The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-06-22

the day Of the race, and about a couple
/ OF hours before the arrival Of the hour
! Tor the event, eight of them we're to
scratch their horses, leaving just one
/ OF them in, and this one, of course, to
/ have walkOver-just a solitary canter
around the track while the gang in
the stand Whistled an appropriate
1 euickstep, to capture the big end Of
the purse.
/ What good was this going to do the
! other owners mixed up in the little
/ play? oh, nothing, except that they
/ were to send their commissioners to
/ the pool rooms al over the state TO
put down gObs of money on the horse
that was to have the walkover. All Of
the Montana pool rooms quoted morn
ing odds, and all that the commission
ers had to do was TO plaster their prin-
ciPals bank rolls around at the morn
/ ing hOrse-betting figures on the animal
that was to swing around the course
all alone, and then TO go around and
collect armfuls Of money after the con-
/ firmation of the WaIkover.
Well, the job was cleverly planned
and il went along on creased skiGs. On
the DAY before the race the nine own
! ers had a conference for the purpose
/ of picking out the horse that was to
| have the WalkoVer. Some of them were
! for picking out the best animal of the
/ lot, the one that would be natural
/ first choice in the betting, so that they
could claim, in scratching out the other
horses that they were afraid of the
( favOrite, and, knowing that their NUTS
/ had no chance 10 win, had concluded
to take their horses out. The major
/ ity however, wouldn't listen to this
{ Man They wanted hfcr froves
7 the pO0l room proprietors, and they
/ knew that they couldn't get big money
! IL they left the natural favOrite in to
have the walkOyer. So they finally
/ picked out a horse that figured to be
! a 10 or 20 to ] shot in the betting to
I execute the lone gallop around the
course. The commissioners were given
( the name Of the horse that was to
have the Walkover. and on the night
before the race they all jumped out in
different directions throughout Mon
tana to get their principals money
down in the pool rooms OF the differ
ent towns.
ION the morning Of the day of the
race they all wired in to the nine own
| ers that they'd succeeded in getting
the money down at odds avera ging 10
to I against, and by the time all Of
Z NAANeN ANAAA NEAE III LlAC RUUA AOOA4lH
Of Montana stood TO lose something
like 100000 on that beautifully ar
ranged walkover. As soon as the own
ers got word from their commission
ers that the money was down they be-
gan to scratch out, one by one, the
last of the eight horses only being
scratched about an hour before the
race was to come off.
Several Of the owners were called
into the stewards room to explain what
their idea was IN scratching out their
skates and permitting a common platter,
that was bound 10 be a rank outsider
in the netting. to elope with the big
end of the purse simply b. breeding
around the course alone. They all told
the stewards that their horses had beer
taken more or less sick that morning.
owing 10 a new lot Of inferior feed that
had arrived at the barns the day be-
/ fore. 1t was a pretty fishy explana-
ton, that, but, as L say, pretty near
any old thing went on the Montana
tracks at that time, and thu owners
got away with their little yarn all
right.
We'll, the walkOver was the second
event on the card, and when post time
for the second race arrived tlie soli-
tary mutt came a-dancing out Of the
paddock onto the course and started 20
/ jog around the track. amid the whist
| ling and stamping Of the regulars in
the stand
When the horse was nearing the far
/ turn on the back stretch something
queer happened. The animal was seen
to some TO a gradual STOP ami Just as
he was due to make the bend he came
{ TO dead stop, gazed dreamily over the
railing. and then deliberately Law Gown
in a 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 it was no use.