Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-20
Meanest Kind of a WeIcher.

during the fiscal and lunar year to Gomez
Meanest Kind of a Welcher
The meanest kind OF a welcher known
TO bookmakers is the fellow who takes ad-
vantage Of a racing technicality to avoid
getting out to the firing line and making
good when the settling-up hour arrives.
Several of the layers at Saratoga q cou-
pie of years ago were snagged for thou
sands by chap of this sort on the day
that Hermis was disqualified after winning
a race along toward the middle of the
meeting. What made it worse in this mans
case was that he belonged to the club
house bunch-he's one of the kind that gets
his name printed alongside of those people
who eat their meals with balloons and
such like for table mates at Newport.
This side-stepper bet pretty close to &c.
600 to win on the horse that finished sec
ond 10 Hernts in that race. Hermis stroled
in all by himself. We all paid off on Her
mis-. Late in the afternoon, just before
the close Of the days racing, II was an
nounced that because the new partnership
between the owners Of Hermis hadn't yet
| been registered at the Jockey Club Hermis
would have to stand for disqualification.
Well, 1t made no difference then, except to
| the owners of the disqualified horse and Of
the second horse, the latter proftlng by the
disqualification TO the extent Of getting the
purse. And all Of the cash bets had
been paid Off Hermis as the winner, all
OF the marker bettors who had wagered
On pl4ttT HOISt5 III the race settled on tnat
basis, too, even after the disqualification
But the clubhouse weicher didn't. He
ducked to the tune of $4,000 that he had
bet with his fingers on the horse that fin
lshed second to Hermis
:" The money follows the decision and the
purse, was his way of edging around It.,
and the layers who had taken his finger
bets simply had to charge his bets up to
profit and loss. The betting does follow the
decision and the purse. of course, as a
general thing. but this was an exceptional
| case. so recognized by all OF the 5000
people who were on the Saratoga grounds
! that day.
The bookmakers have their little way
| Of ruling off, SO far as credit betting is
| concerned, fellows that are known to have
| WEIGHED in any part of the world, Just as
| the Jockey Club has OF Withholding recog-
milton from turfmen and jockeys who are
| known to have been mixed up with shady
| transactions, no matter how far outside
| the Jockey Clubs jurisdiction. AS the thing
| IS rugged up now once you WEIGH you
wear the w brand for life. You're out
! for good. No matter how four-square your
| record may have been previous to your
welching. the terms for you henceforth and
| forever from that date are spot cash.
! There was case of that Identical kind in
| the Jamaica ring during the early part
| OF the meeting there.
Welchers on the Black List.
"A Chicago punter for the four and five
! figure money, whose upturned fingers were
/ good for years for any amount in front of
the stool OF any layer on the line around
| the New York tracks, and who had never
| stde-stepped a sou-markee on the bookfes
! around New York, WEIGHED for $40 900 al
one of the New Orleans tracks last winter.
The layers on whom he WEIGHED down there
were local men and in no way affiliated
with the New York bookmakers. But that
| didn't change the situation any. After max
| ing his WEIGH the Chicago man turned up
| at Hot Springs with small bank roll and
| with n lot of luck ran Ii Into something
big. Then he turned up at the Jamaica
track at the beginning of the meeting there
! The New Orleans bookmakers on whom he
had WEIGHED had passed the tip along this
way that the Chicagoan hadn't made even
a pretense OF coming to the front. The
welcher. however, didn't know this-he
didn't, in fact. know that the story of his
WEIGH had got into circulation around New
York at all
80. on Sterling handicap day at Jamaica
he started down the line to do bit OF bet.
ting with the diglts. He struck a snag In
the first layer at the head OF the line wther
he held Up two fingers that meant two thou
sand on his pick for the Sterling.
| 'Uh-huh,' said the layer to the welcher
| That's nice manicuring. Where do you gel
EN- polished? oh, you say you want to bel
on race? l thought you were showing me
how cute your nails were manicured. Two
thousand. you say? Well, gimme and ht
stretched out his hand as IL to take hold Of
the money.
Put II on the Ice said the weicher
Not for you, mate said the layer Tn
! all out OF ice l understand you were In
New Orleans last winter? That right? Uh.
huh Like IT down there? I'm, WELL thi,
is the Spot Coin Company, Limited, pal
and I'm not selling anything on the In
| stallment plan now. Come and see us som,
| time when you're there with the real idea
and the transaction was deferred.
| THAT welcher win not get a chance tc
make finger bet for the price OF package
| of toiu on a New York race track for ths
rest of his life. for he wears the brand and
| he'll always wear 1T c. l. c.