Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-07
RACIsG Season OF 1890.
WHAT THE LEADING HORSE OWNERS
HAVE WON.
august Belmont Heads the List With
slao,0oo-other Winners of Large
Sums of Money.

OF the population of more than mill
ion and half-of which the revised
census shows New York city to be pos
sessed-there is of necessity, large class
of men of leisure, or partial leisure, who
require recreation Of some character TO
beguile the idle hours, and many thou
sands find it in visiting the numerous base
ball parks or race-courses in the vicinity
To such proportions has the racehorse in
terest OF the country grown that the sport
can be witnessed almost continuously from
the first day of January to the last day OF
December, Sundays being always, of
course, excepted. II is a cosmopolitan and
a democratic assemblage which day in and
day out attends. Brother Jonathan and
John Bull Paddy and Fritz, Moses and
Alphonse, Sambo and Tung Sing-in fact,
all nationalities and colors-are to be
found in the motley crowd. The rich
banker and merchant touch elbows with
the huckster and butcher, and the million
ARE owner is josLled by the colored tout"
A few go for the excitement and pleasure
of the sport, but more for business. For
tunes are won and lost in day a few
lucky ventures, and one is raised from
comparative poverty to absolute atiiuencel
If one loses his head by the suddenly ac-
quired riches and becomes plunger, a
turn of the wheel Of luck reduces him as
quickly to his former level A few cool,
calculating, level-brained betters make
good incomes by speculating on the races,
but they are the exceptions. To the ma
jority it is losing game, and the wonder
is that new material is daily found u Join
the constantly thinning ranks whose earn
ings are being surely swallowed by the in
satiate maws OF the jockey clubs and the
bookmakers.
The revenues of the former are princely.
On the leading courses there are from
seventy-five to hundred bookmakers, who
each pay to the clubs 500 day. As
every bookmaker has from three to four
assistants, who receive about SO each
daily, they start considerably out of pocket,
and must depend upon the betting public
to make good their expenses and yield
them rich profit. Those who are con-
servatiye and are satisfied with their legit-
innate earnings are seen at their stands
throughout the season, but many become
betters on large scale themselves and
frequently have to retire from lack of cap
ital. L. o. Appleby, David johnson,
John f. Mcdonald, Matte Corbett and a
half-dozen or so more are, however, heavy
plungers and make the business pay hand
somely. The programme, restaurant and
bar privileges, cigar-stands, barber-shops,
and pool-room correspondents, also mate
rally swell the receipts of the clubs, but,
of course, the largest source of income
arises from the attendance, which runs
anywhere from $500 to $4,000. Most of
the spectators spend money in one way or
the other, and nine-tenths speculate.
Formerly the minimum bet that could be
made was So, but now the majority of the
bookmakers will accept 50 wager. In
the case Of big favorite the better is re-
quired to put up odds, but if his choice is
little thought of he may receive odds rang
ing from two to one hundred to one
Where an outsider wins a large return
w.il be made for small outlay. 1t is re-
lated of jockey Garrison that he started
with $40 bill at the recent Morris Park
meeting and ran it up to $4,000, with
scarcely single break.
While reports Of this kind are apt to be
exaggerated, there is every reason to be-
lieye that there is more truth than fiction
IN the story, for at the beginning of the
meeting it is well known that his financial
condition was not of the best, while at its
close he had sufficient resources to buy
race horse or two at the auction sales held
there. One of fortunes fayorites last
season was young newspaper representa-
tive assigned to Saratoga by the Egeaing
Sun TO report the races at that point. He
began with modest ten-dollar bet, and
before the season ended there rumor had
it that the amount had swelled by
judicious investments to S2S,000 What
ever the sum, certain it is that reporter
Gwynne r. Tompkins soon blossomed out
into horse-owner, paying prices up in the
thousands for animals that he fancied.
While in his new role he has not met with
any pronounced success, he is still the
owner of a stable of race horses, and is the
prospective Secretary of the changed and
rejuyenated Saratoga Association, which is
next year expected to take foremost po-
sition among the leading racing organiza-
tions OF the State. Another who has found
the road TO fortune an easy one is George
E. Smith, better known as "Pittsburg
Phil" He has been following the races
about four years with profit, and is now not
more than thirty years of age. Until last
year he was merely an outside better now
he runs book in addition and is getting
stable OF race horses. From Mr.. Haggin
he sometime since purchased a moderate
animal called Kern, and few weeks ago
bought at auction Montague for $3.50,
Buddhist for $500, Sluggard for So ,050
and Wilroy for 81 ,325. These are sam
pies of the bright side of turf-life. Dis
honest officers, defaulting employees, fugi-
tives from Justice, ruined business and
professional men, go to make up the dark
side. The life has its destinations, and
once a horse-owner always an owner as
long as the money lasts.
All kinds and classes of men are horse
owners. The late August Belmont has
been this year the most successful turfman
IN the country, and easily heads the list of
winning owners. He was the American
representative of the Messrs. Rothschilds.
the great bankers of Europe, and was
many times a millionaire. He he'd
handsome residence on Fifth ayenue with
a commodious stable, handsome eouipages
and horses inrumerable for purposeS of
pleasure. He had also a country residence
private racetrack and stables at Babylon
L. l., where his breeding ventures were
Dut Vi ItCtll wears
he had raised all his stock on farm near
Lexington, Ky. A few years since he pur.
chased in England the stallion ST. Blaise
winner of the Derby, and with him has
been very successful With one of St
Blaise's sons he ran second for the rich
Futurity stakes in 1889, and suffered keen
disappointment in not winning. This
year he was much more fortunate. for he
not only won the race with Potomac. an.
other son of St. Blaise, but also ran second
with the colt Masher, the dual victory net
ting trifle over $4,000 Potomac also
won the Redband and Flatbush stakes, and
finished third for the junior Champion
stakes, winning in all nearly sS0O0O.
Other successful horses owned this year by
Mr.. Belmont have been La Tosca. winner
of nearly $4,000; Prince Royal, winner
of $4,000; Raceland, Fides. Clarendon.
st. Charles Her Highness, aud Padisha.
all except Raceland, for which he paid
$1,000 three years ago, being bred bv
him. He had started about two dozen
horses during the season, and these have
earned for him in the neighborhood of
$4,000. In addition. he sold half