Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-16
LONG SHOTS THAT
WERE NOT BACKED

IAN interview in recent number of The
Star with trainer at Benning, telling how
owners maintain stables and then do not
back their own horses in races, reminds
me of several equally entertaining facts
in regard to racing" said a well-known
local sporting man. who attacks the game
from "the ground" to a Star reporter.
Men who play and follow the horses
through the season and who do their own
handcapping and make their own selec-
lions do the same acrobatic stunt with
their Judgment as do the owners who play
other horses against their own entries.
"Of course l refer to the experts and
not the casual player or the regular piker
whose judgment and conclusions are gen.
orally as worthless as the horses they
select to back. There are, however, many
men who understand the performances of
horses. their probable capabilities when
next out and who have a comprehensive
grasp OF the scientific side of the game
The foresight of this small class of play
ers in determining probable future results
is often remarkable And where II Is not
they. too. II the owners, as experienced
they are, succumh to the 'scares which
are daily thrown into them at the track
side. As II is this class of experts beat the
game right along, and but for that strange
element of fear with US all, would do very
much better at the close of the season.
zone of the greatest elements of success,
from owner to player and which COM
paratively few men possess in this bust
ness, is patience. Ask any man in the bust
ness for his opinion as to the cause OF
Pittshurg Pills success on the turf and
you will get answers ranging from moon
light workouts on the backstretch to math-
ematical handicapping No one knows his
exact methods of operation but | have al
ways given his wonderful patience as one
OF the foundation stones of his fortune.
Sometimes, however. owners are too pa
tent and wait too long before making a
shy Tor the purse. On the last day of the
recent meeting at Benning, in next to the
last race and on the last day also of the
metropolitan circuit, a three year-old maid
en- named Ffntrail, owned by ]. w. Colt.
and who had never started before, appeared
In the entries There was no line for the
public upon this horses performances and
the big crowd at the track that day, aside
from the bookies and the knowing ones.
were surprised TO see only to laid at
the opening betting. This was hammered
down to g to at post time, all of the
educated money went in on Ffntraf Fin
trail won in a gallop by four lengths. You
see, Mr. Colt exposed the form of this
horse in his workouts too long, and all the
checkers knew OF his capabilities, with q
resultant very short price. If he had
started him earlier at Jamaica or Aque-
duct he would have got probably 10 to
and larger purse, for Fintrail was really
one OF those bottled-up good things we
read about. and could have won at any
time
~
ION the other hand. here is an instance
of Impotence on the part of one owner
and the letting slip of a chance to make a
fortune on the part of another.
I'm the string of John A. Drake this
summer was campaigned a speedy three
year-old gelding named Yves. Yves was q
good consistent horse. who won several
races for Drake. but Just because he was
brakes horse the books. as was the case
with all OF this plunger's entries this year
kept the odds down around the favorite's