The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-23
BETTORS WHO DID PULL OUT
HORSE RACING ISN'T ALWAYST THE
CAUSE OF RUIN.
The THURMAN Relates h Experience Of the
Broker Who Sent His Last Thousand
In on Reina-King Cadnfus 70 the
Rescue OF the scared Hotel Manager.


|; z.akes most turfmen psevish to read
or 10 hear Of men who have been ruined
by the races."
During the last ten years I've taken
the pains to investigate about q hundred Of
these hop narratives about men being sent
70 their doom by the horses" said one OF
them the other day, 'andi in about e5 per cent.
~ these cases the downfallen men weren't
put on the rocks by the pony betting thing
nt all. They were reported as having got
their wallors at the tracks Just because
they were known to take a flyer occasionally
on the horses. But IL has been the fashion
for a long time to attribute tho difficulties
OF the majority of thieves, fools and suckers
~ the horse playing habit. No matter what
the real trouble with tho down and outer
may be, it'G always coupled in the betting
in these yarns with the pony plunging
thing, Ifafcllow loses out aud gets pinched
or commits suicide because he's gone broke
against the stock market OF big store poker
or wildcat mining speculations or women
or plain rum and the trimmings thereof,
the yarn is always bulged in that he took
the count because he pitted himself against
the hooSies.
As a general thing, and equally as a
matter Of course. the chap who dips into
somebody else's money drawer to get him
eelf ont Of a horse made hole by playing
the horses ONE more lands in the place
whore they wear the zebra clothes. But
| know some exceptions even to that. I've
been there or thereabouts on several I'M
usual occasions when deep in fellows who
actually had endangered themselves, by
fooling with the pony thing have pulled
back in time by more horse playing.
don't advocate their system, but l merely
recite the facts as to their cases.
ION the night before a Brooklyn Handicap
that was run early in this century a friend
Of mine with a very strained looking pair
OF eyes visited ME at my apartment. He
was the board member Of a newly organ
lied firm Of brokers with which | trans
acted occasional bits of business down
Wall Street way. He was a bright, hustling
man. not much above 80. When he
visited the tracks he usually sloughed OF
his duff in a book in which / was then in
terested. He was such a lucky horse
picker that he copied at least one winning
bet every other Decoration Day, Horses
that he would play would die in their stalls
before they could be led into the paddock
10 be saddled, He was the original Mr..
In Bad.
He looked haggard and nervous when he
upon me that night before Brooklyn
Handicap day. He'd never visited me at
my own plant before. | waited for him to
uncoil it himself.
what do you think Of Reina for the big
racer he asked me. without so much as
.prefacing the question with a Good even
ing
Its near bedtime / replied. Please
don't attempt to stir my risibles when / am
.endeavoring to compose myself for slumber.
Reina, hey? Let me in on this joke. What's
the answer
-'No chance for Reina. them he asked
striding up and down my sitting room
like a mar in a prison corridor waiting fdr a
verdict.
"'No more chance than nave OF being
King Of Sweden | told him.
My reply caused him to sit down and
'widdle his thumbs and to gaze dismally at
he pattern Of the rug.
ct s this way he came at me then. I'm
chubby with some chaps who are in
sitL ,rthur featherstone and his clique. !
snow that, in spite OF Reina's bad races this
'ear. featherstone thinks a lot of the mare
or the handi zap, although I understand he
won I bet on heI-which will make the price
III the better. | hear that Reina has Sc
,retly outworked everything in the race
~ heard tnat railbird trance, too !
old him. Bat there's a big striding thing
Advance Guard, | suppose you've
heard, in the race. Don't lend your ears
% le rdilbird5 If you're asking me-
"Dlt he was the bullhead. He bounded
ut Of his chair and began racing up and
IDV 4 tho room again
I've got to take the chance. anyway
= "Numhled. But | can't go TO the track
,Julln { stand the strain. All, all in now
READY TO keel over-couldn't possibly
AL fer me on Reina straight and he
.auded me a pair OF $500 notes.
1T kind of stuff pulled a long whistle
NJ e me.
You're too keen a man to act the
.eason With him. That's quite a few
thousand men-to spraddle oil a
tucked up mare that hasn't shown enough
orm this year TO throw a moving shadow
m the lnfield grass. Be guided. A thou
dent. Nobody ever beats a Brook
Handicap, anyhow. It's one Of those
aces TO look at. not TO bet on. Cot thatS'
" You'll get the thousand on Reina for
ne, heyy he came right back as il he hadn't
leard me.
Oh, the surest thing on earth, I
some grouchy over the way he
assed up my wisenheimer line Of con
'rr-alou.
We'll, I'm obliged to you, said he pick
nG up lis hat. Better not get any OF the
down in hat book you're back
ng I've got a bunch that it'll be Reina-
he's got 10 VIM and the man fell to
up and down the room again.
took a good peek at him then out OF the
Its e my eyes, and / could see that he was
eally in a heap Of trouble.
You're letting the game get you some
N the raw SON. / told him then. When
begins to do that to you, then's your
to chop and just go fishin'. I'll get
thousand down. Only because I'm
friend Of yours and because you insist
pon II. though. II it wasn't rugged that
I'd just line the kick with the thousand
nd forget about il till the race was over,
nd then I'd be a thousand ahead, But
II get il down. ,
As expected, Reina was at the joke !,
nice when the states went up at Gravesend
n the Brooklyn the next day. There was
ONE 100 10 | against her, but 90 to / was
he prevailing figure. HUNTED up a trained
Inside maj who wasn't working that day |
" anybody in particular. and handed
I'm the two $500 things. telling him 10 get
u Of 1t down, in as many different lots as