Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-15
EVER MPAss|VE,
WINNING OR LOSING
Demeanor of Some of the Big
PIungers on the
Race Track.

How would you feel II you won $4,000
on q couple Of horse raeesf
saw g. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. sep
arate the grieved Sheepshead Bay price
chaikers from that amount of money on
two good things OF his own unassisted pick
ing while ago
One OF these rare good equine aces In the
hole was the two-year-old Oran. Langdon
got Is to / against that one on the day
he showed up Ballot and Water Pearl and
he was down with enough to pry $685.
from the satchels of the bookmakers. The
other one was the stretch-fnishing mare
Flip Flap. which was seen in Washington
last year. Langdon has since bought her.
He got the foolish and out-of-line top price
of 30 to l against Flip Flap couple of
races after the rich cleanup on Oran. and
his tak,s-down was $4,000. with compare
lively little money risked for piunger of
the Langdon type.
II Larigdon's pulse beat even little bit
faster than It's normal ticking when he
saw these two horses romp home In front
OF their fields In their respective races he
certainly did not exhibit the least visible
citation. Nor, in preserving the most COM
plete calmness. did he appear to be max
ing any effort to adopt the pose of the
cold-blooded plunger. He is a young-look-
ing chap, and he grinned boyishly when
the two-year-old Oran shot out of his bunch
at the eighth pole and made the much
touted Water Pearl, the overwhelming odds
on favorfte, back up.
II thought that Water Pearl would chuck
II about there in a six-furlong race" he
said. he clapped his field glasses into
their case. He hasn't ever struck me as a
sticker."
DIE go to the oran thing whltey?" a
friend Of the plunger's standing near, ask
ed him.
For the dinner change" replied Lang
don, as he started for the paddock.
Nice mare Of the go-all-day kind" Lang
don quietly observed when Flip Flap forged
ahead Of about the best horses In training
In her race. Going to put her in my barn
IL can get her." and half an hour later
Flip Flap did belong to Langdon, he hav-
ing quickly paid the first price asked for
her. big one.
couple of main bs:ting-ri runners
were talking things over on the ferry on the
way to New York after the races that af-
ternoon.
Whitley win eighty on Oran and Flip
Flap" observed one of them.
Eighty" cut in rather seedy-looking
chap, evidently cheap field piker. Why.
win hunnered an twenty on them two
meself"
"a hundred and twenty thousand?' in
auired the betting rune turning some
what superciliously to the piker
T ousan? No-should say not A hun
nered an twenty bucks"
Well, said the betting-ring runner, in
an on-hand way, Whitley Langdons win
on Oran and Flip Flap was eighty thou
sand
Eighty tousan'!' exclaimed the piker.
incredulously. Quit yer kiddinl Dey
| amt dat much coin in de woild!'
A quiet looking man. evidently only an
occasional race track visitor, overheard the
colloquy.
Eighty thousand dollars in one after
noon" he observed to the man he was
with Now, by looking around for while
he could get a safe per cent on that
eighty thousand, which would fetch him In
cinch income of $4,000 a year Four
thousand year is a bully income for any
man Do you suppose this Mr.. Langdon
will invest his money for a future assured
income?"
Forget it," was the laughing reply or
this conservative mans companion. He
may not have the price Of a beef stew six
months from today less than that He's
a plunger. Remember the cases Of Riley
Grammar. Plunger Walton and the rest of
en- don't you? Five per cent a year,
when they can sometimes make a thousand
per cent minute If they get break7
Swell chance!
There was one Of the great plungers-the
greatest Of them all-who did invest a large
bunch OF his winnings In an annuity
George Z. Smith, better known as Pitts
burg Phil, invested $500, 600 In an annuity
several years before he died But Pitts
burg Phil was an exception in a whole lot
OF respects in the ranks of the plungers
the most important of which was that for
the last ten years of his life at least he
never stood chance of going broke
whereas all the rest of them did stand or
are standing that chance all the time. Pitts
burg Phil was worth IS ,000,o0 al his death
He hadn't played the horses at all for
about year previous to his demise but a
lot or hrst-rate investments that he had
made helped to pile up the fine fortune he
left to his mother and brothers
This Whitley" Langdon, however Is ex-
hibiting considerable more cautiousness
than any of the other plungers of this
epoch except George Smith and there are
some believers of his positive declaration
that ne actually means to quit the turf at
the close or the present racing season
Turfmen who do not deal in exaggeratfon
say that Langdon Is worth 100000 today
he literally ran a 81 note" into this
amount. Langdon used to be a racing re-
porter for a Wilmington, Del. newspaper
He gained his first knowledge of horse
racing at the old Iron Hill outlaw track
ne used TO cover the running of the races
theree for his newspaper. He was wise
enough not to bet on the horses at that
grlsiy, yet funny, imitation of a legitimate
race track, but when Iron Hill shut down
ne went 70 the New York tracks He
started 81 parlay" on the card at one of
the New York tracks one day soon after
nus arrival, and the finish of that day saw
MIN the possessor of S2S,0C0. That was his
$50 o,io ne iiasn had a losing season
since 1t is difficult to believe that the
game will yet take" him. However there
are plenty of folks who have been aroma
race tracks for great many years and
who have watched the rise and fan or
numberless plungers who will have 10 he
SHOWN that the old game will not eventual
~ cover up even so cautious q man 40
Whitley Langtion 80
II is curious to observe how some Of these
winners OF the big money at the New york
'raSks accept tnelr successes and defeats
I happened to be standing near the notsd
Eddie Burke, the Falstaffian bookmaker
and plunger. on the day he had IS. 600
straight on the western horse Sir Huon at
Is to ].