Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-09-25
THE TURF REPORTER.
QUEER CHARlurRRS HH sEBS VINO HAKE THB
RACE TRACK TEER gOHR
Reporters slips" and "SurO Things"-h They Were
Played They'd Rim Him-IhS olsVT
SFout-Humor and BGmuriss
Of ihs Turf

close my eyes, writes j. j. Eakins, In
the New York World, and hear the deep
rumble of old General BufoTd's voice as
he said this, standing out on the lawn
NJ the club house at Louisville, watch
ing the first Derby run, seventeen years
ago. and a fine picture he male, too,
with his gigantic frame clad In broad
cloth, with his ruffled shirt and his big,
soft hat, a splendid type Of species as
extinct as the fossils OF the Pliocene age.
Ten wears later old Frank Harper,
standing on the same spot, saw
the change come which the General
vaguely feared; and as he heard
the clamor Of the ring, rude
and unwelcOme innovation, and saw tae
colors Of unknown owners on the backs
OF unknown jockeys, he shook his mead
and muttered sOrrOwfully to himself:
'sThings is changed in Kentucky"
And the change from the old turf TO
thu new, from sentimental racing to
business racing, from General Abe Bu-
ford TO Mr.. Michael Dwyer, has come so
swiftly that TO the youngest OF the
present generation il seems but hap
pening Of yesterday.
In spite Of the tremendous revolution
which has occurred there still remains
about the race track life and color 10
be found nowhere else. The same
oueer little withered-up men hang
about stable and paddock as they did In
DAYS gone by. The same groups, lit
tie loud as to iewelry and conversation,
inspect the horses as in the old times,
and the same kind of thOroughbreds
fight with desperate bravery their
Thermypolaes and Variations, their
Cressys and their Waterloos out yonder
on the track, responding to steel and
whip with perfection Of courage which
their owners might feel proud II they
could equal.
To one who follows the racing day by
day the rich tintS Of the colors may be-
come a bit blurred; the character OF the
life he sees about him may lose some
thing of It's picturesQueness by constant
contact; but once the blood OF the race
track gets into his veins he is the victim
for life, and other occupations or amuse-
ments become insiUid and commonplace.
But il is not so much Of the turf it.
self as of the odd characters who make
their livelihood on it that 1 wish to
speak. Racing people are the easiest
people in the world to know; there are
no social distinctions on the turf; and
the millionaire and the tout, the book
maker aud the better, the trainer and
the Jockey, all make up a perfect dem
ocracy.
There isn't even color line.
And so it happened that q young man
q a. 20
has wide and far-reaching acquaint-
ance. Then IL is, that, II you are OF
speculative turn Of mind, your troubles
begin. You are overwhelmed with in
formation about "sure things" You
are deluged with tips"
Your friend, the tout, whispers to
you that he has seen Skyrocket work in
in a minute, and urgently insists upon
your getting aboard. Your friend, the
jockey, tells you he is going to ride Sky
rocket, and the horse Will twin in a
walk" Your friend, the trainer, In
forms you with q conservative air, more
impressive for that very reason, that
she has not an excuse for Skyrocket, and
that he IS as fit as hands can make him."
Your friend, the bookmaker, tells
come in, and they think it's good
thing" Then at last you meet the
owner Of Skyrocket sauntering about,
and you are told by that gentleman,
with an affected carelessness, that his
horse islands pretty good chance"
Who could withstand the pressure Of
so much knowledge? of you dash to
the ring, where men are struggling and
pushing TO get their money down on the
''sure thing" and your friend, the
boOkmaker, as a special favor, takes
your money before any OF the bowling
mob about him are served, and you get
out just in time to see Skyrocket finish
q dlsgrsceful last.
Sometimes the news OF the ''sure
thing" comes In different way. You
are called aside by trainer who leads
you away off TO an unfreQuented corner
OF the grand stand.
you remember old Cannon Ball?" he
whispers. You remember the brute
perfectly. The last time he ran you
lost months salary on him. But you
say nothing about that. You profess
profound interest instead.
"Well. cid Cannon Ball has had let
up. And you never saw such an i'm
proved horse in your life. Gallops
away from Skyrocket in his work (you
groan as you recall SkyrOcket's last ap-
pearance), and is IS fine as silk. We are
saving him for the Getaway Stakes.
Don't tell soul, and we'll all make a
killing"
When the Getaway Stakes are run
Cannon Ball carries enough of your
money 20 buy a house and lot, and he
displays about as much speed as a
horse blowing corn.
After several years Of close and care
ful observation, have seen about
three "sure things" 90 through to
every three million that lose.
OF all the curious characters on the
turf, none are more interesting or
amusing than the touts. 1t would take
a volume to describe the different
kinds Of tout.
One recall with pleasure, for he
was a beautiful specimen Of his class.
He is a round, brown-faced little fellow,
with q good natured twinkle in his
black eyes; the best hearted, best tenn
pered little rascal that ever wheedled
dollar from a close-fsted better. Let
him be known simply as Jack, for it
would be an unkind turn TO designate
him more particularly, and Jack himself
would 20 hungry before he would do an
unkindness TO any one.
A young man OF marvellous fertility
of resource Is Jack. He knows no more
about horses than he does about Greek
verbs, but when it comes to human
nature be could give points to any pro-
fessor at Harvard.
One day I was talking to some men
on the lawn at Sheepshead Bay, when