Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-03-21
TIPS ON THE RACES

A tall. powerful-looking young man with
10Th street hotel the other afternoon for a
stroll down the avenue He had not pro-
gressed more than half square before a
couple Of men blocked his path. Each Of
them took hold of lapel Of his topcoat
You're under the gun" said one of them
to the big. notwithstanding young
man. Give US list OF all the good things"
You can't get by" said the other lapel
clutcher. until you put US next to each
and every watermelon that's going to be
sliced"
The big young man shook his head with
smile. gently released his coat and re-
stunned his stroll He was held up at the
corner by group OF four well-togged
chaps who formed an effectual Gordon
around him.
per the name of that 100 to shot that's
going to trafpse in"
dip up the name of the one that's had
the secret preparation and is going to win
on the chin-strapsky at any old price"
Hand us out the names of the cherries
that are ripe put in No. 3D.
Produce those cinches. quick" said
No. 4.
Again the good -humored-looking young
man shook his head deprecatingly and
slipped through the Gordon.
Ihus 1t went throughout bis entire
stroii. He was held up and surrounded
and buttonholed and cross-examined all
along the line The game would have
looked 1nexplicable to any one unaware of
the fact that the powerful-looking young
man was Algernon Daingerfeld, the assist
ant secretary Of the Washington Jockey
Club.
NOW that the races are close at hand -
explained Mr.. Daingerfield when he had re-
gained his motel. I'm keeping under cover
as much as possible. only go out occa-
slonaliy Tor needed air and exercise-gen-
orally after dark. I took a chance today,
ana you saw what happened. They all
want the long-priced winners. 1 am sup
posed to be In position to dish out to my
lrlenos ana acquaintance, right now sew
erai days before the beginning of the Ben
ming meeting. the names of the horses that
are going to connect at fancy odds. It's
nattering. I'll admit, to have 'em all i'm
aglne THAT am gifted with this pre-
science and these preternatural prophetic
that a.
large proportion of them take It to
li ne Wnen refrain from rafting off list
OF norses that are going to drag down first
money at figures ranging from 20 to / 70
oOO to l. and think that I am holding out
on them. Some of them look at me in in
tense surprise. not unmixed with reproach,
when tell them that don't know anything
more about the probable winners than they
do-which. Of course is the straight fact
quite few Of them, in fact, suk dread
1ully on me when decline to conduct them
TO quiet spot, where there's no chance of
being overheard. and name them a bunch of
thoroughbreds that are absolutely certain to
spread-eagle their fields at the coming meet
ing at prices calculated to wiring the souls
OF the bookmakers.
We'll. l wish knew of A few of that sort
IT there were any way on earth for me to
get hold of that kind of information, they
wouldn't be able to build steam yacht big
enough or fast enough for me. AS matter
of fact. however 1, as racing official, am
probably let in on fewer good things than
the most casual holiday visitor at a race
track. Owners and trainers of race horses
are not taking individuals connected with
the management of the tracks into their
confidence to the killings that they are
framing up, or attempting to frame UP.
l know that never did that myself when l
was training a string. There will probably
be several large-size killings at Benning
during the next few weeks. and it is a
good deal better than a five to one chance
that | won't be in on any of them.
nave been connected with the horse
game almost since l remember" went
en- Mr.. Daingerfield, land the enthusiasm
with which 1 have at all times refrained
from dispensing horse information that l
didn't possess is something that 1 view
with pleasure and pride. 1 may also re-
mark that have always extracted an al
most fierce Joy in utterly refusing to avail
myself of any information whatsoever with
reference to horses or projected killings, no
matter by whom the same might have been
given out. ...-,
THAT great colt, Major Daingerfeld, that
swept everything before him on the New
I York tracks last season, was named after
my father. The colt never raced that 1
wasn't inundated with kilograms from
friends and acquaintance all over the coun-
try. inauiring of me whether Major Dam
gerfied was going to win or not, and my
father was invariably showered with the
same sort of messages-Just because, in an
unfortunate moment, the colt was named
after him! I got into the habit of staying
away from the New York tracks on the day
the Major was scheduled to rum couldn' t
stand the tide Of questions from rybody
who SO much as knew my name, although
l knew no more about the racing condition
of Major Daingerfield than any other friend
of Mr.. Phil Dwyer, the colts owner.
1T Is extraordinary how implicitly in
tellfgent race-goers will rely upon this So
called Information which is given out by
any sort Of an individual in any way con-
nected with race track. The wise stable
hands out at Benning have been besieged
for weeks with requests for inside tips on
the good things that are going to happen,
and the wise stable hands chew their straws
and solemnly and oracularly deliver them
selves Of the most utter nonsense with re-
spect to the horses, all of which is swal-
lowed zen bloc'-as they say in Congress
and acted upon by the seekers of and be-
hevers in this absurd kind of information
to their subsequent grief and bankruptcy.
1t is thankless work. this giving out of In
formation, even on the part of persons
trainers. for example-who are in a position
to give 1t out. If the good thing the owner
or trainer quietly passes around to a few
friends fails to go through it Is only human
for some of them to become more or less
sore. especially if they've unbuckled heavily
on the izzled killing, and not few of
them are unreasonable enough to nourish
the crouch that they have been treated to
dose of the double cross
80 that horsemen generally are between
Old Nick and the deep sea-if they hold
their tongues and their good things go
through their friends sulk; If they pass the
word and the good things go wrong their
friends NOPE. l choose the first as the
less of the two evils for several reasons,
the most important of which is that don't
hunt for nor get any information myself. :"
Cats Feared the Bluecoat.