The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-16
THE PLUNGER A SOBER SOUL.
FINDS HE CAN'T MIX DRxNkS AND
BETS on HORSE RACES. s
Change From tho Practice Of Couple Of
Decades Ago-Twe sample Experiences
showing the AdviSabilty OF Temper.
ate Living During tho Racing Season.

showing the AdviSabiity Of Temper.
ate Living During tho Racing Season.
Il saw one Of the noted plungers at the
track the other afternoon with soz2 on
remarked one Of the bookmakers OF the
first line, But he wasn't playing EN-.
He Is through playing them for the season.
II he had not shut up shop for the season
and folded away his little betting book
nobody would ever have seen him with
that hiss juice thing spread all over him.
He would no more think Of inserting into
his system short sarsaparilla with q
stick In It during his horse-betting season
than OF taking 1 to 4 against q proper I
to shot.
And that, as a matter Of fact, ID the
way It Ia with all the plungers OF this
day. A good many Of the top-liners among
them, as a matter of fact, are teetotalers
all the year round, not 80 much from princi-
pie az from habit.
@The old-time plungers OF a couple OF
decades ago, say, were q good deal on the
shine order They were more often than
not heavy drinkers, and their plunging
was done on the bullhead luck basis. They
weren't the cold-as-ioe business men Of
the betting ring that the plungers Of nova
days are.
swhen their horse would come out OF
the clouds and win for them the old-ttme
plungers would watt all hands within sound
OF their voices up to the bar and do that
openin' wine thing, Have you ever seen
any OF the modern plungers do that7
Aside from the gleamy look Of 1t, the
boy who puts down and collects the yellow
bales to-day isn't taking the world into
his confidence as to his winnings. He'd
good deal rather have you take II for
granted that he's losing every minute OF
every day at the track The old-tlme
plunger was tickled silly when the public
accounts OF his winnings we're magnified
three or four times their real size.
But even some OF the plungers who
are still in the game had to learn their little
lesson before they got down to the mineral
water system during their ring seasons
One OF the digit bettors who has been
winding up every season tens Of thousands
to the good for years past, and who Is good
for his million or so any CHEEKY morning
he cares to walk TO the places where he
has it sailed. was in the early days Of his
extraordinary career winerino from
away back. He hasn't had the Gaul glow
on him for more than nine years now,
though, and there's a little story behind
that.
with a couple of owners and trainers
this plunger had thing fixed up for the
closing day at Brighton, nine years ago
that was meant to drive all the book
makers to the rag bag and to make all the
poolroom men in North America mace
their clerks for car fare nickels on the even
ing OF the day the thing was to 60 through.
The plunger was to get the dun down. and
the people with the horse were to do the
rest.
THE thing that they were going to use
TO stampede the stoolmen and pool men
10 the swamp grass was an old Grip that
had been patched up for his minutes work
The tinkering had been done by one of
the trainers In on the frarfleup. a man who
could come pretty close to taking spawned
carpenter's horse of wood and turn 1t
nto world heater for Just one race The
old halt nag hadn't been out for more than
a year and 1t was pretty generally known
that he had been nerved, 80 that nobody
was afraid Of him.
THE aged gelding was dumped into
five furlong sprint, and the plunger got his
gang of closemouths together and sent
them on their separate little missions to
the far cities where the poolroom black
boards were up The other horses entered
in the five-eighths scramble were all sprint.
ers OF high degree, and so the plunger and
his people had it cphered out that there
ought to be at least the 100 to l thing dc ing
OH their old Grip.
That's the way it was all set up to the
morning Of the race. On the morning Of
the day the race was to be run the plunger
had himself and gang Of pals whish ID
out to the track in caloosh; They hadn'
been to bed at all The plunger wanted
to get look at the Grip before sending the
last word out for the coin to be put down;
The souse was so heavy upon nj, him IL th at
when the barn was reached, and his gang
of troopers were right behind him with
the zigzags The trainer came out OF the
barn munching the alfalfa cud and looking
innocent.
Lets take peek at the old grass
hopper ordered the plunger. He's
bum, know. to look at but ] want to see
how he sizes up this morning.
THE trainer gazed slantwise at the Keeling
chaps with the plunger. and then pretended
request. The thing had been worked up
in star chamber. and the trainer didn' Z
want to have It all Grabbed by letting In
lot Of outsiders who happened 70 have
! put in the light breaking the necks OF bottles
aOh, these hay haulers are all right,
! il that's what you mean, said the plu niger,
| noticing the trainers hesitation. 'Friends
| of mine. hull bunch, They don't savvy
what's coming OF, anyhow.dont sayyy
anything, hey by the looks OF them; Walk
the old turtle out here In the sunshine and
let d have pipe at him.
There wasn't anything left for the
trainer to do but to walk the hon.e out
"The aged geldln g, his legs done up In
steaIning pillows "a big as country hams
was led out by the trainer. and stood blink I.
ing soleInnly in the sunlight. He didn' I
look as il he could give his own shadow
decent az ercise mu oh Less keep up with race
horses. He was stiff and set in shape from
years OF campaigning, and he had the droopy
manner OF a hop.
sThe plunger's pals whooped. They
wanted to know where the junk wagon
was. They kidded and strung the plungeI
and pounded him on the back and told hin
that he was getting the eye for horse Al
he grew older. ,,, -,
"fhe plunger became chillier with him
SELF every minute as to, the big gamble
on the aged amber that stood munohnl
like a cow, until he wound up ss sore M
butcher,
trainer. as he reeled toward the wsitini
calloosh, I'm not there Wise now
Can't zee the goat thing for the big stun
You tell the others. I'm going to wiz
the sent AWAY push to stay Oh.