The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-07-15
NEWS and GOSSIP
OF THE H0RSEMEN.
Bookmakers at Delmar Park Make
Betting Impossible by Refusing
Money on Horse With Chance.
JOCKEYS ARE RIDING WELL.

O'Brien, O'Neill, Dale and Gill
more Have Been Doing Very
Good Work-Maximu Has
Shown Himself Worthy.
1t Is not very easy matter TO find taui'
with the racing at Delmar Park. ana IL
seems excessive hypercriticism to go out o,
the way to do so. This becomes especially
apparent when, to find one fault. one must
really go outside of racing proper and 30
into its nasty appendix-the betting ring, for
the existence of which there is no right or
excuse.
The writer does not believe in the associa-
ton OF betting with racing or any acknowi-
edgment of its existence in any form. Ac-
coriins to my idea. racing is not meant 10
furnish means Of gambling. but to decloe
the relative merits Of certain horses unoer
certain conditions. OF course he would neeo
be an idiot to deny that betting Is really
racing as it exists in America to-day. But
right is might and no sportsman can anoro
to hold any but the highest ideals OF sport.
No matter what convenience gamblers or
others may make Of sport for time right
will finally prevail and the high principles
on which all sport Is. or originally was
based. will eventually triumph or sport will
die. Racing as 1t at present exists cannot
endure. 1t Is erected on a false basis. and
will surely tumble sooner or later
But to return to our mutton and to the
faults to be found by the hypercriticial at
Delmar Park. This search for wrongfulness
leads US to the den of the money changers-
the betting ring.
Probably the poorest lot Of bookmakers
that ever got together in a ring are operat-
ing at Delmar Park-not the tightest or the
cheapest. but the worst With unlimited
chances to make money they have not made
any. They cannot make money because
they will not take money. In the last week
the writer has seen bookmakers at Delmar
Park refuse thousands Of dollars that they
would have kept had they the sense, the
nerve or the capital to take 1t.
They are a funny set. Though paying $50
q day for the privilege of doing business
they will refuse to take in enough money to
Jay clerk hire unless they know the race
is I'm. and that they can get sure money
at short price. Then they cannot get a
play, and begin denouncing the public and
am not defending the game in St. Louis
or elsewhere. that Is. the ring part OF 1t.
but It ID a fact that no people could be good
bettors against the kind Of bookmaking that
IL done at Delmar Park.
OF course, the bookmakers really hurt
themselves more than they do any one else.
They seem like ffth-rate men in their busi-
the iirst principles OF bookmaking and
there II not one In ten OF them that would
make q decent patch on gamblers work
ing coat.
Take. for instance. the sixth race at Del
mar Park on Saturday. hummer was q
that his previous race saw him easily beaten
by Wei Vance, and her previous race saw
her quite as easily beaten by Tom Collins.
OF weight and riders similar TO those under
which they had met before. General Nc.
Gruder was also in the race. and he figured
dollar on hummer. l saw Curly Brown
try to bet 800 in eight books before he got
the sns thew on II ngiaF to hS
.'ducking'' Of money might Be all right. AS
it was hummer looked like an S-to-5 shot.
no6o on him. In : for it was a race that any Of
the four horses in It might win, and Bum
mer had the worst boy Of the lot on him.
money on on BSmmer they began 10 take
shots at Tom Collins, and backed him down
from Is to to to L The ring took a bar
saw him beat Vici vance badly. and she
beat Bummsr quite as badly inthe race
succeeding the one IN which Coliins oeat
her.
OF course Tom Collins won and the real
HOLSTERS In the ring began to cry fraud"
where fraud did not exist; Collins's pre-
him q right to win. II the 'bawling" book
makers had made book like men and not
won 5000 on the race instead 0 OF losing
$1,000 to It in spite Of the public effort to
Then there IL the other story Of how they
all refused 10 take money on A. d. Gibson
at to s, and how some men in desperation
went and bet on Tom Collins at TO and
Collins won. while Gibson was nowhere.
The bookmakers at Delmar are the big
gest knock to their own game St. Louis has
eyer eve hnoT ,S.. There , are ass two men in
are Barney Schneider and Herman Hoft-
man. These men try 10 make book, but,
sns frae acton they merit t'es cannot nave
Delmar Park is a beautiful track. is ad-
mirably located and managed. and its rae
class. But that ever whining, ever losing.
long for the days when Marcus Carfwrie t.
c. A. TILES. Sam Adler and Virginia Car
roll used to do business at st. Louis tracks.
In those days man could bet SO at to
without out, , waiting for the bioekman to CON
suit the ehoestring hacker Of the book
The county fair circuit is not far on, and
enough of s1s small y 1o ST. S oss
make room for full blown bookmakers.
All the boys riding at Delmar Park COM
plain of what they call the dip in the
back stretch. This dip is soft and decp
spot In the track lust between the Ave-
eighth and half-mile poles. 1t is caused by
the loose earth which was graded up OF,
the track failing to pack. Many horses
strike this spot and not only lose ground
but their stride also. Coming of a fast
track onto a slow one is enough to throw
any horse out of gear.
Houck rode Peaceful in sprint one day
and lost a lot Of ground there. Lindsay,
who rode Meddlesome on Saturday also
complained of It. He said his horse would
have won had he not struck this din and
been thrown completely out of his stride
Il never could get him going again." said
Lindsay.
Another thing Is plain about the track at
Delmar Park This Is that 1t is q good one
Tor mud horse no matter how dry the
weather Is When Lomond won on Satur-
day., Billy Magrane said: "Well, certainly
did not expect such race out OF him. He
has two bad ring bones and on a hard track
The track to-day must be soft and cush-
toned even II 1t has not had rain for a
month" And right after that Tom Collins
came along and won. With the lesson OF
Lomond's victory In their eyes the books
laid 10 to against him.
We thought we had a pretty lot OF 2-year.
olds about ST. Louis this spring, but tbs
best Helen Print and Flora Pomona can de-
In Chicago is to finish one, two, last; arlt
they were about the best OF the st. Louii
1illies.