Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-13
is LOSING HIS SIGHT
Lucky" Baldwin Said to Be
Nearly Blind.
A GENEROUS FRIEND
HOW HE HELPED PERSONS DOWN
ON THEIR LUCK"
Disliked to Be Asked for Loan While
at the Race Track, but Was Ever
Ready to Relieve Distress.

Two bits of turf news that came to hand
together the other day had an odd bearing
on and association with each other The
first was that the great Washington Park
race track in Chicago is about to be cut
up into city lots. The second was that
Lucky Baldwin. the California Midas. at
whose touch everything turned TO gold for
nearly two generations, and who was one
OF the main racing figures Of the Washing
ton Park race track in the days of it's
greatest fame, was pretty nigh totally
blind and that there was no chance of
saving his sight or any part of It. 1t was
on the Washington Park race track that
LUCKY Baldwin won most OF his re-
nowned turf triumphs with the marvellous
successive strings of thoroughbreds of his
own breeding The Washington Park race
track Is one Of the few American tracks
that is known all over the world, mainly
LOT the reason that it was on this track
that The famous American derby was con-
. uo TOT, Tor many years. by high-class
Europe have been sent to this country to
contend for the American blue ribbon
notably the Duke of Beaufort's horse
olrathrose' which received an inexplicabIy
severe trounc1ng in the race at the rear of
lot of American horses
Lucky Baldwin sent the winner of that
great event to the post the very first time
ne lriea TOT II. He was one of the main
stays or the noted Chicago track, for he
had queer sort of prejudice against the
Atlantic seaboard that would never permit
OF his sending his really f1rst-rate horses
70 race on the great tracks around New
ork. Lucky Baldwin is a very old
man now, although within the past few
years he has made trying expedition to
the gold fields of Alaska to recoup fortunes
somewhat broken by bad investments He
in fc
is probably the 'Iand-poorest'' man In the
world He himself does not know just how
many hundreds of thousands of acres of
magnificent California land he owns His
affairs are in good shape again, and ex-
elusive OF the immense value of his Cali
fornia acres, he is probably a millionaire
many times overland this, be 1t remem-
bered, after having been broke" down to
the most complete 'down-and- outness"
many, many times since his first success
OF fortune in California in the early fifties.
An Old Trainers "reminiscences.
An old-time trainer of thoroughbreds,
who used to be very close to Lucky
Baldwin in the days when the latter was
racing his horses at Washington Park in
Chicago, and who was in charge of string
that raced at the recent Benning meeting,
was inspired to Renaissance when he heard
of Baldwin's impending blindness.
Lucky was and is the biggest-hearted
man that ever slapped a good horse on
the haunch,'' was the veteran trainers
tribute to the noted old California turfman
He wasn't mark for his friends, as the
sports term man who responds readily to
requests for loans, but he was extremely
liberal toward men whom he liked and who
fell into hard luck streaks. Not in any
way inquisitive, and taciturn to an ex-
IRENE, Lucky had a sort of instructive
knowledge of the fact when certain of his
turf friends were down and out, even when
they kept the matter completely to them
selves.
"A friend of 'Lucky's' had horse in the
American derby the year Boundess won
the race-Lucky' himself had no candidate
in the field that year, If l remember cor
rectly. Lucky's' friends horse was mort
gagged, together with few remaining ones
Of the string. The owner believed in his
colt and every dollar he had in the world
only a few thousands-was up on the horse
to nail the American derby. Not only that.
but he stood to lose the horse and the rest
of the string If the race went elsewhere,
which, of course. 1t did.
Lucky Baldwin knew all about this,
but the man in the hole didn't know that
Lucky knew it. The two men watched the
race from the infeld, standing in separate
groups.
Boundless in the lead and sailing along with
giant strides, Lucky put his field glasses
back into the case and crossed over to
where the owner of the mortgaged colt
stood. Lucky didn't have much trouble
seeing that his friend was more than hard
hit. The mans face was twitching al
though he wasn't saying anything.
Where's your colt, old man.? Lucky
asked the man who had staked everything
on his colts chance.
THE colt was among the tailenders.
Nowhere replied the colts owner, and
he started to walk away. Then he turned,
and with a sort Of chalky grin added: And
he isn't my colt now any more, either 1
dun lose him.
Lucky beckoned his friend back with
a nod, and the man returned to where the
kindly old Californian stood.
'AI In, old man? Lucky asked him in
low tone.
."Ceptin' little haberdashery and such
like l bought yesterday, replied the man
who had stood for the blow, trying to put
a good face on the thing
''.An your horses in hock?' Lucky asked
him.
Ito their chin straps. was the reply
1'Got time to take bite with me at my
hotel after the last racer Baldwin asked
the hard-luck owner, and the latter nodded
when the days racing was over. the
two men drove down to Baldwin's hotel.
Lucky took up the mortgage on all Of the
horses of his down-and-out friend and
slipped him $4,000 besides. All the money
was repaid In less than a year, but when
he held out the helping hand the old CAL
ifornian was not thinking of when. If ever,
the loan was going to be made good.
Lucky never liked to be touched on
the race track, although he was never
known to turn the TOUGHER down IL the
man was one of his friends. He particu-
larly abominated having a man begin
long story on him at race track when he
wanted coin.
Mr. Baldwin friend once said to him
at Washington Park in Chicago, meeting
the Californian on the lawn before the
DAYS racing began, find that I'm thou
sand to the bad in one of these books, bet
I made yesterday, though I'd forgot all
about It and didn5t fetch the make-good
stuff along with me, and
why can't you chop all that and just
say that you want the thousands? broke in
Lucky with sort of petulance In which
there was never any real malice, and he
passed his friend the money.
!" .Lucky's' objection to being touched
on the track was due more to the fact
that such incidents distracted his atten-
ton from the business in hand-the bust
ness of watching his horses run-than to
any unwllingness to give up. He lost less
through lending money. perhaps. than any
of the big Inoneyed men around the tracks
in his day of racing. The touchers' had
too keen an appreciation of the value of the
friendship OF so open-handed a man as
Lucky Baldwin to take chances on losing
that friendship.