The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-04

block to the three-quarters. Then, to the
amusement Of everybody. he dropped Out
In the stretoh.
He finished nowhere, and a couple o.
tho operator stated that Tammany
had broken down hopelessly, which was
the fact Tammany's bad legs had let
down under him In the stretch, and the boy
on him had to dismount and lead him
hobbling to his shed. ! believe that was
Tammany's last race.
One afternoon four or five years ago
stood to lose nearly $500 900 owing to the
WOODY stubbornness Of q drunken operator.
The fine Ally May Hampstead was to 20
in big race at Louisville, her chief op-
ponent being a f1lly named Rush--a good
one. but not at all in May Hempstead's
class, 1t was thought at the time 1t was
virtually match race between these two,
although there were number OF other
starters, and May Hampstead was esteemed
such cinch at the tracks that the layers
made her q prohibitive to favorite.
The Cincinnati poolrooms at that time
got their prices and results from a dis
tributing station In the town instead OF
direct from the track, and on this afternoon
the distributing operator had a leftover
on that caused him to get the prices on the
May Hempstead-Rush race all balled up. He
made Rush the l to 8 favorite and clipped
May Hampstead along as q 10 to 1 shot,
Just reversing the prices.
at him - soon a no sent the price list in to
them this way, asking. him il he hadn't
made . mistake. But his jag was streaked
with stubbornness Of the kind that causes
the eousod one to insist that he's right
without SO much a. looking.
Mistake nothing, he clicked back to
them all. The prices stand as sent en-
hat hor
bad been no changes in the list in the second
Line OF betting from the track, and he keyed
along that the prices stood as on the first
line:
We'll, with all Of this confirmation, and
being totally unaware Of the condition Of
simply had to take the prices on the big race
a. he sent them.
The only way that the poolroom people
could account for the extraordinary re-
versal in the prices was that sonnet hing
had happened to May Hampstead to destroy
her earned standing as prohibitive favo-
m bee wh nnds she
suspicion, and the poolroom people figured
that the state Of her underpinning might
be at the bottom Of the peculiar price on
tap against her.
Some Of the more cautious poolroom
proprietors declined to take any money
book at the prices received from the dis
tributing operator. The players simply
gnawed the 10 to l against May Hampstead
like st: Bernard pups going after slabs OF
dog cake.
settin' room carpet and yanked out the
kitchen stove to hook to get May Hemp
went to the Louisville post the puzzled
Cincinnati room keepers stood to be set
back almost half million in the event Of
May Hempstead's winning. But she didn't
win.
'she couldn't negotiate the deep. hold
tanced her. And 1t wasn't until later in
the afternoon, when the burned operator
had been snagged of the distributing wire,
that the poolroom folks learned that May
Hampstead had been the to shot, instead
Of Rush.
THE mistake really enabled the poolroom
II osas SMa a2 81 bad
been chalked up at to 9, none Of the pool
room gang would have played her. whereas,
ct 10 to 1, they went to her with such swirl
that they came near breaking their arms
sdging up to the counters.
sThe bookmakers seldom get into such a
trance that they make big over lays through
error. but I've seen that done, too, never
theless and for the hefty currency.
There was an absent minded layer
named Cushman on the block at the Chicago
tracks about ten years ago who put himself
in line for a terrible Jolt one afternoon by
was down on his own blackboard as to
favorite. The horse was Boundless.
1T was the first race Of the day, and with
Boundless at that prohibtive price there
wasn't much doing. Cushman was trying
to dope out some way TO round out his book
and talking with chinny friend at the same
stroled up to his stool and said, Say,
Boundless Is 70 to /, amt hep Cushman
absent mindedly replied, Yes and went
right on talking with his friend.
well III take hundred worth Of Boun-
less at 70 TO l., said the man, handing
one hundred-dollar bill to the bookie, who
writing his own tickets, making the sheet
and paying of, all together.
.The dreamy Cushman, still in his poppy
daze-I'm not saying that he'd had a hard
night OF it, but he must have-deliberately
wrote q Boundless ticket for $1,000 to 500
man who had only made the suggestion as
a Joke. Not only that, but Cushman reg
istered the bet on his sheet without tumbllng
to the enormity Of his error.
He didn't, In fact, see 1t until the horses
were on the way to the post, when he was
adding up the totals on his sheet. When
he saw It he let out q emothered curse, and
then looked up, 70 see the man who had made
the bet with him standing right alongside
of him, grinning.
See Il now, hey'' said the man who
had made the bet.
Yes, I see It, all right said Cushman.
Goes, doesn't itT inquired the apparent
Tt goes said Cushman, who was no
mourner. You're a cheap skate, but the
bet goes like any other bet that l make
out q ticket for. II Boundless cops your
ticket Is as good as wheat But l don't
want any more Of your play, pal
-But It happened that the man wasn't
any cheap skate at ALL and he flushed when
that name was applied to him. He had
made the 10 to suggestion, and taken
the ticket more a. Joke than in any grasp,
the bookmaker that the bet could be rubbed
OF for all he cared.
-Cushman was too dead game man to
stand for even the idea OF such thing,
and he was fair besides.
Nope, he said, the bet goes. Wouldn't
rub It OH for you II you'd made the mistake
and came creeping TO me and asked me to
do 1t before the race. Let 'er flicker.
'Boundless got walloped by three other
horses In the race. and, instead OF being
81 900 to the bad through his absent-minded-
ness, Cushman was In the 500 bet.
Il saw q smart Alec bookmaker pencil
at Latonia few years ago. A black trainer
had made q ten-dollar bet in the wisdom
packing layers book on a 20 to 1 shot, the
ticket reading 500 to SO. The colored
man was the trainer Of the horse he d bet on.
aThe horse, In q false break, got the bit