Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-26
COULD RUN IN A RAIN

| Il noticed. IN reading the results on other
! tracks this morning. said one of the book
| makers drawing in out at the Benning
| course, in conversation with a party of
turtles a few evenings ago, that that old
| plug Shieldbearer won race at long odds
at Nashville yesterday. ShieIdbearer cost
| three or four of US who We're booking at the
| st. Louis track at the opening of the spring
racing this year from 5000 to $1,000 apiece.
l myself was had for the latter figure.
Yet cant see that any Of US were at all
to blame in writing the figure we did
| Shieldbearer. But the way it came out like
to have got my nerve for fair.
| Il had seen Shieldbearer jogging around
| in the ruck of his fields ever since he was a
! two-year-old and he's now a member OF
| the aged division. He never of much
account. | had never lost a dollar in laying
| any old price against him until this occa-
ston The reason that We lost him SO
| heavily on the spring race at St Louis was
because We had all long ceased to dope up
on Shieldbearer. his performances were so
uniformly bad, and we quite overlooked the
| fact that he came of breed of 'mudders.'
| He had always done better on sloppy tracks
| ,sIa1 in fast going. We forgot about that
| however, il. making him the rank outsider
III the race I'm going to tell you about.
| But. even had we remembered it. 1t
| wouldn't have done US any good for the
| track didn't get muddy until the horses
! went to the post for the race.
There were sixteen entries in the race
ana they all went to the post. Some of the
lot We're corkers-stake winners out there
and We held them at short prices-one even
money favCrite, couple of 5 to shots
| then take your pick out of three or four :,
to chances, and the rest ranging from ID
! to up to 500 to /. which We all laid against
the rancid outsider, Shieldbearer. 1t was
! the third race the card and the weather
at the opening 81 the days game had been
beautiful and surshiny. the first two races
having been run on lightning fast track
AT the time We opened our books on the
| third race the sun still shone, but a big
| black cloud was rolling from out of the
west. We noticed that it got dark in the
| betting ring with good deal Of sudden
| ness, but We were too busy taking in money
| on the favorfte and second choices to figure
| on rain before the race was started Before
| that big black cloud slid over the face of
| the sun party of four seedy-Iooking
| young chaps pikers of low degree by their
| appearance. but yet form players. as l
afterWard found out to my cost, came up to
| my stand and each of 'em put s. down on
! Shieldbearer to win at odds of 500 to l.
| That sort of startled me. I became aware
| OF the increasing darkness in the betting
| ring. and l suddenly reflected that in case
| the rain started before the horses were Oh
| in the race Shieldbearer might not be such
| a rank bad proposition, after all, old and
purchased as he was. So l Immediately
| '1uthed' my slate to 30 to 1, leaving two or
three others as the unnibbled outsiders.
| Those same four boys had meanwhile edged
| around and put down a few dollars each
with the other layers at the same odds l
had given them. | am confident that they
| weren't simply taking long chance for the
| fun of the thing. They didn't look like
| young fellows that had money to burn I'D
| on long shots. They had simply noted the
| progress of that big black cloud toward the
track, and they took chance on it's hitting
the course before the horses were off; II
| the rain did come they knew that Shield
| bearer had a chance. for all four of em
| had dope books ciutched in their hands
ana they Were form players.
| Well when the horses went to the post
| that whirims black cloud-it had turned
In color to a sort of mixed green and yell
| ioW-was right overhead and the field had
hardly lined up at the barrier before the
storm came along. 1t blew great guns for
| two or three minutes. Then the wind sud
| denly ceased, and the rain began to come
| down. 1t was the thckest rain ] ever
one of these tropical rain storms that
| you read about. 1t came down in sheets
so that you could hardly see the horses
| prancing before the barrier right in front
| Of the stand. The track was sea o. mud
| IN ne time at all But the starter kept at
| his work, and, after couple of false starts
| the horses got away. I could just make out
| that Shieldbearer-of whom, and the bets
! | had on him on my sheet I had been
| thinking a good deal since the rain started
was away a bad last-practically left at
| the post-and then the horses disappeared
around the first turn in the binding rain
|
! start on account of the rain, which con-
| tinued to come down in torrents Every
| body in the stand settled back to wait for
| the horses to come around to the finishing
| post.
! We'll. of course, you all remember what
J happened. Sheldbearer came in all alone
With a stable boy on his back and after
| having been left at the post, to all intents
| and purposes Shieldbearer walked in. eat
| ing peanuts down the stretch as they saw
| all by himself. He just emerged from the
sheets OF rain unaccompa MED. and gallop-
| ing easily. We at first thought all the rest
| of the horses had got mixed up and fallen
| down. or been struck by lightning OF some
thing-but. no, they came up, after awhile
about half a furlong back Of Sheidbearer
and all strung out. We couldn't any of MS
make out Shieidbearer'S number when he
| Just cantered in, but those four young fell
| lows made out his number all right They
| We're right behind me.
-" 'Shieidhearer! they howled. Why sure,
| Why, certainly! Nothing to it but Shield
| bearerr
| What the dickens is the name of that
| horse" asked a thousand people in the
stand. Then the cry went up:
" 'Shieldbearer, at 500 to /"
| Now, | don't suppose any of US belongs
| to the sentimental lot, and the stand was
| packed and jammed with people who had
their money down on the favorite. but
when old Shiedbearer came caperfng back
| to the post, covered with the mud that he
| had had to take in the early stages of the
race, you ought 10 nave heard the hand
| they gave the fine, game old nag for his
| gallant performance! The crowd just stood
| up and yelled for Shiedbearer and the old
horse seemed to understand that he was
| getting an ovation, for he pricked his ears
| forward and danced around in front of the
| judges stand in great style, like as if he
were a two-year-Old.
! I paid out to the four crafty youths the
$4,000 worth of Shieldbearer that | had
| taken, as did the other few layers who had
been hit the same way; but after that
when the betting ring began to get dark and
when the betting on opened [ got
| into the habit of looking over the entries
with eye for the 'mudders' and | didn't
get caught that way again.
The Safe Side.
From Til-Bits.
Signor Scarem, the noted wild animal
tanner, had put his trained tigers through
their tricks. He had driven them round
and round their cage. and they had
nod tn,