Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-03-29
PICKING TIE WINNERS

whats the matter with our going out
to the races this afternoon?" suggested, on
| the day the Benning meeting began, a more
| or less sporty Washington man to q boy
hood pal from the far west, who had drop
ped into Washington for short visit on
the day before.
The far westerner looked a bit dubious
and stroked his chin thoughtfully.
| L Dunno. he said, after a pause. II
! never saw a horse race in my life-never
saw race track. for that matter"
| We'll, it's better late than never" said
| the Washington man. Wen just go out
| to Benning and win three or four millions
something easy."
The man from the west still looked a
| trife doubtful.
Does q fellow Lave to- bet?' he inquired.
| Nope, he doesn't have to unless he wants
| he's whole lot liable to want to when he
sees 'em lining up at the post. There's
| Just about as much fun in looking at a
there is in teaching your wife the game of
| draw poker and playing for matches or
| coffee BEANS"
The boyhood pal from the far west
scratched his head refiectiveiy and gazed
out of the window
But he said, after a while, "even sup
posing fellow wanted to bet on one or two
of the races. how would he know which one
to bet on?''
Say. ask me a few hard ones" said
the Washingtonian, offhand and with
broad, complacent grin. '.All the fellow'd
have to do would be to ask me. 1 know
all the horses that ever ran, not to mention
a few that never did run and several that
are still a-running, so to speak. I'm nat
ural born horsepower from the hyphenated
borough of Equine Select and all you've
ar onff ~ hoxri
furniture van back up to the track to haul
intently''
On their way out to the track the boy
hood pal from the far west audbIy won
dered, IN ruminative sort of way, what
Melinda, back home" would think of his
frequenting such places as race tracks, and
the Washington man had to soothe him by
saying that he wasn't "frequenting EN-
and that he was only going to see the ponies
run during one afternoon. just to see how
wicked the world was and is
They went into the paddock before the
frst race to see the horses led around I'M
der the shed, and then the westerner began
10 warm up some. He liked the looks of
to state that, If he were a betting man,
that one would about be his pick for money
marbles or chalk. The Washingtonian, who
knew 1t all, didn't exactly agree with him.
me washington man deposited his boyhood
pal In the stand while he himself chased
down to the betting ring to get his checks
down on the animal that he had selected
LOT certainty on the evening before.
when he returned to the stand to join his
friend from the west he found his boyhood
pal considerably excited, and in quite a con-
versational condition of mind.
Member that horse that pointed out to
you while back in the-er-under the
shed?' he inquired, with a sort of confident
air about him. of the Washingtonian.
Well. he's going to win
That SOP said the Washingtonian
where did you pick up this mastery of
eiairvoyance. anyhow. Jim?'
Never you mind about that-I tell you
boyhood pal almost with the unconscious
eloquence OF the tout. eff I didn't know
he was going to win wouldn't have put up
% on him. ! don't profess to know all
animal
''Uh-huh," said the Washingtonian. good
naturally.
Then the flag dropped. and the horses
were OIL, and-well, the horses raced
The far westerner became more and more
interested in the game the afternoon
progressed, and by the time the runners
were ready to go to the post for the fourth
race, the stake feature, he had obviously
forgotten all about Melinda, back home"
and her possible ideas with reference to
racing as a sport and money-venturing
pastime. The boyhood pal had looked over
the stake field in the paddock, and the
looks Of one of the candidates impressed
positive ideas as to that horses ability to
win to the Washingt oman who professed
| to be cognizant Of the whole racing BUSH
ness.
There's the winner" said the westerner
pointing to the one he liked" land you
| mark my words"
.'Um," commented the Washingtonian
who knew it all, and then he went on to
advise his boyhood pal as to the horse that
really ought to be played to win the race
The far westerner showed that he was an
Individual who stuck to his own convic-
tons. however. and he put a 80 note on
| the animal that had struck his fancy
Thus the afternoon wore away. and when
| the far westerner and the cock-sure Wash
with racing boarded the trolley at the
wind-up of the days sport to return to
Washington the
No. the far westerner who had never be-
| fore visited a race track in his life and
who knew nothing whatever about the
horse game did not have such heavy list
| to starboard, caused by the weight of
money that he was carrying in his right
hand trousers pocket, as to almost cause
him to careen, nor was the cash capital of
| the Washingtonian who knew 1t all about
the ponies limited to a smooth-worn Cana
dian dime and three copper pfennfgs of the
realm. That would be the conventional
and consequently funny, way of winding
up this strictly veracious story, but it
| wouldn't be the truth.
AS q matter Of fact, the far Westerner
who had stubbornly chung to convictions
| based upon complete lack of knowledge
Of the game was just $55 shy Of the amount
that he had brought along with him to the
| track. whereas the Washingtonian who
| professed to know all about the ponies
| and who came pretty near proving that he
| did know whole lot about them, had a
| pair of heavy rubber bands around a roll
| most of 1t corralled from the bookmakers
! that looked like prize eastern shore Gu
cumber at the Rockville fair
| These neutrality-suspicious. -program win
outs are gnome narratives, just as the
name-of-the- horse-hunch winnings are pix
| lie pipe-trances. They may sound and read
funny enough in the telling but they are
| chimerical and they don't go.