Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-25
SEEN AT THE RACES
Interesting People Who Watch the
Horses Run Around,
ONE WOMAN WH0 Wins Big MONEY
Amateurs Who Think They Know
All About Form.
SCENES IN THE PADDOCK

= one or the fixtures in the grand stand
AT the Bcuniug race track. She is there
ever dav. storm Of calm. Nobody knows
anything about her. except that she APP
pears To get the money with remarkable
regularity. The cid lady cannot be less
than ~fxJy-perhaps sixty-five. Her old
black dress is a frayed frazzled-looking
affair and her general exterior bespeaks
poverty One might suppose Ler to be the
prrpVietr"Ss of an exceedingly tiny toy
shop. dependent for its support upon the
hari-bagged pennies Of poor children in a
~qUalid district. Or she might be taken for
al emiuentIy respectable charwOman.
grown OLD in toll. but she's neither the
one nor the other. SHe's a pluuger. She
bets big money on the running OF thorough
pred horses, anu sac wins o1tener than
~l" loses. She seems 10 have a mastery of
the intrIsaCIes of the game. She arrives on
me stand hall an hour or so before the
holiday makers begin 10 get there. and she
takes corner seal ana gets cut her dope
book dope book j. collection Of charts
indicating the form of horseS-how they
ran IN their previous races. what WeigntS
they carried. what jockeys rode them, and
80 on. With pencil and a pad this queer
Old Lady goes over the dope book and does
body.
When The horses are brought out to the
track by stable boys Tor their warming-tip
gaUupS. the old lady pushes her Sp-ctacIes
BACK on her forehead and watches them
ShTeWdiy and critically as they hy around
the trsck-wa tcheS them with the general
manner "t one w--D knows a horse and
morse points and condition. When the
betting begins, a runner for enc or other of
ths p'pknakers appears in the stand and
s"-> 20 the old lady first. The runner
bends over her, and sne tells HIM her seleC-
ton III an iuaudIbIe tone, at the same time
GIVING into the money SaJchel suspended
tF"Ea her belt beutdIh her shawl She
NaHaS him scIne bills and The runner scrib-
Dies a 4rN notes. 81 h. oil
-.-ay closely you viii perceive that four
times "ut # five the boukmGker's runner
returns tv her after The race with her in
Fe-IiAel-t' together with her winnings The
3A} t"AlS pf the grand stand occasionally
~ Up {" 'GS old lazy and earnestly whis-
per H-Ws Of some good thing" in her car
HhS snakes her mead and waves them
away II Is an Incoagru5us thing 20 see an
Ola itiE IN stay shawl ard = ,ppy-orra-
5ntnjsd bonnet ing the races" 1t
Would be simply sau il. in a0,ltiun she
lost But every evening when she comes
H"aE from the track her Sc tchei is stuffed
~" FLs, and il Is difieuh. therefore. to
is own reward.
Not What He seems.
So The young man with the projecting
ears I'm the tan paddock coat, the tau-tn-
c.,S'a hslI glasses slUus over his shoulder
tie aar-togped tan derby, the tan shoes
the taa gloves and the turned-up tan
trousers He walks around the sracs il,
mont u the grand stand, not airiIy bu+
s'Gol'lisIy- The men in the grand stand
luiul nm out as WilHe-bOy. The ladies
IN the grand stand declare unto each other
mat ne - too perfectly cute and lovely for
at 'Hlcz. and that he locks as If he might
dance well
I pose one man in the stand saws TO
another. that that little whIppor-snapper
with tho tan toys thinks he knows the Diff
ference between race horse and BUCKET
Il -t rh.a yV4y h.
down there: but III bet ne knows more
about doyiiesH
After a while. however, when the space
in 'front.' of the grand stand begins to fU
up. the critics OF the tan-clad Young man
with the projecting ears observe that lot
or ViSe-looking men, many Of them recog-
hlzed as turfmen, eHdeavOr TO engage the
young man in conversation. and that only
few OF them succeed. the young man not
seeming to be addicted to conversation.
The tan-togged young man with the pro-
yecIng ears is not a Willie-bOy: he only
looks like one. considered from the sar-
tortal point of view. He has a puCkered
ca!efIliy-shaven face and shrewd gray
eyes. He Is owner of thoroughbred
race horses by Inheritance and acquisition
and what he does not know about a race
horse from muzzle u fetIOck Isn't con-
ts!ned in the pages Of any turf guide now
published.
on a race course it is not always wise to
jump a. conclusions.
Puzzles others Also
Didn't You faithfully promise me you'd
play the Duke Of Mlddloburg?' the mans
wife asks him reproachfuuy-she has a
front seat In The stand. and she looks very
wise indeed.
"Hu,, my dear" the man patiently ex-
plains. The Duke of MiddIebure's price is
! 70 10"
Wei. isn't that enough?" she inquiries
wonderinEly- You put up one dollar and
wiz ten, don't your
The man feels of his fevered brow. but
he Is patient
oh. no he says. You put up ten dol
lars tn win one"
Why. the impudent thlngs.'' exclaims
lis WIFE. DO they think We are a pack Of
stiles. Who ever heard Of such d thing"
II Is 50 hard for the feminine mind to
grasp the difference between odds on and
odds against
Patois OF the Paddock.
TIC men who rush around the paddock
be-we races are interesting The horses
tha' are to race are being walked around
the nEIl-r!ug by stable hands. The brutes
are hLutered and swaddied like 50 many
prirrS dpunas- The stable hands leading
them carry the program numbers of the
horses In their hands. so that the paddock
visitors may identify them by reference to
their programs. The casual race visitors
stand around, deep, willy wisdom writ I'm
every nneament OF their faces sizing up
the horses 1t would be imagined from
their thoughtful expressions that their
whole lives had been spent IN the study of
the running thoroughbred They say
things unto each other.
Looks a bit high in flesh. that one hey?"
All Juckered up and drawn. that ally.
don't you think so?''
81 don't Ike the looks Of that ones right
I.l..e
THAT old gelding looks too light to BE-
good iu heavy going like this
III bet that one Is short Of work, all
right
There's one thatn win as soon as he
gNrs guud
"Ila, there's the boy for my dough.
Looks eight on edge
There's another one that's trained to
-I- minute
Notorious HoodooS.
in-| seems like terrific wisdom to be dis
I.ayet by folks who only go 10 the races
about four times a year, does it not? But
the patOis Of the paddock is easily picked
up ana II Is the proper kink 10 use the
paiois or the paddock. The turfmen and
stable hands who are in the know stand
about IN the paddock In their sweaters