never Fail. .~.
"How II it thst gamblers, and especially
gamblers on the turf. are 30 superstitiousT'
This question was asked Of an old race goer
recently, but he denied altogether that they
were superstitious. He said: Backing horses
n . race is all a game of chance. You may
hadk him heavily, but through some mishap,
Rnh a. the horse being pochetsd, or slipping
IL hg3dle, he may be beaten. Now these mis-
hqps make the chance in the game, and there
- certain Agns that all race goers believe
h that ten whsn to back . certain horse and
when 10 let him alone. Why, l would no
pore think Of backing q horse that these
aEns and omens said would not win than l
Would attempt to hy."
"How Is it. then, that you don't always
win? Are the signs sometimes wrongP'
"NNever. The signs are always right, but
VIZ N0A v 04"0y0 AOoN VACAA SSIAyS AAAA
even when we do we sometimes think we
know best. Then we have to suffer for ouI
eonceit."
SAW n WINNER IN A DREAM.
Just tell me of some Of the signs that you
go BY"
First Of all, I never make a bet unless !
have my mascot with me. 1t is a IS gold
piece. If should happen to cave it at home
I just watch the race. Sometimes | nave
tried to win when l have not that gold piece
with me, but l always lost, and SO now |
have given it up. l found that gold piece
several years & when coming through the
gates at Jerome park. I only had a five
dollar bill with me that day, and in the first
race l placed 1t ON a horse that won and paid
CSC. rs for u. concluded that the S. gold
piece was meant to bring me good luck, and
l determined to keep it That day won
SEQ, and ever since I nave never been with.
out money:
monday Is q bad day to lose on. II one
starts the week badly then you may be sure
it will end badly. II l lose on Monday /
rarely make another bet until the next Mon
day comes around Sometimes l have varied
this rule and tried to win, but it Is of no use.
"In lacing my shoe this morning | laced
it wrong. If | had left it laced wrong all
would have been we'll and I should have won,
but instead | unfastened it AMI relaced it.
That il a sure sign of i'll luck"
Some bettors believe in dreams. They will
sometimes dream that a certain horse will
win a race, and then back that horse when he
next runs. An old turfman told this story
about q dream recently:
ut was two days before the Great Ameri-
can stakes was run at Gravesend I dreamed
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of horses start, and one, a big chestnut, win
Who he was l could not make out. I tried
all day long to find out the name of this horse,
but it was of no use. Ihad his picture stamped
on my mind, and when I got to the track tried
again to find out the name Of this younester,
but it was no use. Just a. the horses were
going to the post I recognised my winner
in the dream. 1t was August Belmont's st.
Carlo, ridden by Garrison. | rushed to the
ring and managed to put on some money.
Well, you know st. Carlo won. and I wou
5000 That's one reason why I believe in
dreams"
Many believe that . ~hunchback is Q SURE
sign Of luck. In this superstition turfmen do
not agree with actors. Many an actor has
refused to play because he has seen a bunch.
back in the audience, I'M he believes it q sure
sign of i'll luck. Turfmen think differently.
They say il you arc In search Of good luck
never let q ~hulchback pass without touching
the hump. no matter how lightly-the tips of
the fingers will do. Some say that you must
wiah for luck at the same time that you touch
the hunchbaek, and in order to work the
charm the hunchback must be aware of your
action. 'ts
Cross eyed persons bring good and bad luck
with them. naman sees q cross eyed woman
he viii have good luck, but shis cross eyed
woman will bring bad luck to another woman.
In the same way q cross eyed man will bring
good luck to a woman and bad luck to q
man.
ALL A GAME OF NANCE.
All patrons of the race course are firm be-
levers in the old superstition about seeing
first over the right shoulder, bad luck to look
at it over the left shoulder, but best luck of
all to look at it full in the face with money in
your pocket. The money must be turned
over while looking at the moon and it will
double itself during the next twenty-four
hours.
Every one, of course, Is familiar with the
fatality said to surround the number IS. II
there are IL horses starting in a race, the one
numbered ID has to be an extraordinarily
good one before the bettors will back it, and
then they claim that mir times out of ten
something will happen that will prevent his
winning. Many believe that luck surrounds
certain numbers. More favor the number Z
than any other. ~
Some persons who play the races never like
to win the first race. They will make a small
bet on some horses and expect to lose. After
that they will play heavily and are most con.
fident Of winning. If they should win in the
first race by any chance they will not bet any
more, as they are certain they will lose.
Bettors o horse races are always on the
lookout for some sign that will point to a
certain horse in the race. Going down to the
Monmouth park races on the Sandy Hook
boat they arc always on the lookout for a
pilot boat, and then when they see the big
number On the sail they regard it as . good
omen and plan according to what the mum.
Der points to o. the programme Others
watch signs and listen for IF they
see a sign that bears the name of q horse or
hear any one mention the name Of a horse in
some odd way they take it as a sure tip that
the horse viii win the next time he starts.
Some men have So little faith Ia their own
Judgment Of the merits Of the horses engaged
to run, and believe SO firmly that winning ON
q horse race is all a game of chance, that
they win place the names Of the horses writ
ten on separate pieces Of paper IN a hat and
play the first one they draw out. Others
will throw an open knife at q card-of course
a lucky knife-and the name in which the
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