Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09
WoN.AT BIG ODDS


The Chicago man. who makes the big
future books on the American Derby win be
chaiking UP ahfs enticing-iooking figures
presently. Immediately after the announce
mont OF tho weights In the big turf events,
and the money will begin to flow in his d.
rectton like a. Bay of Biscay tide" said a
racing mari who Is wintering part of his
string at thei Benning course. HE has
already announced that he Intends to make
miilion-doilar book on the American
Derby and the big Worlds Fair handicap
at st. Louis. 81 The latter affair, with the
enormous stake attached to II, Is an event
calculated to capture the Imagination even
OF folks wAOiare not accustomed to betting
on the horses, and many a furtive dollar
will Be sent Into the future book on that
race by persons who wouldn't openly &C.
knowledge that they had done such q
frightful thing as to play a horse race for
anything on earth.
Betting In the future books on big turf
events - 9 thing that has taken much
die west than 1t ever did upon the folks in
this section Of the country. Men and wo-
men OF all conditions and classes make
ticularIy for the American Derby, and send
In the spare money to the future books
when tho prfcesfgO up. Most Of these peo-
pie bet on what is called pure hunch ;
uatiOn UP. IL just about as safe way Of
betting on q horse race as any other.
"A queer thing happened in little Iowa
town the year that the horse Sidney Lucas
won the American Derby. The wealthiest
citi1en OF the town was an elderly bachelor.
solid and law-abiding citizen but q who'll
| ly unregenerate sport. who was as liable as
not to De engaged In poker game at the
Sunday morning hour when the bells were
summonlng the cody folk to church. He
contributed literally to local charities and
to church work. although he had never
been known to take a look at the inside Of
church from his boyhood
This man was On terms of friendship
with the Thompson brothers. the owners
OF the famous campaigning horse Sidney
Lucas horse, by the way, that made
himself famous even In his two-year-old
year by winning two races on one day at
Benning-and while he was in Chicago one
day; shortly after the future books had
published the prices for the American Der
by. they told him that Lucas had a swell
chance to win the great event If the track
should happen to be muddy on the day the
Sidney Lucas chance In the winter book
was % to !, and the Iowa man figured that
the chances were about even that 1t would
rain in Chicago on the June day when the
event was to be contested. SO he invested
$3O0 on Sidney Lucas. taking three tickets,
each reading $500 to $lOO.'
when he returned to his Iowa town and
go to looking these tickets over a sardonic
sort of an idea struck him. He looked up
the old and austere pastor of the little
wooden Baptist church in the town, toward
the worthy purposes and charities of
handed one of the 81, 500 800 Sidney Luz
cas- tickets to the patriarchal man of the
cloth. The parson accepted 1t gingeriy
and looked at 1t with curiosity.
That's ticket on horse race. broth
err said the ungodly but law-abiding ell
derby man of sport. The name on 1t is
Sidney Lucas. Sidney Lucas is horse.
he runs on is miry. Hers going to run In
the American Derby IN June. I want to
enlist your earnest interest, not to say
your roofing capacity. that that June day
muddiness,I If 1t is. you've got a swell
chance to be $500 richer
1.-THE welf-te-do man did that more for
the fun offseein& how 1t would be received
than for any other purpose. But the old
parson was pretty good himself He care
fully tucked the Sidney Lucas ticket In his
wallet. and beamed upon his visitor over
the tops Of his glasses
THAT year was almost unprecedented In
the west for its lack of rain during the
spring months, and in most of the churches
congregations on each Sunday. When. on
the Sunday preceding the running OF the
American Derby in Chicago the old Bap-
fist parson devoutly offered up his prayer
for rain, most Of the older men OF the con-
gregation &niied. and some Of them gave
vent to unIestrafped chuckles. Their pastor
had. In confidence. showed them that Sid
ney Lucas ticker. explaining to them the
spirit In Which he had accepted 1t. and tell
ing them Also that the horses chance of
winning would be enormously ampltled In
case the track, should be muddy. 30 that
they would have been little more than
human had they failed to see and smile
over the connection when the good old man
prayed so devoutly for rain in that region
lying so near to Chicago.
ION the day OF the race the rain was
Rr<~- inc rvrfI afch
and the track was a quagmire. Sidney
Lucas, his price cut to Is to l. won the
American Derby in the commOnest kind OF
a canter.
that there was an almost imperceptible
smile at the corners of the mouth OF the
old parson on the following Sunday morn
ing when he said to the consregation;
Brethren. our prayer for rain was an
swered. Let US thank the Lord
"At the conclusion of the prayer the par
son announced that there was going to be
a proper steeple on that church before the
snow flew. and only few members OF the
congregation knew where the money Tor
that purpose had come from.
"A certain future ticket on the American
Derby last year was the cause OF good
cago.
old fellow who fought ell through the civil
war He was extremely Jealous in his in.
ali the meetings He was jovial. and ex'
tremely well liked by all the comrades
but he had one story Of the war which he
was forever and ever iterating and reiter-
ating until 1t at length grew monotonous
All of the comrades had listened to 1t pa.
tiently at least hundred times until most
OF them swore that they knew every word
OF it by heart. The story invariably began.
4 rackiackt when was on picket duty at
Chancellorsville,' and 1t went on. world
without end, narrating how he had got a
close view of the venturesome Stonewall
jackson, and so on. His constant retelling
., this story finally gained him the nick
name of The Picket His comrades never
addressed him as such to his face, not
caring to hurt his feelings. but they always
thus alluded to him in private. When the
prices laid against the horses in the Amer
lean Derby were published a number OF the
fun loving veterans Clipped in a dollar
each and bought a so ticket on The Picket
to win the race at zoo to /. They slipped
the ticket into an envelope and mailed 1t to
the address of the veteran with the long
When was on picket duty story. He
never said a word about having received
It, and they were in fear that it had gone
astray. and that 1t had never reached him.
R,Yt tho oveniuC the rqco ~ mat \