Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-24

he would find the task Of Strengthening ali
Of these messes out would be quite beyond
him. It's hard enough for bettor to re
member where he made his bet. and VIII
what bookmaker. in a crowd or only rev
thousands Of people. but bettor wouio
have the time Of his life trying to Keep
track of himself on the New York tracks
with such a system In operation. Moreover,
that system in New York would give some
of the shady, casual. dead-line bookmakers
too glorious and Irresistible chance to
WEIGH on the payment Of bets.
But even supposing that the system
we're to be adopted on the New York tracks,
and that 1t could be operated practically
and successfully. 1 am quite confident that
the anti-racfng people would sooner or later
find ways and means to put even this
scheme out OF business. They are just az
determined as the racing folks and, when
all Is said and done. the walk around sys-
tenn of betting and taking bets Is OF course
only an evasion. and / never saw one OF
these evasions yet that wasn't capable OF
being legally punctured.
Sport for Horse Owners.
II think the handwriting is plain upon
the wall and that racing as we have known
1t in this country all these years is doomed.
Eventually, I think, 1t will become a sport
purely for the owners Of horses. They can
try out their horses for their own amuse-
choose. But as a big. popular gambling
game. / can't see how it is going to sur
vive in the teeth of the immense pressure
that Is being and that will continue to be
exerted against 1t. l am certainly not OF
the same opinion as John Madden seems to
be. namely, that racing could go on as a
great popular sport in this country with
out any betting at all. 1t has been clearly
proven that it could not, as to one great
center of population at least-I mean Chi
cago On the day when betting was stop
ped at the Washington Park track in Chi
cago there were some 10000 or 10000 peo-
pie on the grounds On the following day.
when it was well known there would be no
betting. the attendance footed up 300 or
400 / think that fairly showed that peo-
pie will not patronize race tracks in this
country IL they can't bet on the horses. But
that proposition never really needed proof.
1t was and is self-evident. Anybody as
the Shah of Persia once said to King Ed
ward-'Anybody knows that one horse can
run faster than another So what would
the great racing populace care for the mere
spectacle of horses racing against eacfr
other if they hadn't their bets down? l am
astonished that so keen man as John
Madden should go on record as backing up
such a contention"
Big Prices for Race Horses.
Mr. Bennington said some interesting
things about big prices for race horses.
1.-THE gentleman who gave me $4,000 for
able ridicule'' he said, because De Mund,
at first, had certain Indications of being =
gold brick. but 1 think he made a pretty
good trade all things considered, for a
man willing to pay that amount of money
for any kind of a horse. De Mund won
more than $4,000 in stakes and purses
after | sold him, and he is still only a
three-year-o old, with every chance 10 WIN a
great deal more than his purchase price.
think he will prove to be much better
horse than anybody gave him credit for
being last year.
"Arl the same, I think $4,000 is alto
gether too much money for any bit OF
horse flesh that ever lived or ever will live.
l believe it is the record price for horse
In this country, although there have been
some dream stories of horses for which
as high as 100000 was said to have been
paid. I never took the slightest stock in
horse being worth the $4,000 that 1 got for
De Mund. 1t is the purest and most
straightout gamble on earth. this purchas-
ing of. even the noblest kind of race
horse, and I am perpetually surprised
when I see what great sums men are will
ing to invest in such CANDLES. L am not
speaking now of the so-called gold brick
features in connection with such a bargain.
Even II purchaser for great price gets
hold of horse that everybody knows is
great. and that has demonstrated his
greatness the thing still remains an i'm
mense gamble, on account of the almost
unUHlteu NUMBER OF tHlnSS CAN nap
pen to a race horse to utterly destroy his
value. The slightest, most inconsequen-
tial and also unavoidable little mishap may
In an instant turn $4,000 or $40, 900 horse
into a 500 selling platter. The horse may
pick up pebble that will permanently in
jure one of his feet. He may bump, bruise
or break himself in his stall so as to rem
der himself practically worthless. He may
run into fence while exercising He may
contract any one of a dozen simple horse
ailments, even when surrounded with the
greatest precautions. capable of rendering
him perfectly valueess. A man who owns
one of these tremendously high-priced race
horses is on the anxious seat every mo-
ment of his life, and the chances are all
against his horse successfully weaving
through the thousand-an difficulties
and dangers that beset thoroughbred
horses. A great race horse can put pretty
nigh many gray hairs in the head of
nervous owner whole family of I'M
manageable children. i could rattle off the
names of a dozen great American race
horses that have prematurely aged their
wealthy owners, but l won't. They're all
friends of mine.-and they might get back at
me by naming one two cracks that have
planted creases and crevices in my own
Countenance."