The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-03-09

Winter race meetings always are proiuc'
tive of fraud and knavery. The current
meeting at Charleston is not any exception
to this rule. The recent discovery of an
electric battery oG the heels of Jockey
Kennedy set the clever Jim Pagan TO dis
GUESSING frauds on the turf-a very enter
tanning IL somewhat frayed subject.
1T seems" said Mr.. Pagan, that the
boys have not forgotten the old tricks or
worked any new ones. I cannot find any
thing new in the burglar line since / first
anne into contact with the tur: thief some
twenty years ago.
shifting the Weight.
.'One of the cleverest tricks ever worked
on race-tracsN followers was the use Of nj
trate Of silverNl stealing weight. l Will tx
plain the process. The jockey was supposed
Io weigh in at Io pounds. When in reality
he only tipped the beam at Igt. HES very
shre.d trainer. being perfectly cosuizlnt Of
this fact. hit upon a clever scheme. He had
made a small can. which he had covered
with the same kind of leather that WAS
used in the construction Of the saddle.
This can be deity concealed under the
flap OF the saddle. 1t was impossible TO de-
;ect it. Into this can he poured ten pounds
OF nitrate of silver. which formed a COM
paratively small bulk on account OF i:s great
weight. When the jockey weighed in, his
own weight, together with the added weight
of the can of nitrate of silver. brought the
beam down to 10 pounds. the stipulated
weight. Then the horse was let out on the
track. with the saddle in position. The
trainer made a great BLUM about throwing
a blanket over the horse. and he, by a dex-
ferrous movement. snatched the can from
beneath the saddle when he took off the
blanket. He slipped it in his shirt front.
The race WAS run. and as the horse was
brought up the trainer again covered the
animal with a blanket. at the same time
slipping the can into its old position under
the saddle. There you are. The horse dur
ing the race was relieved of ten pounds of
weight. which was there all right when the
weighing out was Performed The trick. WAS
abandoned on the big tracks. but it still
holds good among the bushes and pump
kinS.
"A very wealthy horse owner. whose
name 1 will not mention. turned a pretty
good trick on a track not a thousand miles
from Cincinnati. On the front feet of every
street horse to-day are placed leather or
rubber pads. The space between the foot
and the pad Is filed with oakum. which.
every one knows. contains pine tar. which
IS good for the feet. This man took ad-
vantage OF the situation. His horse was a
favorits, and he wanted to set his own
price on him. Just before the races he
tubbed tho feet OF the horse. over which
were the pads. The oakum swelled. The
horses front feet rested on balls. and. al
though he appeared TO be travelling at an
awful speed. he would slip back. He might
as well have been on a treadmill. The
owner got his price. Before the race he re-
moved the pads and substituted a heel and
toe, which had the effect of making the
animal run like a jack rabbit. He pulled
down a big wad Of the soft.
Different Weights Of shoes.
St. Louis another enterprising owner
removed one of the plates and placed in its