The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-10-05
LONG SHOT WON IT
MIR. STREET RELATES SOME OF
HIS EXPERIENCES AT RACES.
HOW He MISSED MUCH MONEY
Drives a Livery Horse on a Trotting
Track and Comes Under
the Wire in the
Lead.

Perhaps there are some things I don't
Know about horse racing and there are
some things I may never learn" began
John Street at the Finlen this morning
I'm opening the subject to party of his
friends. II do know a few things how
long chances sometimes win out, how
ever" continued Mr. Street, '.and I don't
mind admitting that 1 once missed get
ting hold of snug little fortune by not
taking long chances. 1t was several years
ago that 1 had the experience and it was
at the Hawthorne race track in Chicago
that 1t happened. 1 went out ito the
races one afternoon with my wife and
INTENDED to put down a few dollars on
the ponies.
Among the horses set down was one
that was evidently not counted much of
a gOer and he was selling among the
bookies at 400 to /. OF course I never
thought of taking chance on him, but
my wife with some sort of an intuitive
tip that women seem to get at times de-
clared that the money would be we'll
placed If the long shot were played, and
insisted that I should put couple of
stand where the bookies were doing bus
mess to please my wife by putting a cou-
pie on the long shot. On the way down
the steps I met an old friend who was
perennially broke and constant Dor
rover. He fell into line with me as soon
ats he spied me, and knew he was spar
ring for an opening to touch me. had
no change in my pocket, and so If I
went up to play the horse would have
to pull out bill and have no excuse for
not loanHg money to my friend, who
was sticking to me like leach.
Il was counting, you see, that If I
played that horse 1 would be 81 to the
had anyhow and did not care about put
ting any more money down where 1 was
sure I would never see it again. The
consequence was that a bookie did not
get my investment on the long shot and
I did not loan the fellow who was with
me any cash. told him that had con-
cluded not to play at all, and left him
to go back to my wife on the grand
stand. There was big crowd on the
stairway and by the time I got back to
my seat the horses were just finishing
the race on which had intended to play
You may imagine my surprise when
saw that the long shot was coming in
two lengths ahead. My wife jumped up
and clapped her hands into which she
thought eight hundred was coming just
as soon as I could get downstairs to COL
lect it. I did not relish the job of telling
her that had not played the horse, but
it had to be done. She did not say much
when she found out she had not won a
cent and she did not say much to me for
three days afterwards. Women may not
be the best judges of horseflesh always.
but there is enc woman in this world
who can always get me to play the horse
she picks out when we go to race. She
is the Same woman who did not win
on the long shot at Hawthorne.
II had another experience with a very
dark horse in a race, and this time
will not locate the track where it hap
pened but there may be some people
who don't live a hundred miles away
from Butte who may recall something In
regard to the affair. One afternoon when
I happened to he In a city near which
there were some races friend OF mine
and myself hired a livery rig and drove
out to the track. On the way out the Old
horse we had between the shafts showed
that he could go a little, and when we
got out to the races we decided to put
the old fellow into race. or course 1t
was a little Irregular to take horse out
and put him into the race m that way,
but there was no one keeping very
strict tab en- things, and so we thought
we would try it just for fun The livery
nag was hooked to pneumatic tire sui
XIV and trotted out before the grand
stand. I was doing the driving. The
charger lined up pretty well and we mad
given him the name Of Hickory Nut, so
tod i
him a whirl around the track to warm
him up. and all the time he was showing
nm we'll and 1 was having lot OF fun
ont of the affair, especially as l had
never pulled a line over race horse pe-
fore.
'.Finally I got my charger into the
bunch of horses that We're to trot Tor
the money and the signal was gwen tor
us to go. 1 spoke to Dobin and he re-
sponded like the true track horse l hopeu
he would be- For the first quarter there
were two otheH that drove ahead OF me,
Int before we reached the half-mile line
T was crowding the lead horse with only
about half a length against me. About
the time we reached the three-quarter
line I passed to the lead and held 1t
we'll afterwards. In the stretch they
gave me some pretty hard work to keep
Dobin interested in the swift game that
was lasting for full mile, but 1 coaxed
him to hold his place and went under
the wire leader by more than full
length.
NATURALLY as soon as I had won the
race there were inquiries about where
Hickory Nut came from, who owned him
and all that sort Of thing. I did the best
1 could to square myself with the horse
men who crowded about me, and my
friend who had come out to the track
with, appeared as the one spectator who
knew anything about the horse. AS
neither my friend nor myself knew much
about horses, and as we had not agreed
on any story to tell in case we had luck
with old Dobin. the horse-men soon got
onto us, and there was roar about the