Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-31
rand stand a great yellow flag should

Haunt over the place.
Finally the horses are off: they make the
best of their way around the half-thawed
track, scattering a storm of clods AID ice
from their Loofs, that beat into the faces
OF the rearw ard riders like hail. A look
through field glass shows the animals
slipping and foundering over the track.
and 1t seems that every moment they must
go down. Y ou must know that these horses
are not shod with regular horse shoes.
They wear only very thin plates of steel,
weighing but few ounces. not thicker. in
fact, than the blade of a stout knife. AS
the plate Is fiat, 1t affords no purchase on
the Icy ground. The few men at the rail
watch the oncomng racers with an occa-
sional oath of dismay or delight as they
see their favorite falling behind or forging
to the front. The horses sweep by the goal
with final squirt, and prance back, smok-
Ing and steaming, to allow he jockeys to
dismount. The animals are covered with
mud, and some show bloody legs where the
flying Ice has cut them. What noble-look-
Ing fellows they are, with far less of the
brute in their handsome eyes than i'm some
of the human faces that peer at them
over the rail.
The horses are dripping with perspiration
and the steam rises from their smoking
TANKS in cloud as they stand putting and
blowing in front of the judges stand. The
jockeys cannot dismotnt until the judges
give the word, but In few minutes this
is given and the boys are Off Blankets are
then thrown over the horses and they are
fairly blue with cold from their ride in the
bitter wind, and hustle away to the fire.
Their faces are despatched with mud, and
one boy has E. bloody cash on his check,
where flying piece of Ice has struck him.
These Jockeys are delicately built lads.
and some of them already show the re-
suits of exposure and the hard life they
lead.
back to the eookmakers' booths. where the
placards for the next race are posted and
the betting begins again. Those who lost
are anxious to retrieve their misfortunes
by another trial. and those who won are
equally as eager to play. believing that
this Ii their lucky day, 10 that tho gam
bling fever Increases. and the crowd Ia now
more excited than ever.
Women Who Play the Races.
Como upstairs into tho grand stand and
sce another form OF tho gambling fever.
THIS IL where women play tho races.
There arc probably hundred or more In
tho place and they are all here to bot
money on tho horses. These uniformed
young mon. whom you SEQ moving about
In tho throng. take tho orders from the
women and from men who do not want TO
NO downstairs and place u with tho book.
makers on tho horses specified by tho bot
tors. IL In easy to nee that those women
are IA feverIsh for the play M tho mon,
Out there ~ something ropollant In their
ensernesJ. If you should come here ofton
you would sec the same female faces day
hrter day, Tor when woman becomes mn
ihveterate gambler sho IL more constant
to the passion than a man.
the AFTERNOON slips swiftly away and
che race" follows another In quick sue
cession. with the same scenes attending
each Toward ! o'clock II grows some
what dusky In the betting room and the
lamps arc lighted. The immense room Is
insufferatly hot now and foul with smoke
and the odor of the stable. but the 100
men who are wrestling with the book
makers do not mind IT, All they are mind
full OF are those rows of figures on the
blackboards. When the sun was Just Dip
ping behind the Virginia hills and REDEEM
Ing the western sky the last race was
called. 1t was pretty gray outside. but
that made no difference. 1t was still
light enough to distinguish the winning
horse when he crossed the line. and that
Is all that Is required. There was a bunch
Of good runners diminishing for position
around the starters flag. anxious to get
away.
A Enthusiastically Fatal.
Down dropped the flag and they were Off,
when suddenly one of the horses wheeled
around and collided with Keramas, who
went down on the frozen track with his
jockey, Boyle, underneath. The racers
dashed away, and the attendants rushed
forward to extricate the plucky boy from
the struggling animal. Both were hurt and
they carried the jockey off the track. Poor
little Boyle was a sorry sight, and was
Immediately carried away to Providence
Hospital, to recover or die, as may be,
while the horse will have to be shot to
put him out of his misery. Little heed did
the crowd pay to the accident, however,
the lucky ones were cashing their checks,
while the losers were too busy cursing
their luck to think of much else.
1t was full dark as the train load of men
rolled into the depot at 9th street. Truly,
1t was a day of noble sport.
Whine Oh the Island.
Just after the start Of a race at Alex
ander Island on Saturday Keramas fell
and kicked Jockey Boyle in the face. The
winners of the day were West Side, Billy
Boy, Farragut and Vestibule.