Evening star., 1905-11-05

A horse by the name of Tongorder enjoyed
a walkover in a minor stake race at one
of the western tracks recently. Tonsorder,
who isn't much OF horse, nevertheless
looked SO much the best of the crowd en-
tered for the stake that all of the Others
were scratched during the forenoon of the
day Of the contest. The boy In silks con-
seQuently just hoped aboard Tongorder
and trudged him around the mile track In
1-5S. 1t was pretty soft for the betters who
had taken the house betting irs the pool
rooms against Tongorder. The pool rooms
in Covington. KY, which put the prices up
during the forenoon. had 2 to ] chaIked
against Tongorder for hours. and a select
bunch of wise ones who had the tip that
there was going TO be a whole lot of
scratching to Tongorder took that one. at
the to l chalk. for their bank-rolls The
rooms had to dish out what the tickets
called for. of course, because Tongorder
started. all right.
A Washington turfman vacationizlng here
with his kinsfolk had the wired tip to ''go
to" Tongorder that day, and he enjoyed the
fruits of the walkover, telegraphine tls
commission to one of the CovEfgton rooms.
Yes, 1t was soft enough, he observed,
In speaking of the walkover enjoyed by
Tongorder. but. all the same, i didn't feel
a little bit certain that the wakover was
going to get by until l saw the fact set
forth on the bulletins in the evening.
Il am wearing yet the scars of num-
ber of walkovers that weren't wakovers.
walkover is only a walkover when the
red board of confirmation is slapped under
meath the horses number
But In racing. my son. the sky falls up.
and the stars bump each other along the
stretch of the milky way.
Counting EN- up, I've lost n Kentucky
bluegrass quarter section, a grape ranch in
Napa county. Cal. row of tenements in
Cincinnati, many acres of Chicago prairie
land that are now on boulevards ana
enough paper currency to fill wedding
cake mold, all on walkovers that didn't get
by.
THE aforesaid property was what I in
tended to get for myself with my winnings,
but the ker-tish came out of my dungarees.
Away back yonder i'm the latter eighties
there were three or four of us wntering
in Kentucky who used to drive over every
few days to take peek at a horse that
was going to give all of US the title of
spring. We'd stand in row around his,
stall and gloat over the set of his ears, and
then begin mentally to count money. with
a string of ciphers after the first figure as
long as comets tail.
1.-The horse three-year-old. was entered
in stake that was going to be run at
Louisville at the beginning of the season.
And he was the only one We knew that,
and we We're the only ones who knew it.
There was n winter book in Louisville
and one in Chicago on that coming race.
The odds against our cinch opened at 60 to
1. We took turns in sending so notes to
those winter books.
I'VE had regular agreements as to
which of US would be permitted to make
the next winter book bet. We didn't want
to uncover the good Thing by sending the
money in too recklessly and rakishly and
simultaneously and eagerly.
That's when / picked out my quarter
section of blue grass country. l wanted
it for breeding farm. The other fellows
all bI1Eipo lands and things
mentally. The owner of the horse was 60
ing to send two of his growing daughters
to Munich TO be educated in music.
Dreamy. chirky winter days, those, son,
"In April We went up TO Louisville with
the horse. He had shown us his trial for
the distance in just nothing, and we were
still the only ones who knew. We had,
however. played him down in the winter
books to 80 to L, and had all we wanted.
Two weeks befCre the race all of the
horses for the stake had been scratched
our horse a 10 to l shot. Four days before
the race pneumonia struck the track
grounds. Two of the horses entered for
the race died out of hand. -Four of the
stalls
''rhc one immune was ours. 1t never
touched him. He didn't let out a bark.
He kept up to his feed like an Eskimo dog.
But we hiked him to a private Louis
vile barn to keep him away from the in
fection.
And so, there was the walkover all fix
ed for us.
'On the morning of the race our horse
was as healthy and happy "a young calf
in a clover patch. and We had the big
Louisville winter book and the bigger Chi
cago book, both as good as wheat, yelling
murder.
Our stake was the fourth race on the
card. We just walked around together, too
gurgly to talk without getting larynx
Jumps. Occasionally one of us I'D ask the
other in hoarse whisper If it was long
drawn trance or just the real thing. 1t
looked too cut and dried, like one of those
mattress hallucinations.
The minute came. We tossed the best
and safest jockey in the south up our
horse. The horse went to the post in front
of the grand stand. The band played
flag drop with a smile and then crossed
over to congratulate US.
He was still making the rounds of us
with his handshakes when our walkover
horse, only tratpsing along, turned into
the stretch.
Did you ever get tossed out of the top
bunk of 4 coastwise steamer cabin in the
middle of the night, and then grope around
and switch on the light and spend ten
minutes looking yourself over to see if you
were all there?
.'Well, il was about like that, only worse.
Turning into the stretch walk-over
horse stepped into an overlooked hole. about
five inches deep, close to the rail He went
down, tossing the boy under the fence.
Then the horse picked himself up and ran
away four miles and half
That's ell.
He finished without his rider, and of
course it no walk-oVer
THE winter books kept the kale We
went to work. That quarter section of
bluegrass is down there in Kentucky yet.
It's worth nine times the figure at which |
had the option on it.
''Oh smokes a smoke, but it's the heel
of the pipe that sizzles!
That Napa county Cal) grape ranch is
stil there too. The Chinaman who owns
it is shipping Chianu TO Italy. now they
tell me- The vines were just getting along
to the bearing stage when j looked the
place over and told the owner that I'd have
his price in hand on such-and-such day.
II was going to get the price on jump
ing race. | was handling some jumpers
then, out at the old Bay District track,
near San Francisco. One of them was en-
tered for the big steeplechase of the winter
meeting There were ten others TO go.
"Ac tho meeting progressed ten of us that