Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-17

A strange coincidence at New York
track last week was the frame-up over
at the book run by Sam Harris. Har-
ris is chiefly famous for having made a
champion Of Terry McGovern. Harris
was on the stool McGovern was tax
ing the cash Matty Matthews acted
as runner and I'm front of the outfit was
another hero Of the flstic arena, the in
imitable Jack McAullffe, putting down
bet Every customer was guaranteed
"fghting chance"
Few turf followers ever stop to think
of the strange occurrences and the
unique freaks to be encountered I'm a
year on the race tracks. "All men are
equal, above and under the turf" once
quoth a famous raconteur and mellow
soul of the real world, by way of tenn
pering the spirit of a stout after
dinner hour among hail-felows of his
acquaintance. Nothing is half so true
as that sporting adage. The three
quarter stretch during a hot finish
levels all men and removes whatever
of the superficial that serves as
cloak Nowhere else can so thorough a
clearing house" of character be found
as in the frenzled betting ring of today,
one only having to observe the hundred
and one odd little things happening
about him to eke a sermon and scent n
story.
The fact that Willie Shields failure
to start Holscher, winner of the Brigh-
ton cup, in the $4,000 Southwold handi-
cap at Jamaica, L. l.. brings to mind
some of the foibles of owners and
trainers. Though Holscher stood an
excellent chance Of taking down first
or second money, the lesser amount
being considerably over $500, the
young trainer, called the Quickest man
on the turf" allowed Holscher to
stand in his stall while the fixture was
being run. Asked for the reason there
Of, he said: We'll, once had jockey
named Southwold who was killed in a
race at Lakeside, and the hardest bet
1 ever lost was to Southwold. The
race would be a Jonah for me, so L
didn't start" For two years now
Shields horses have skipped the South
wold handicap.
During the past summer every time
a photographer headed in the direction
of the paddock where Sam Hildreth
stood experimenting the rigging out
of his entry for the impending race, a
small but knowing throng would fol-
low in the wake of the luckless artist,
for 1t counted on a scene and was
rarely disappointed. Did Hildreth dis
cover the photographer attempting a
picture of the horse or himself, he in
vartably became furious. Twice this
year he keeled over the camera man
and bowled his machine along the
sward. IF there is anything Hildreth
hates 1t is the picture man the news
papers send down to the race tracks
every once in a while to catch promi-
nent horses and interesting turf per-
sonages," declared a friend of Sans,
in explaining this funny falling Hill
dreth is sincerely Superstitious about
photographs, and [ feel sure he will
yet seriously harm some Of those ko-
dak persons who persist in endeavor-
ing to snap a picture of some horse
he treasures as he did McChesney.
Sam believes photograph brings bad
luck to horse.
When McChesney was hurt by fall
in a race preliminary to the American
Derby of 1902, Sam blamed 1t on a pho
tographer. He really believed 1t, too.
l have never seen a photographer come
into a paddock where Hildreth hap
pened to be without running into trou-
BILE. Hildreth Is one Of the queer char
acter touches of the betting ring. Many
time at New Orleans he put down
big bet on what he considered a
moral certainty. Five minutes before
the close Of the betting he had been
known to take off the bet because a
GU COlOItu SpoII HdppeIlbu 10
pass within his vision. or course the
red and black apparition didn't affect
the speed of the horse out on the track,
but somehow Hildreth could never get
to feel that way.
Just after the horses came down from
Saratoga last September Superinten-
dent Frank Clarke of the Sheepshead
Bay course was informed by the de-
tectives Of the Society for the Preven-
ton of Cruelty to Animals of certain
horse with three legs having been en-
tered as starter in one of the cheap
events on the program of the next day.
with three legs, eh?" queried Clark in
half suspicious manner. Going over
to stall No. 72, whence the entry had
been made, Clark found there a four