Birmingham age-herald., 1894-07-12


 A race track crowd is perhaps the best natured gathering to be found anywhere and will submit to almost anything with ont a murmur, but thcro is one thing the race track frequenters will not stand, and that is twelcher There have been welchers on the race tracks who have gone on making book, knowing that no mat. ter which horse won they would be unablo to pay off bets Most of the welching bookmakers on the American turf how ever, have been men who after a season of hard luck have attempted to make up their losses by plugging" favorite in a race, meaning to be perfectly honest and pay off all bets if the favorite was defeat ed, but knowing that victory for the fla
 brito left them no alternative save flight To ''plug'T ffayorite simply means to offer extremely liberal odds on him, con sidering the chances he has of victory, and in this way get in lot of money on him.
 The race track authorities take some precautions against men of this character securing booking privileges The chief precaution, then, is to place Pinkcrton de- tectivcs around the betting ring to watch new bookmakers. If tho detectives find that the newcomers are plugging horse, they will watch him closely and will bo ready to nab him the moment he attempts to clear out. The only real pro- lection tho racing association gives the bettor is the assurance that, in the event of bookmaker with whom they have a bet "welching," they will refund the amount bet although they will not be responsible for the winnings. To tho average book maker there is nothing moro despicable than a welcher, and man who once skips out without first settling all claims against him is as good as dead, so far as tho race tracks arc concerned.
 Not since 1882 was such q sensation made in racing circles as was caused by 1tho welching of Leon Stedel1er at the lGravesond track, after the running of the 1894 Brooklyn Handicap. Stedeker's act was probably tho biggest case of 'welch- ing" that ever took place in this country, and it will be long time before it will be forgotten.
 The first man who ever "welched'' on an American raco track was English His name was Sanford, and he came to this country in tho fall of 1889. Some English sporting men wrote to friends in this coun- try that Sanford was a man who would bear watching, and when the man got 2 here and presented some letters of intro duetion which he carried he was not greeted very effusivcly by the American turfmon.%S Sanford seemed to be good sort of Fellow, however, and soon made many friendsSon the race track. When the fall meetintS at Sheepshead Bay be- gan S2nford openCsd a book there and on the first day won coilsxiderable uoncy On the second day of the meeting Sanford won money on the first and second races, and then, when the third race came he held out tho favorite, lilly named Girofic, and plugged" a marc called Bounce. Most of the bookmakers were only offering to against Bounce, but Sanford laid 6 to against him to win and 2 to a place.
 Plunger Walton was there making the bets on horses which gained him the so- briquet he still bears, and it happened that Bounce was one of tho good things ho had been holding up his sleeve for some time Armed with $l00 bills, Walton and his commissioners pounded the horse oil around the ring, managing to get $500 in Sanford's book at the above quoted odds Tho race came off, and after tough strug- gle with Giroho Bounce managed to win by short head. Then, as the crowd surged back into tho ring, 1t was seen that Sapford had disappeared. His box was still there, and his clerks stood around, but Sanford had disappeared. As it was the first thing of the kind that had ever happened on tho American turf, the sensa- tion it created is remembered to this day by many sporting men. Detectives were put on Sanford's track, and thoy succeeded in tracing him to the steamship dock where he had taken passage back to England, but he was never captured The next welcher of any consequence was also an Englishman. His name was Michaels, and he had been making books on the American races for long time. In the summer of 1885 he was doing business at the Monmouth Park race track at Long Branch, and one day he undertook to 'plug" marc called Mary Corbett. The mare was favorite in the race, and while the other bookmakers were offering but and to 5 against her, Michaels had the temerity to offer 9 x to 1. He was literal ly showered with bills of all denomina- tions, all of which he coolly took in, hand ing out the usual bit of pasteboard in re- turn. Among the men who bet on the mare was Mattie Corbett now one of the best known bookmakers In the east Cor bett placed $200 on the mare at 2X to 1, l and then, seeing Michaels still taking in the money at tho same price, became sus- picious and resolved to keep his eye on him. When the horses went to the post, he saw Michaels take all of his money out of bis cashbox and place it in his pocket. Then the man, totally unconscious of the fact that Corbett was following him, walked toward the exit to the track and stood waiting to see tho result of the race. Corbett knew that, if the mare won, Michaels would skip out, and he resolved tp get his money any way. He was about to accost Michaels when the Bag dropped, and the cry They're offl' was heard on every side. As Mary Corbett passed un-