Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-26
LOST HIS WINNINGS

George E. Smith GETTYSBURG PhirD. the
famous race track plunger. is an extremely
quiet. self-contained man, and he al
most never speaks, even In conversation
with his intimates, of his experiences in
connection with the thoroughbreds Recent
ly however, on the ride up from Hot
Springs. Ark, to- New York he met an
Old friend, well-known Washington sports
man who ID called Buck" by his friends,
and Pittsburg Phil told a little story.
Your nickname Buck" he said to the
Washington man, makes me think, every
time meet you or any other friend bear
ing that name; efahe worst roasting 1 ever
administered myself on race track.
1t happened at the Ingleside track in
California a few years ago. l spent the
winter racing season out there, and made
pretty bad season of it, despite the extra
ORDINARY and foolish reports as to my vast
winnings. Up to the time that the thing
happened that I'm going to tell you about
mad picked, and heavily played, no less
than twenty-five losers-straight losers-al-
tnoush 1he ingenious young turf reporters
Tor the San Francisco papers had it that 1
had slaughtered the ring on almost every
one of those bad things.
NOW, make a: business of looking the
hoIses over myself during their work,
ana early one morning | snapped my watch
on Ola Buckwa-Who,. l believe, still holds
the champion four-mile record-as he COW
ered a mile and half on the bit in some
thihS ike 40. The old nag was just then
gong into training, after a long let-up, and
ms performance >astounded me. He was
nlgh IN hesh, and looked far from a horse
IN racing trim, but the way he got over
the ground during the progress of that gal
Top with heavy stable boy on his back,
astonlshed me, and l made up my mind to
put q Wnopplng commission on him the first
, lline ne started. The old horse was being
kept pretty well under cover by his owner,
and l knew that there'd be a big price
against his chances the first time he went
to the post.
Buckwa wasn't carded to go to the post
,htil ABOUT three weeks later, and l had
peen getting on the wrong ones right
along. Buckwa was down to go in a mile
and-a-quarter race with lot Of the Cali
lorna crackerjacks. The other horses were
so good, and Buckwa still looked so high in
nesn and generally rank. that the books
lald as nigh as 30 to 1 against his chances.
got some money down at that figure. and
some more, when they cut the price a
trlf1e at 30 to l. so that by the time the
horses were being saddled to go to the
pest l stood to draw down something like
SSO. 600 in case old Buckwa should win. I'd
had talk with Buckwa's owner, an old
friend Of mine. and he thought that his
morse had as good a chance any of the
others, despite his apparent lack of con-
dition.
Il sat in the grand stand with friend,
a heavy operator, to watch the race. AS
the horses came out Of the paddock gate
on to the track old Buckwa, who led the
procession, took fright over a piece of pa
per that blew across the track and started
to run He had runaway habits, and as 1
looked at him in the act Of taking the bit
between his teeth and galloping up the
stretch at racing speed l felt that the
money I had bet him was burnt up.
'Thatu be about all of Buckwa for
mine. said to the man beside me. He's
gong to keep right on running till he
jumps the fence
" oh. no, l guess not-the boy'll be able
to take him up he replied, confidently
'Well,.i said L. I'm on the plug at 40
and 30 tool. and, if you're so confident the
boy'il get him. you can have 81 900 worth
Of mine at so to l.
You're on said he and half minute
| later l was glad that l had hedged out that
way, for old Buckwa kept right on going,
and the lpy hadIno chance whatever of
holding i'm the hard-headed brute. 1t was
my friends tprn to be chagrined that he
had taken the bet when the old horse
raced arond the strack three times Just
three miles before he was corraled.
Thats,a AN easy thousand for you to get
back. he said TO me as the horses. the tired
BuckWa trailing behind the field, went to
the post. 'tBuckwa won't finish now within
a quarter Of a mile of the leaders,
When they got. to the post, however 1t
was easy to see that the boy on Buckwa
was purpbse1y delaying the start In order
to give the old horse under him chance
! to rest and cool out. That's exactly what
he did. and he was fined 500 for it by the
!, starter: but the boy figured that Buckwa
would have chance. runaway or no run
away and he kept the field at the post for
thirty-five minutes before he made up his
| mind that B@ekwa had sufficiently recov-
cred himself 70 make any kind Of show
ing in the race. = T. 81
Then theysgot away to a swagger start.
You can imagine how felt when / saw old
Buckwa shoot right out from the first
jump and assume a handing lead. He
didn't seem to be suffering in the slightest
degree from that wild preliminary racing
gallop of three miles. and the farther he
went the greater the lead he gained on his
field He swept under the wire six lengths
in advance Of the bunch-end there was
my $4,000 winning knocked into a cooked
hat by the $1,000. at 50 to 1. that 1 had
laid off when the old brute started to run
away. l have never hedged bet once
made since that day, and l never will ex.
ecute another hedge on race track as long
as I'm playing them"