The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-01-16
TURFMEN'S BELIEFS.
Signs Tn at Point to Good or Bad
Luck.
How the Transs ctions of n Gambler Arc
Affected by Various Om~ns Raco-
goers' Superstiti"ns In Regard
TO Lucky Horses

| THAT settles It i don't make Aabet
to-day"
why, what's the matter now?"
We'll. the man ! bought this pro-
| gramme of is crosseyed, and i met his
gaze. That's one-of the worst signs of
bad luck know. and guess I'll let the
horses run today"
This conversation was overheard at
the entrance of q popular race-course,
says a. L. Aldrich, in the New York
Star. Gamblers. and particularly turf
men, are very superstitious- Every
thing they see is either an omen of good
luck or bad, and by these signs thoy are
governed in all their transactions. The
dread of n race-goer's life is cross
eyed man. IL q man meets q cross-sycd
man when he is-going to make bet, it
sends cold shiver all over him. He
will put his money away, and very often
leave the track II 4 eross-cyed woman
IS met and her gaze is encountered, a
man will have luck all day.
At one of the winter tracks . woman
who is a little cross-eyed is a regular
patron. Sho gets tips from all the
prominent turfmen on the track. and is
said to make lots of money. She gets
these tips because the men think it
lucky to meet her gaze. She is hoodoo
to the women, though. and their partic-
ular mascot at the Clifton track Is the
cross-eyed young man who sings out:
Get your programme! Get your pro-
gramme-' At the cato. His patronage
chiefly comes from the women. and the
men avoid him as they would plague.
Many turfmen have very childish
saperstitions- IL they see the name of
horse placed in any prominent posi-
tion while on their way to the races.
they Invariably take that as tip that
that horse will win, and will play it
The horse may win, and then the man
will tell his friends how he got the tip
Should the horse lose, he will declare
that the name was placed prominently
before him so that he should not play
Il and he mistook the sign. Onthe way
down to the Monmouth Park races
those who journey by the boat TO Sandy
Hook are always on the lookout for
pilot boats. These boats are known by
numbers, and the numbers are painted
in large black figures on the mainsail.
Should they be lucky enough to see .
number, they will play the horse that
that number points to on the pro-
gramme In each race.
Around every race-track there are al
ways TO be seen a number of blind men,
Some have been there for several years.
Nearly all of them are beggars- A few
of them peddle pencils and other small
articles. Many of them are growing
rich. and they are getting rich simply
through the superstitions of the bet
ters An habitual race-goer thinks it
10 bad luck to pass blind man without
giving him penny, and if penny is
;ntn ha - hat
will act as q mascot and bring the donor
good luck for the remainder of that day.
did you back White Nose in the last
racer asked race-goer of his friend in
the betting ring at Sheepshead Bay on
the last day Of the meeting.
No" was the reply.
wen, hurry up and get your money
on Fitzjames for the next race. It's
one of the best things OF the season, and
Barnes is riding"
81 guess i won't touch IL to-day
''Why, what's the matter?-
'.well. laced my shoe up the wrong
way this morning, and then unlaced il
and laced it up properly. That's o sure
sign of bad luck. II / had let il be
laced wrongly l would have had good
luck all day. but, like chump, didn't
Doing such thing rs that is such a
hoodoo that il Salvador and Big Brown
jug were in Q race together and were
to back Salvador. Lovell's plug would
win"
Many of the big betters always carry
Q mascot of some kind or another with
them. With some 1t is cane, with
others an umbrella Some carry piece
OF money. many OF them having An old
copper piece. Lots of them believe in
some article of wearing apparel. which
may vary from . sock to an old coat.
The book makers seem to be particular
ly partial to coats
A hunchback is always looked on with
favor by patrons of the race course.
This Is where turfmen differ from
theatrical men, as actors think hunch-
back is a hoodoo. and have been known
TO refuse to play because they saw one
in the audience. Turfmen think that
to be able to touch the hump OF q hunch-
back will bring them good luck all that
day. They scheme in all kinds of ways
TO do so, and il one of these deformed
men or women should happen to get
into crowd, his back is rubbed very
considerably before he gets out
Dreams have always been fsvorite
superstition with betting people To
dream Of seeing certain horse, or Of see
ing q certain horse win . race. is looked
upon as sure sign that that horse will
win the next timc he comes out and
these dreamers invariably tell their
friends of their Dreams Some Of the
dreams that are supposed TO be pro-
phetic are very mysterious, and they
require all the knowledge of a Daniel to
be able 70 interpret them These
dreamers, though, seem to be able 10