The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-01
WINTER BOOK BETTING
WILL EXCEED RECORDS
Money Taken in on Turf Futures
Will Reach Into Hundreds of
Thousands.
PREACHER WHO WON
Played for $500, Caught 1t and
Didn't Know What to Do
with Money.


NEW 1ORk. Jan. ne Uldll-OIueI
bookmaking business is going to begin to
hum presently" said a Chicago layer OF
odds who sifted into the Broadway paddock
the other afternoon. "and when the sheets
are made up before the running Of the events
&c will probably be found that the money
taken in on turf futures will exceed all pre-
vious records By hundreds of thousands Of
dollars.
1.-THE Chicago man who has In recent years
captured the bulk of the trade in the big
event futures has already announced that he
Is going 10 make a million-dollar book in the
American Derby at Chicago and the World
1alr handicap at ST. Louis, ana with tne
tide.
Practically all classes of people out in the
middle Western country take a crack at the
winter books, farmers and their hired men,
school teachers OF both sexes, women run
ming little shops who never saw race in
their lives and who wouldn't be seen on a
race track for anything, and even preachers.
a preacher in little town IN southern
Illinois won $500 On the victory of Wyeth in
the American Derby year before last and he
was the most astonished as well as the most
EMBARRASSED man east Of the Mississippi
river when the money was handed to him in
Chicago. He said that he knew of no way
OF concealing from his family or his congre-
cation the fact that he had all that money
II ne intended TO get any good out OF 1t, but
that IL was simply out of the question for
him TO own up 10 IL that he had yielded to
such a degrading IL human impulse TO play
horse race.
1T was suggested to him that he could
merely mention that he had won the 80 500
through speculation, and let IL go at that,
out ne replied that his family and his flock
had just as much horror of any sort of spec
ulation as they had of horse race. and he
went away looking puzzled and twisted.
"A prfm and pretty little schoolmistress in
charge or country school in central Mis-
souri, had a bunch on Pink Coat in reading
FSf m in her ifp he win or
list OF entries for horse race. The piece OF
newspaper I'm which she read the list was
wrapped around her lunch. and she read il
during the noon recess while she munched
her sandwiches.
She had recently had some sort of funny
experience with cheap red jacket that had
lost its color and faded to a dingy pink and
the connection between the incident and the
name OF the horse furnished her hunch. At
any rate, she made up her feminine mind
that Pink Coat was the baby and she began
sending In every $40 note that she could
spare out of her slender wages on that horse
TO annex the American Derby.
when Pink Coat won she was informed
by wire ~ the maker of the winter book
that she was $500 TO the good. The infor-
nation contained in the telegram leaked out
OF the little village telegraph office and the
country paper published the startling news
that the teacher of the countryside children
was leading a double life; that she was a
gambler and that she had caught the winter
book on the American Derby TO the tune of
The deuce was to pay at once. The school
committee visited the young woman and
asked her about ii.
DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS.
Yes. 1 won the $500 on Pink Coat
she replied audaciously. and I'm glad of
: II. 1 need the money
THE members of the school committee
looked at one another sheepishly and some
OF them grinned.
Wen. bully for you. young lady. said
all jealous because you picked the winner.
that's all. / wish I'd the same luck-only
played the one that finished last
Then several others of the school COM
mittee came to the front and owned up
that they, too. had tried to cop some of the
winter book money on the Derby, but that
they nad finished among the also rams
The school committee voted unanimous
ly 10 Permit the young woman to keep her
JOB II she wanted IT, in spite of her sinful
gambling propensities, but the women of
the settlement downed them on that, and
the young woman resigned her billet with
thought she was a leetle too strong to
teach school. anyhow.
The gloomiest man that I ever saw on
race track was a Chicago follower of the
game, who. when the price went up against
the horses in the winter books on the
American Derby that Sidney Lucas won
went 10 that horse to the tune of 800 get
ting IS TO for his coin. He did that in a
flush moment, but not long after that he
fell into poor streak at the faro bank
and got down to and below cases.
He all in night while playing
bank at plant on Clark street and In dig
ging around in his pockets to see If he had
any sleepers tucked away anywhere he
came across his $4,000 to 500 ticket on
Sidney Lucas 10 cop the Derby.
'D'yOu like Lucas TO win the Derby p
he asked the proprietor of the faro bank
Liked him well enough TO back him
only this afternoon replied the bank pro-
prietor.
What price did you get? asked the
busted player.
Forty TO They're nibbling on it, and
the price has been cut replied the faro
bank man.
Would you like 500 worth of Lucas
at IS to p asked the man who was broke.
= Whose going 10 lay it? was the in
quiry.
''The fundless chap flashed his Sidney
Lucas ticket.
You're on. said the bank proprietor
How do you want it, In chips?
THE busted man nodded. turned over
the ticket and took 500 worth of chips in
return, which he quickly lost.
''Cn the day OF the race the man who had
sioughed off his grand ticket was still all
20 the bad, but managed to get hold of q
s. note TO put on Lieutenant Gibson, the
favorite, 10 cop the big event. All. in ALL
i don't believe / ever got my lamps on a
sadder or more stricken looking man than
that fellow was when Sidney Lucas slid
through the muck and mire and got home
all by himself. But the faro-bank man was
decent enough TO hunt him up that night
and pass him a little 2,01O bundle as a
sort of salve 10 heal the sore wound"