Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07
Ruined by a Trick.

cat Latonia, about eight years ago, there
was blocked out that would have
chased the price layers all over America to
the BOBBY hatch in sets of tours, if-well,
just if.
The horse happened to belong to me.
which renders the recital of the cause I'M
derlying the if all the more sad. He was
such a good horse that he's been in the
stud for number of years, and has al
ready sent plenty of winners to the races
around here. L never raced him at all as
two-year-old. He went bit wrong as
1 edging him toward the post as
three-year-old l didn't know even then
whether he was going to be really of any
account or not, but when l got him into
racing trim on the old Lexington track
the stuff he showed me made me sit up and
blink. I just bubblef over within myself
over the prospect of killing that would
make the ring look like an abattoir One
thing only bothered me, and that was the
extreme nervousness of the young fellow.
He as jumpy and jerky as a fox ter
rier pup in flea time, and piece of paper
flying across the training track a bit
of unusual noise behind him in his shed
would make him hop around for half an
hour like ball of mercury with the st.
Vitus' dance.
of ways. including a thorough schooling
at the barrier, but it born in him and
he just couldn't help it. l decided to try
for the killing anyhow. figuring it out that
start for his first race, his great speed
would carry him to the front notwith-
standing.
"a week before 1 calculated on making
him carry me home a bale of money 1 took
him up to Latonia, and when the day
came around he was as fine as a Strad.
fiddle. l tossed him into a three-quarters
sprint that had fourteen other starters.
a number of them being the real good ones
among the Cincinnati sprinters. and it
looked like sure-enough shoo-in for my
Nod to,,f hale of
the moneyed boys wise to the thing, and
our coin, at the hour the race was due.
was down in a whole lot of different sec
| tons of the United States. The books
opened up my unknown at 100 to 1, but
We chewed SO hard on that that two min
utes after the first prices my horses price
was down to Is to /, and the books were
leary Of taking much Of that. By that
time, however, We were into them for a
figure that I hate to name, because 1t
! makes me lonesome to think about it.
We'll, they got away in line, my horse
we'll up with the rest, and the boy with a
tight hold on him. according to instruc-
lions. until the stretch should be reached.
when he was to cut loose and fetch him
home on the bit. 1t was happening just
that way when five Of the horses swung
into the stretch In a line. My horse was
on the rail and the boy was just beginning
to loosen up the links. when six internal
coons suddenly rose up out of the tall.
rank grass alongside the infield fence and
simultaneously let out succession of
blasts from six long fish horns that must
have been heard down in Mississippi. My
horse jumped about nine feet in the air and
| then swerved heavily against the horse next
| to him. Then 1t was a case of all the horses
| on the line banging against each other
| until it looked If several of them must
| go down. AS it was, all Of the front horses
| were thrown OFF their stride. Mine was the
| first to recover, and he came along and
| won the race like scared rabbit
| "As a matter of course. he was disquali-
! fled for fouling. The books had shifted the
/ rodent when all of that good money went
| In on my horse and a hard loser among
| them, knowing my horses nervous weak
| ness, had chartered those darkies to mess
| up the race with those fish horns. That
| one bookie stood to pay off $4,000 if my
| horse had won, and he felt pretty confident
| that the only thing for him to do was to
| make that sneaky play for disqualified
| ton He got away with it and the next
| time my good horse went to the post he
| was a to 8 shot. That's how close I
| came to being a wholesale pork butcher
without getting the apron on.