The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1902-07-04
THE BITERS BITTEN.

returning with his party from the races the
other afternoon II
All of them had to give It up, natuSaiS'
What's the answer" they said
The answer Is Just as ! state ia walk
over that wasn't a walkoyer' sara .hs
western man. | saw an affair Ike that
few years ago in Montana.
Nowadays the discipline OF the Mon
tana tracks is about on par Win the
high standard OF raee-track discipline IN the
east. but when the game irst began our lheIe
the crookedness engaged IN by all hahus'
from owners to jCeSeys, and even sIaDie
bows, not TO mention the eonnivlns oOoAies'
was something fierce.
This walkoyer that wasn't walkover
occurred during the second season Vi ia0
ing at Butte Nine horse owners were III
volved in the cute little job. None oil tnem
had been having any luck with his string,
and they all got together ana arrived al
the conclusion that they'd go after the
money with gnarled club, they required II
I,,,iIv in their embarrassed business. SO
they decided to do it in this wise: Eaeh Oh
the nine was to enter a horse to run IN
six-furlong sprint, and on the day OF the
race. and about a couple OF hours Delore
the arrival of the hour for the event. elght
of them were to scratch their horses, led'
ing lust one OF them in, and TINS one Oh
course, to have a walkover-Just solitary
canter around the track, while the gang IN
the stand whistled an appropriate quick
step. to capture the big end OF the purse.
''{Vbat good was this going to do the
other owners mixed up in the httle play
Oh, nothing, except that they were 10 SEM
their commissioners to pool rooms al oven
the state to put down gobs of money on
the horse that was to have the WalkoVer:
All of the Montana pool rooms quoted
Morning odds. and all that the commission
srs had to do was to plaster their primer
nails bank rolls around at the morning
rse-betting figures on the animal that
was to swing around the course all alohe'
and then to go around and collect armfuls
of money after the confirmation OF the
walkover.
"Well. the Job was cleverly planned, and
Il want along on creased skids. On the day
before the race the nine owners mad con
terence for the purpose of picking out the
horse that was to have the walkover Some
of them were for picking out the best am
NAL of the lot, the one that would be nat
u,zsl first choice in the betting, SO that they
could claim, in scratching out the other
horses that they were afraid of the favor
ito and knowing that their NUTS had ne
chance to win, had concluded to take their
horses out. The majority, however,
| wouldn't listen to this plan. They wanted
big money from the pool room proprletors'
and they knew that they couldn't get Dig
money if they left the natural tavorlte IN
! to have the walkover. So they hnally
| nicked out horse that figured to be 10
ar % to one shot in the betting to execute
| the lone gallon around the course. The com
| missioners were given the name OF the
| horse that was to have the walkover, and
on the night before the race they all
! ;umned ont in different directions through
ont Montana, to get their principals money
down in the pool rooms of the different
| towns
son the morning of the day of the race
thew all wired in to the nine owners that
they'd succeeded in getting the money down
at odds averaging ID to one against, ana Dy
t6e time all of these returns were IN the
nool rooms of Montana stood to lose some
thing like 100000 on that beautifully ar
ranged walkover. As soon as the owners
| got word from their commissioners that the
money was down they began to scratch OUT
one bv one, the last of the eight horses
only being scratched about an hour before
| the race was to come otf
| several of the owners were called INTO
| the stewards room to explain what thelI
| idea was in scratching out their skates ana
permitting a common platter, that was
| hound To be a rank outsider in the betting,
TO clone with the big end OF the purse,
simply by breezng around the course alone
They all told the stewards that their horses
| had been taken more or less SICK that
| morning, owing to a new lot OF INFERIOR
feed that had arrived at the barns the day
before. 1t was pretty fshy explanation,
that. but, as / say, pretty near any ola
thing went on the Montana tracks at that
| time. and the owners got away with thell
little yarn all right.
"Well. the walkover was the second event
on the card, and when post time tor the
second race arrived, the solitary mutt came
advancing out of the paddock onto the
course. and started to jog around the track
amid the whistling and stamping OF the
regulars in the stand.
"When the horse was nearing the 1af
turn on the back stretch something queer
happened. The animal was seen to come
/ to a gradual stop, and just as he was due
to make the bend he came to dead stop,
paZed dreamy over the railing, anu theh
deliberately lay down in soft spot right
in the middle of the track. The boy on his
back slipped off, and he started to punch
and poke the walkover horse, but 1t was
no use.
"The skate was just too sleepy to yield to
anv sort of persuasion short of dynamite
and the hundreds of track followers Wht
hustled up to the far turn to see what the
matter was found the horse sleeping just
As peacefully as grounding coied up II
his burrow for the winter They did every
thing imaginable to get the mutt to stant
ND and finish his walkover jog so as to fin
ish within the time limit, but it was abso
lutely no 60, and the time limit expired
thus making the race no contest, while
the animal lay there on the track, a-slum
boring.
IF YOU ever saw sheepish-looking 10
of horsemen, those nine owners were the in
dividuals Their hog CHILLING hadn't com
off. and not only that, but they had los
all of the money that their commissioner
had bet, for morning betting in pool room
is the so.called 'pay-or-play' sort, and