The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-05-27

seems inseparable from the sport OF kings.
There Is almost a quarter of mile Of bar
space, but men stand six deep in front OF
every keg, and struggle, push, pull and
plead like lunatics for a swallow of beer and
pint Of froth.
AS the hour for the great race approaches
the crowds grow denser and denser until
every foot of standing room that commands
a view of the home stretch for quarter of
q mile is packed with restless humanity
Forty thousand people breathe sigh of re-
lief when, at the voice Of the bugle, the
equine princes, one after another, parade
past the grand stand on the way to the post
Every horse is sleek and spirited and seems
fit for the race of his life. The jockeys, clad
in their brightest colors, are the heroes of the
minute There are loud cheers for the ia
vorite riders and their mounts. The horses
culver with excitement as they pass be-
tween the long rows of enthusiastic human
ity, and many OF them, shying, prancing.
buck jumping, require the closest attention
from their Jockeys. !
Meantime the betting ring has become
vast, clubless Donnybrook fair-an imper-
sonal free fight of the first magnitude Men
are tossed to and fro In this sea of humani-
ty like corks in the booming breakers of
old ocean, so near at hand. An outgoing
flood of men, grasping pool tickets, meets
hands, and the opposing bodies stagger,
push and battle like panic stricken mob.
Nothing but a flying wedge can make
dent in such throng, and the crowd Is
plowed right and left constantly by bodies
of men moving together with resistless
force.
"Come up, boysP shouts a stentorian
voiced bookmaker. "Three to one and take
your choicel" The crowd needs no encour-
aging. 1t is fairly fighting to place its
money on the favorite at that price. The
second aud third choices are also being
backed, and some money, too, is going on
the 80 and 40 to 1 shots, but the great bulk
of bullion Is being, bet on the favorite-the
unbeatable favorite. ALI the horsemen and
sports and turf writer's In the country have
tipped him as the greatest horse In the race
and sure winner, and the popular idea of
the result Is we'll expressed by pale faced
clerks remark, why. it's just like finding
money!
The horses have been long at the post,
and the crowd is growing impatient. Forty
thousand backs are aching from the strain
of standing on tiptoe for half an hour A
cloud of dust up the track and white flag
quarter of a mile away are all that SO, 900
of the 10000 people can see, but all crane
their necks and strain their eyes in that
direction Again and again the hum of
voices swells into a great roar: They're
off! They're OFF, But as often the roar
dies away in disappointed calculations
AT last, after nearly an hour of back
breaking delay, the concerted shouts of
10000 voices like the roar Of q tornado an
nounce that the starters flag has fallen.
A puff OF smoke creeping along the track
at length discharges the struggling line
of horses, and as they thunder past the
stand for the first time howl of disap-
pointmcnt goes up. A rank outsider is
leading, and the favorite is back in the
ruck. moment later, and the horses dis
appear around the quarter turn The air
Is filled with babel of shouts as they re-
appear far away across the course. Thou
sands of fieldglasses are fixed upon the lead |
ing horse, who seems to creep along at
snail's pace, but who is moving SO swiftly
that he soon disappears at the three quarters
turn.
For few wild seconds that seem minutes
the racers are hidden from view, and then
they come laundering down the home
stretch, the jockeys of the leading three
urging them on with cruel whip and spur.
The grand stand rises en- masse, and the
dust laden air Is filled with joyful shouts,
imprecations, groans and all manner of
headwear as n third choice horse wins the
great prize by half a length The joyful
shouts, however, are few and far between.
for the unbeatable favorite who has carried
the great bulk of the public's money Is not
first, but lastl The majority of the crowd
then make Disguised rush for home
through cloud of binding dust, which is
about the only dust" they have with them
when they get there
EARLE II. EATON.