Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-23
"RAILB1RDso POPULAR.
Men With Racing Information Much
Sought After.

The most sought for persons In this city
just about now are those of the racing
fraternity who have been on the ground
for the last week or two. watching the
antics Of the trainers and the work of the
horses in their preparation for the seasons
campaign.
These are the men who are looked upon
as the wisest of all wise men. They are
supposed to know all that has been going
on and to have the condition Of the horses
at their finger ends. No matter what
horse a person thinks is good enough to win
on his past performances" he Is passed
up II the reports from the railbirds do not
show favorably.
Hamburg might be In a race, but Lady
Hasbrouck might be played to beat him II
he were not in presentable condition. To
get this knowledge 1t Is imperative to inter
view some one who has been keeping tab"
on the workouts for the last week or two.
The railbirds are astir before the spar
rows in the early morning. They can be
seen perched upon the fences or in the
grand stand. and sometimes in the trees. to
get the Information they require for their
own personal benefit, but generally to aid
their employers in their speculations.
like Charley" Walker, ''var' Miley.
BILLY" Thompson and others Of the rail
division. 1t Is truly startling how these
men can pick out a horse II he Is quarter
of a mile away.
They have all two-year-olds marked as
they are shown. Frequently they do not
know their names, but they have an eye
line on everything. either by color, action
or markings and when such horses make
their appearance in races they know pretty
much all about them.
They study the disposition Of every horse.
They know whether he Is fit or whether he
schooling at the barrier and note the quick
breakers. In fact. they know almost every
thing and frequently are in a position to
tell trainers Of horses more about their
charges than they can tell themselves.
They can enlighten trainer on what
horses he has to beat in a race, because
they watch everything. There Is always
some one ON duty and they exchange con-
fldences, so that little Is overlooked 1t Is
a very astute trainer who can work a horse
unknown to the railbird.
Some trainers get out at o'clock In the
morning to fool these morning watchers,
but II the latter miss horse from his reg
ular work they know that something has
happened and that his trainer has stolen
march on them. This rarely occurs a
second time, for IL a horse is approaching
perfection and is being pointed for race
there will be a night watcher just to find
out how good the horse is and how fast
he can be expected to run.
These men are sometimes termed "touts,"
the majority of them own horses them
selves. They might be more properly termed
Industrious men. The information they
CLEAN Is put to their own use more than
to the use of others.
A person who drops out of warm bed at
in the morning to labor and keeps at his
task until the racing for the day Is over
can hardly be termed tout" A few are
possibly employed by the larger specu-
lators. but the majority, like the three
men. mentioned, labor for themselves and
bet their own money. not depending upon
digging an "angel'' from the crowd Of race
goers to invest for them.
So secretive are they as rule that they
frequently hide from their friends and give
every consideration to the owner and train
er Of horse to get the plums from the
market. They are part and parcel OF the
racing outfit, and will exist and thrive as
long as there is horse racing. They de
serve all that they earn for their industry.