The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-07

business Of chasing Mistress Fortune u
rh- betting ring should Re supersti-i5us,
says a. New York correspondent
It IS an odd fact that nearly every one
T OF the big bettors. professionals and anna
Celrs. who frequent the large race tracks
alol- She metropolis have queer ways OF
T counting the favor VI tie goddess ~ Che
betting ring Even miiionlires are not
exempt. although ID makes no earthly off
f ference TO them In the end whether tn-y
win or lose There is William x. Wander
5ilt father Of the Duchess Of Mari3o-
rough. for instance. He is regular at
PENDANT II I'm of The big races ana never
I wIgers more than 500 on s.ns.e race.
III he lost this sum on ctcl u l-- s-A
races daily. every day IN the year, ne
would regard the amusement as cheap
but he IS too mucl az a = -s-ntA " pc
content with losing. Ar- aA4eto-l- > li-
come from his eighty-o4l mliI4ol- = us Z!
is TO him what 1--WE or ten-cent wager
is TO tns ordinary man
Yet ar Vanderbilt puts hinse Ell 10 some
inconvenience when he makes a wager
His idea of a hO0loO Is 70 tax 10 any one
after the horses have faced the starter az
the post He usually picks a secludel
su0r In front Of the members stand and
watches the race in silence. II the
horses and jockeys are not fracuous ana
the start is made in a short time, 10 is as
easy thing for Mr. Vanderbilt TO ward on
the hoOdOO. But in a race that taxes
twenty or thirty minutes TO make the
start ID is quite a difficult matter Tor him
to ward OF his enemy. Some one is sure
TO stroll his way ana engage MN IN con-
VersatiOn. II is contrary 10 human ma
ture to be on speaking terms with a v ah-
dcrbut and not let him know you are Nv
ing when you see him. For this reason
Mr. Vanderbilt Is certain TO be Overtaketi
by many g0ssipers. or course, he ls
never impolite enough TO avoid an ac-
duaintanCe. He takes his medicine in good
humor and tries again on the next race.
His secret leaked out on the first day
Of the Morris park meeting. After the
second race he walked toward a group o.
friends ON the clubhouse steps, and one
Of them said
Ibid YOU win, Vanderbilt"
NO: that chap who talked to me during
the race cost me 500. ] had 500 on that
4 70 ] horse. but / can never win when
any one talks TO me.
II was great blunder for the million
aire to confess his weakness. His friends
have taken advantage Of IL, and Wnea-
ever a race Is on one of them viii say;
watch me make Vanderbilt lose his
hundred" Then he goes over and insists
upon talking to the victim.
Riley Grammar is naturally supersttious
and his hindOo has taken an odd form.
AS the greatest plunger on the American
turf to-day, Grammar has naturally pro-
voked much criticism by the shabby
clothes. Strangers who see him for the
first time are disappointed. They expect
TO see a man almost covered with flash
ing diamonds and with taultlessly fitting
II stead they see a man whose complete
raiment would not bring at public auction
SL2j.
Grammar has been joked a good deal
about mis- clothes. one day he explained
the mystery in this way:
you fellows can laugh al you please,
but I can't AFFORD to wear good clothes
Yes that's what / mean. can't afford
IL. Why. one day after l had made a
pretty fair winning | thought I would be
a dude / bought a So suit of clothes, an
spent $l20 for six suits Of silk underwear.
1 bought a half dozen pair of silk socks
for SIS and paid $500 for diamond scarf
pin. Then I paid Sl20 for a gallus watch
chain and Sl75 more FOX a pair of diamond
sleeve buttons ] didn't need a watch. as
low leather case for my field glasses The
case had my initials in sterling silver and
a big shoulder strap with a silver buckle
! paid IS for two pairs of yellow kid gloves
I must have, spent thousand that night
/ took a Turkish bath and the next morn
ing put on all the stuff That day / lost
got to the track. When I got BACK back 70
the city that night / gave away an the
dude things except the diamonds And
got a loan on them. No, sir. I womb
| rather be lucky and look like a Wanderine
/ willy than unlucky and look like a dude.
/ If it hadn't been for those dude clothes
| I might have won million that day."
George +. Smith, better known as
/ "Pittsburg Phil the immediate prede-
]
/ ing business, has very mild superstitio9s
/ for a man who makes such big bets. he
! is hard-headed and practical In every
! thing, and believes that success in t6a
| betting ring does not depend upOn lucl,
! but upon knowledge, Industry and a mi,
! mute acquaintance with all the conditions
| governing a race. Smith for many wears
| was the leader of the rail BIRDS The
| latter are the men who hug the rail and
/ watch the horses al work early in the
| morning, and in the limbering up GALLONS
! afternoon. hata
| on the form shown by the racers and
| relies absolutely on his own Judgment
/ as TO whether a horse is in winning form
His favorite position during a race is
| just to the left of the judges stand
| Standing close to the rail- ne has almost
az good a view Of the race as the Judges
| Long experience has given him the fac.
| ulty of watching and noting the work
| of each horse in the race. He has a fine
| memory, and, although forty fifty and
sometimes sixty horses may compete dur.
ing the afternoon, nothing escapes him
about their individual work. Horses thai
finish in the ruck, and which are ignored
/ by the average bettor are remem bered by
Smith, and generally before the season
closes he makes a big haul on them. II,
knows when they are ripe and when tht
conditions Of the race should suit them
Smith always wears an emerald pin in
his scarf and his friends say that he in
Variably rubs it with his hand before :
race. Whether he does il for mascot pur
poses is a question.
Fat Sheedy, the biggest gambler of then
]
tracks, and that is to bet every cent ht
has in the world at one time Pat hai
the greatest contempt for what he call!
door mat" gamblers-that Is, the it'll,
/ bettors who dribble out their money il
many bets. Sheedy glories in the reputa
ton of being broke oftener than any othe
professional gambler living He is in deb
nine days out of ten, but long experienc,
has taught him that sooner or later for
| tune must come his way, and when sh,
does she comes heavily laden. Then tn,
nrst thing he does is to pay off his debts
II he wins two or three times in success
sion he has The wealth of a gold mine Hi
credit is seemingly endless, for the sim
pie reason that he has never yet failed Il
make good
Mike Dwyer, the man who bets $1,000
to win $1,000, has one of the old-fashione,
| copper pennies as big as a silver hal
| dollar, which he treasures as a mascot
During a race he always holds this in hi
hand to WOO the tickle goddess. One o
his friends laughingly offered Dwye
! $1,000 for the copper cent, but the offe
was seriously declined.
! The bettOrs who rub the defOrmity of 4
hunchback and who almost faint at tn
/ sight OF funeral when on their way L
the track are legion. Women bettors ar
more superstitious than men, and L
chronicle all of their idiOsyncrasies woul,
/ be a task Of vast magnitude.