The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-04-15
DAYS Of BIG BETS PAST
WAGERS OF PRESENT TRIVIAL.
COMPARED WITH THOSE OF A
GENERATION AGO
AN ARMY OF SMALL BETToRs
Books Are Conducted Now on Such n
Tight System of Percentage That
Loss Is Impossible for tho
ROokmaker.

The kind of interest displayed in a bet
made recently in a Chicago future book.
when James O'Leary, the bookma6er, Of
fered odds of LOCO to l against the FLY
elena In the American Derby of this
year and accepted a bet of $50 from
Harry Hughes, of Chicago, at that fig
IRE, seems to indicate that the day OF
heavy wagering on sporting events is
passing away. And this in face of the de-
ports from England and the East con-
corning the gambling operations Of some
few persons
Had the above bet been given promi-
hence on account of the odds offered,
the matter could be readily understood.
But the general impression seems to pre-
vail that OIeary has shown himself a
man of unparalleled audacity IN taking
racing risks, and that he should be men,
toned on q par with heavy bettorS OF
former days In reality he has done little
more than make freak wager which
may possibly result in financial disaster
to himself. although the odds are prob
ably one hundred thousand to one against
such a thing.
With the statement that this bet seems
to Indicate the passing away of the
heavy wager. must be placed the adnlis,
sion that the plungers of today operate
on a far more extensive scale than those
of any previous generation, says the St.
a
age. when a thing is done at all 1t is
done handsomely, and this applies to
plungers as we'll as to spectators in the
various markets. But the real plunger
on the turf today IS a rarity whereas, If
we are to believe the reports of the time.
previous generations saw whole tribes
OF plungers in every species of gaming.
The heavy plUngers en- sporting events
today are indeed few. Riley Grammar
Geo. E Smith. Steve L'Hommedieu and
one or two California celebrities. about
complete the list of professionals on rae
irg speculation, while the amateur Gle
ment is represented by a few multi
millionaires to whom thousand dollars
are of less moment than a dollar to most
persons. There appears to be a slightly
heavier percentage OF gamesters worthy
of the name among the English nobility
but some OF those gentry have more
money than they can spend, anyway, and
deserve no credit as plungers for vast
ing their surplus IN that manner.
DECADENCE OF THE PLUNGEPS
The sure-tning gamblers of the Fast,
who have killed boxing in New York,
and the strangle-hoId boEamakers of the
Eastern tracks, cannot be classed in the
list with the gamblers of old time, be-
cause the old-time bookmaker OCCASION
ally took a risk, to Judge from all ac-
conducted on a tight system of percen-
tage that loss is impossible for the hook
maker-certainIy the same names crop
up year after year in the ring with never
break to Indicate that their owners
ever go broke
Neither can the fact that there is a
heavier general play to3ay than ever
before be used as IN argument IN favor
Of the statement that heavy gambling is
more general than formerly There are
ten persons who bet on the races nova
days for every one person who bet or
them twenty years ago, but the size of
the bets today is immensely inferior to
that OF previous years. 1t is the 50 bet
tor who chardcterizes the turf and every
other form Of sport, not the plurz,cr.
To judge from accounts of a century
ago, the young bleods of England would
play at Waitress and other resorts IN
London for sums which are -stupefying
In magnitude; the average English squire
existed merely to hunt and gamble. and
plung1ug on sporting events of all sorts
was then the rule rather than the excep-
ton among the gentry generally
Authentic accounts are handed down
of the heavy gambling which was in
oulsed In by many of the southern plant
ers in, the steamboat days before the
Civil war. Gambling was then considered
was the rule rather than the exception
In James Buchanan's term as president,
especially in the year 1857, gambling was
Widely carried on in Washington, PFafla-
oelphia ard many other cities Of the
east. in Washington it was favored
form of amusement with the senators
and visitors from the south
MASS OF SMALL BETToRs GROWS.
Nowadays heavy play by individuals is
the exception The professional pIunger
does not represent a distinctive class to-
day as did the heavy bettor of a genera
ton ago, but instead, he stands by him
self as Spectator, who is doomed
sooner or later to go to the wall.
Individual heavy bettors still exist. hut
they do not represent a class. Riley
Grammar, Pittsburg Phil and Steve
J. Hommedieu still furnish sensational
items by their plungfng operations or by
going broke, as Grammar has done sew
eral times. but even these men seem TO
depend more on small and steady wagers
than on wild plunges.
The last case OF a meteoric bid for
fortune, and one which is really worthy
to live in turf history, Is the case Of
Grammar on September Is. 1894. when
Domino and Henry of Navarro ran their
famous match race at the BROOKLYN race
track No report is on record of a book
being operated on the extensive scale
that Grammar conducted his that day,
nor has any one ever shown willing
ness to go the lengths he did on that
occasion.
The race in question was at a mile and
an eighth. and both horses were 3-year.
olds. Domino was owned by the Keenes
and ridden by Taral, while Henry of Ma
varre was owned by Byron McClelland
and ridden by Doggett From the time
the horses were matched it was rec
ognlzed that the race would result in
unusually heavy betting, but no sensation
of the sort that Grammar furnished was
expected.
Previous to this occasion Grammar had
attracted attention from his success in
picking winners, and the day was his