Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-10

he overheard q couple the Wise ohSS
talking about the third race
Great mess Of dogs" said one OF the
loquaeious wisdom-packers. IT'S the klno
of a punkerine sprint for fellow to let
alone. There isn't stiff in the race That
hasn't got some kind of a chance-ali ex-
cept that thing they call Pancreatis. That
the only one in the lot that I'd feel like
laying against-Pancreatis." The talkative
man pronounced the horses name Pan
crates"
This sounded about right to the pig
headed motorman. .
That's the baby for mine. Pancakes"
he rumbled to the beer server. i've peen
hearin' these wise High School cadets
a-chewin' on tn front O me car ev'ry day
since tn races began here, an they gimme
tn legache. Pancakes. hey? That's tn
on'y one O. tn bunch that Willie Wisdom
don't give no chanel to, hey? Well, Pan
cakes FIR mine," and the motorman I'm
ished his beer, wiped his bristlng mustache
on his sleeve and climbed out to the bet
ting ring.
Hey, gimme this much worth O. Pan
cakes said the motorman to the first
bookie in the line. and he separated the
$40 bill from the So that made up the re-
mainder of his wad and passed it over to
the chalker.
ITO VIM" the bookmaker asked him.
''WeIl, 1 amt playin' it to lose hull lot, !"
said the motorman, and the layer laid the
motorman 5000 to $40 again Pancakes:
Pancreatis separated himsef from the for
ward bunch at the furlong pole with con-
summate ease and won in a jog.
Il don't perfess t know helluva lot
about boss racin'," observed the motorman
when, after stulfing his 500 into his weskit
pocket. he started out of the gate. not wait
ing for any more of the races. but found
out a hull long time ago that it's a winnin'
system jes' to copper chinner's words
every chanst you git.
The Badge Number Hunch.
At this stage Of it a man who used to be
one of the badge sellers at the Benning
track got in.
THAT badge number bunch goes through
about once in fourteen million times" he
said but hundreds of track visitors, some
regulars, but mostly casuals, keep pounding
away at it. They've got more ways Of
has woodticks. Some Of them pull a long
face when they're handed a badge winding
up with an odd figure, while on the other
side of it there are slews Of them who
figure for any money. Then there are the
program dopists who, before starting for
the track, determine to play In every race
a horse with a certain number on the card
Then they'll poster the badge seller to dig
for a badge that foots up the lucky pro-
gram number that they've picked for the
day. One man who did this at spring
to hang around my satchel till the second
race was about due before he could snag
out a badge footing up his days lucky
number-maybe lucky, mean-and then
on No. 11-his badge number was 1O,262
which footed up his hasheesh figure. He
wasn't quick enough on hoofing 1t to get
his bet down before the horses were off,
came home with the boy looking back and
grinning. For couple Of weeks that one
was the sorest butcher that ever got q
thumb mixed up with a soup bone. but he
or frypf loNyfo hot h,,rr ot,a~
system
Some Of these badge bugs insist upon
getting badge numbers that foot up their
own age. One of them once offered me u
dollar bonus II I'd sort my badges over
and slip him the badge numbered $3.50.
Nine is my get-the-kale number the
little man told me, and the four mines foot
up my age. thirty-six, and If don't have
to charter a hucksters wagon. to bring
home the spinach today. then I'm a
smudge
wagon he didn't ride home in it. He was in
the same car with me on the in-train from
the track, with a mug on him as long as
an ironing board.
the badge sellers had all sorts of trouble in
getting ride of badges with the figures 2
and in sequence.
1.-The fellows who look upon Is as a
lucky number far out-number the anti-13
bugs at the races, and most fellows who
snag out bages beginning with Ii grin over
what they regard as a good omen. But I've
never seen this Ii bunch get anybody any
thing.
II once sold q badge numbered 13,O13
thus beginning and ending with the queer
number, on the thirteenth day of the month
and also the thirteenth day Of the meeting,
which was also Friday, and the man who
got that badge told me that there were
thirteen letters In his name and that he
had been born on the 18th Of the month.
also on Friday. This seemed like an out
and-out bunch for hi INTO fall that day for
all the horses on the program numbered 49,
and that's what he did.
His nudge system not only didn't get
him anything in solitary race but on his
way out of the track he got into a scrap
with a man who trod on his corns, made a
pass at him. got punched all to ribbons and
then was pinched for disorderly conduct in
the bargain. / saw him q couple Of days
later with his head wrapped up in BAN
dagss ,o IT,. ..,r tho. :. III. -. -.
yours, isn't it?' l was ornery enough to
when he recognized me I was afraid he
was going to throw a rock at me.
Zone day tickled confident-looking lit
tie man by dishing out to him the badge
numbered a pat 1000
"I s'pose this isn't nudge or nothin'. ,
he said to me, gazing with big; happy
Why. that's just the piece O. change that
came out to win today-$1.00 Need just
that much to pay of note. Amt no way
| ! DaQKG
number. II you see me wearing that stuffy
look when I come out of the grounds you'll
know that got the action l was looking
for on this sliplet.'
IT met him on the in-train.
do any good with that 1000 badger l
asked him.
".Ye-eh. it did me good all right he re-
piled. sadly. pulling the 1000 badge out Of
his buttonhole and tearing it into little
pieces and throwing the pieces in the car
aisle and stamping on them.
Zone day one OF these VARY, VARY smart
women who attend the races every day was
real sorry she'd got humorous over the
number Of lady's ticket that handed out
to her one wet afternoon five OF six years
ago. The number on this lady's ticket was
2222, and she passed 1t back to me with one
Of those clever remarks:
".Oh. that ones too dreadfully too-too;.
she said. Let me have one that is less
| monotonous at the beginning and end and
in the middle
! $50 I handed her a lady's ticket from the
bottom of my pack. The woman to whom
sold the 2.222 ticket moment or SO later
didn't do a thing that afternoon but become
adjacent to six straight winners, including
that canteloupe Gwynne. upon which she
had straight bet OF $40 at 100 to ]"