Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-11
WINTER BOoKMAKING
Expenses Greater South and West
Than in the East.

The expenses Of bookmakers operatins
this winter in San Francisco are much
heavier than on the Gotham tracks. saws
the New York Sun. In the east a book
maker pays s57 a day for badges for him
self and employees, and incidentally for
space in the betting ring In Frisco his
daily fee is $50 with $40 a day to his
ticketwriter and sheetwriter and sl5 to
his hickman and cashier But there Is
more business at the Frisco tracks Just
now than at Los Angeles or New Orleans.
and the books are in clover
The richest layers who are quoting the
ODDS at Frisco are Joe Rose and John Con-
don, the blind man who owns the Harlem
track at Chicago. Rose is handling from
$1,000 to $4,000 day and Is conducting a
genuine Big Store" affair. Condor paws
800 day for the Textbook privilege which
involves the speculation of all the one
dollar pikers. If the favorites win Con-
don's book gets the money, as the one-dol-
lar players go after long shots exclusively
But II they lose 1t Is another story
English Bill Jackman is another big
bookmaker on the coast, and SO is Bob
Lloyd There is an average OF thirty
books at work each day.
More layers are in line at New Orleans
than ever before The other day thirty
three Of them weighed in. record break
Ing number. But there are only a hand
ful OF big operators. including Barney
Schneider Steve L'Hommedieu and one or
two others. While money is plentiful
there few big piungers on the ground
barring the bookmakers themselves At
Los Angeles there are twenty books in line
with a fair amount of business for all Of
them. When Essex Park Hot Springs ia
under full Roadway there will be similar
number of penciiers on the blocks
Yet. combining the daily business at all
of these winter tracks, the aggregate
amount win not compare to the volume of
business conducted in a single afternoon at
one of the big eastern tracks. Bookmakers
who have visited these winter tracks say
that money is comparatively scarce when
the liberal wagers of a metropolitan race
track crowd are taken into consideration.
Give me the east all the timer' said a
well-known bookmaker at the Hoffman
House the other day. TN venture to say
that on big race days and HOLIDAYS last
season / handled more money In a single
afternoon than any of the books at the
winter<,rachs take in during a whole week.
1t stands to reason that a crowd of 10000
persons at an eastern track, not counting
Saturdays and other big days. will have
more money to speculate with than the
usual crowd of $500 or 5000 persons who
patronize these winter tracks from day to
day. Books operated in the east have the
big plungers like Gates, Drake, Thomas
Wheelock. johnson and others In their class
to deal with, while the winter tracks have
nobody who will bet on similar lines.
1.-The racegoing public here Is decidedly
more prosperous. too. You will find many
ordinary citizens who think nothing of bet
ting S1Oo to a race. while at New Orleans
or Los Angeles some of the books will not
take u 500 wager. That Is quite a differ
ence. but 1t Is true nevertheless l think
this year will see an increase In the bust
ness. too The racing public is growing
wiser each season, and when the local
campaign sets in l believe the books will
be fairly overrun."
Barney Schneider. by the way, intends to
race again on the local tracks after an
absence of several years. Schneider IS
familiar with all branches OF the turf He
is not only a wealthy bookmaker, but he
Is breeder OF thoroughbreds on q large
mares and tenstaliions at his Woodlands
Farm. In Keffteeky. Among the stations
are Sain. Bannockburn and Balgowan, who