The San Francisco call., 1898-07-29
At Harlem the winning horses and

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 From the foregoing it will be seen that in only two instances were the Sausalito odSs better than the average at the track, and in these the increase was trifling. The favored horses were Lord Neville and Pinochle. Aside from these exceptions, In almost every in stance the odds were shaved. Oh long-priced horses the reduction was generally 50 per cent; on those better liked by the talent it ran from 10 to 40 per cent.
 When Eddie Jones landed Leo Lake a winner in the first race at Brighton Beach his packers, who, instead or herding in a crowded, smoke-be1ouled room to hear the telegraph operator monotonously call off the positions Of the horses in the race as they were ticked off by his instrument, were com fortably enSconced in the open air, with beautiful surroundings and an eXhllar- ating view of the actual contest or speed, drew down S20 for each Sl they turned in to the 'bookies." The un- fortunates who are growing "poolroom faces" across the bay got but half as much-that Is, if they were lucky enough or shrewd enough to have had a bet on Leo Lake.
 Now, the regulars know-or ought to knoW-that at the best the percentage Is always on the side of the oook- maker Occasionally, they may corner a Barney Schreiber-sometlmeS called a Dutch-by playing the several horses in different books, in cases where cer- tain bookmakers are laying against certain horses But the individual layer of odds Is seldom caught mapping. The best of the argument is always the one he advances.
 To begin with, the bookmaker on a middle Western or California track starts the day $50 loser, that sum rep resenting the amount he pays the track management and the salaries of his crew. This he has to recover on the five or six races carded for the day, and, as he usually is thrifty fellow, he takes home a trifie besides. If he makes book on a strict percentage basis, he is certain winner ii the play is reasonably heavy. There is no ele- ment of chance about his end of the transaction when taking in the coin of the bettor Ellie Perles, who is said to juggle with figures as monkey does with a cocoanut has been known to work out his percentages with such nicety that at the end of the day the amount mills of what it ought to have been were the man on the block striving to win only a certain percentage. Many of the bookmakers gamble frequently themselves, by laying against certain horses and taking all the money they can get, or by holding out others, losing if their choice loses This gives the track bettors an advantage over their poolroom fellows, for they profit when a bookmaker lunches the price, while the poolroom operator never 'hunches'' anything except the credul- ity of the lambs whose fleece is des- tined to become "hisn."
 The poolroom "Soapy' Smith pays to the telegraph company $20 day for each track from which the results are received, and his other expenses amount to $50 or $60 a day, making the total something over $100, not includ- ing side issues in the way of itching of ficial palms that have to be scratched. The figures of the latter item are sel- dom made public. All told, his ex- penses are certainly less than those of the sellers at the race track; and yet he finds it necessary to reduce from 10 to 50 per cent the odds offered by the man at the course before the profits are sufficiently large to satisfy his thrift. He is not content to lay average track prices, minus the occasional upward fluctuations which in the betting ring cause speculators to lose their dignity and scramble like women at a bargain counter. He is not aYerse to making 25 per cent book, and has been known to levy 50 per cent, paying out but $10 for every $20 wagered with him. When it is known that the patronage of each of the SauSalito rooms is at least equal to that of individual bookmakers at the racetrack the extent of their pro- fits may be surmised. Verify, the pool room game Is like that of the shells and the pea: when the farmer looks for his returns they are not there.
 The poolroom proprietor Is a humor- ist and has little joke of his own that he springs before each race. In one column on his board he marks the odds as they come by telegraph, and in an- other column he posts those he offers the latter beinP slight advance over . the former, which are styled the track odds. Whether it Is expected that this really deceives his patrons is a matter of conjecture. AS a matter of fact the odds telegraphed from the track are always reduced from 15 to 50 per cent, and sometimes more from those actually offered by track book makers This is apparent when it is considered that even after elevating the figures, the poolroom three-shell man is away under legitimate prices.
 In its sporting column The Call each morning hereafter will give the figures posted against the placed horses at the leading tracks, and if the object lesson leads one forlorn speculator to see the error of his ways and cease contribut- ing his tithe to the wolves and the JackalS of SauSaltto, it's labor will not have been in vain.