The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-11

dered and jostled into the betting ring.
1t wasn't long before / began to rub
berneck at the prices laid against the
horses on the bookies' blackbcards. AL
though I didn't know anything about
the nags then, | found out afterWard,
when had made study Of the game
and got little next to it, that this
race I made my first bet on was COM
posed of a cheap mess of IA selling
platers. They were at all kinds OF
prices, from to on to 100 to l against.
The latter price was laid about three
of EN-. I didn't exactly understand
what the 100 to l meant and so I asked
fellow standing near bv to explain it.
he looked me over out of the slants OF
his lamps, thinking, probably, that I
was stringing him. When he saw that
l was green one he told me that 100
to l meant that if a 100 to / shot won
that I had put a dollar on I'd be 500
ahead of the game. This looked oretty
good to me. I didn't know anything
about horse form or horse quality then.
and | thought that one of EN- had just
as much chance as another to win. So
l picked out the 100 to l shot whose
name liked best and elbowed my way
up to booky's stand to put a dollar
down on it, holding my $40 bill tightly
gripped in my hand. / passed the $40
up to the bookmaker-he went broke.
and has been dead 'un for a good
many years now-and said:
Give me a dollars worth of that
fourth horse from the top-that one
with the 100 to 1 chalked before his
name
. tThe booky looked down at me con-
fLemptuously, without accepting the ~
I proffefed him. and said:
'E don't want no dollar bets
We'll, this made me feel pretty cheap,
especially as all OF the ducks back OF
me, WAITING TO pass up their BUS ana
to be shown up in that public way. l
was Just as sore at that time TO be
mace LOOK IKE 81 cents as am to-day.
90 uld OIL OF llsntnlng thinking.
twenty pig bunch TO me. L thought,
ana We hao 10 mop out Oh ped at haif
past o CLOCK IN the morning TO go TO
meat n Market 5000 many tlmes TO get
IL tosether, put IL De hahseo IL m
gong no lel lnis lelio" get away WIN
MS lied u llahihs me looh Small even
II maven got sfoW on earth. SO
passed the Dill up 10 MN again, say
ing:
All rlgnt' there, bllifonalre. just
gimme szo worth OF mat 1oufth morse
from the Top with loo 10 chalkeu pc
iole ms laiile.
was cEagrlned 10 ma mat TINS
slrong play didn help me a little Dit.
Inc pooky only grlnned as ne chanted,
Two thousand dollars to S2o on the
lourth morse from the Top, ana the
chap tnat wrote me the ticket grlnned
pack at nlm, ana the crowd behlnd me
again gave me the morse moot loud ana
long continued. III pet was plushlng
on the oottom OF my rect When L
sHatcneu the ticket ana hurried away
chuckles OF the hot-iooklns members
ringing IN my ears. Wen, my morse
walked IN.
Wnen went TO cash my ticket Tor
Sz'ozo the pooky sized me up, with all
xmas OF "rath IN MS eyes.
sood makeup you We got Tor
Rube,' he said to me, You're good.
mats the most sclentl1lc commission
ef act I've seen pulled OIL up TO date,
1Jin,.a, ~, a. LIS saane e ~ s'iiee
~ NJ a;s,, I'm vas d IVY -olo
~ hlu" via. l!s was taihlile7
- Wy liii'0.toiiei Nas pa
',.a..s.. ny s.eiious ~ nheIpue
nasi soi,'s ~ ~ hliil put IL oii ille
a5e,n' atlu iihs ~ naFe uloNe nun
IdAs VII 'lie SioW silit ! sa'e iiaill'
a,e cfit i,t tile 1uhule % s1'o1G at me,
ahu JUS. "alAeu pach"afu Win IL III
my Names ana grlnnlns al NM he was
me nlaaaest looking man 1 ever saw,
pefore or SINCE. didn't go back to
my grocery Job, nor dld l mop IN ana
slough or my S2,o0o on game | didn't
know anything about. L didn't play
another horse that year, but went in
and made study of the game, going to
the track every day to see 'em run and
to think the whole institution over. 1t
has taken me all of the years that have
passed since to find out that the study
of horse racing don't amount to a row
of spuds, that study doesn't beat the
game. I simply had a series of lucky
plays after l figured it that / knew all
there was to be learned about horse
racing, and those plays put me on the
velvet I've had to a greater or less ey
tent ever since. don often NAV them
now-I've got a fairly nifty string. and
| run EN- and let the other fellows do
the guessing
..,y,, ,,
.,,t L. 80. my ~ stishhil's auoul Inns
US. pia u liliiie was letter re-
800, 1891 .ns o'i is Jay rom an owner,
N,o laclils nus strlns ooWn at new
Ca ,ans, ANY. 'ile VIII ol Ihat pug
49,, ~ rs 1 "a - ny otiier ods. me
p.'es .a,o "a asa,is. SoNlhstoh. ny, was
1,,, tyv ~ gnu me ralio rus III 'ile