The sun., 1908-04-26
COPIED s OUT OR 7 RACES
TIE FIRST TINE he DALLIED
WITH COMBINATION TICKET.
And tho Seventh W9s Due to WIN and BriuE
Him In SS 900 Tor His FIVE sROt When
The POOlrOOm People Had the BeastlO
Beratched-And So the Laugh Turned.

| NAN NNhNNAA NNhNN AANNt - N-~~~NN
scratChsd-And SO the Laugh Turned.
Il never saw a running race between
thoroughbreds until ten years ago.. said
turfman who Is now prominent as an
owner Of good ones. 4 knew no more
about the game than | do about the do
mestio economy OF the Coreans Some
times think that don't know much more
about the game now than did then, but
that isn't the story.
1T was while was in my state Of oom-
plete ignorance Of the horse game' that |
paid my first visit TO a poolroorn.' TiIH
was in st. Louis. friend Of mine with
whom | met up one forenoon stroled Into
a St. Louis poolroom 10 get bet down
at the house price-that Is, the price chalked
up by the poolroom people before the regu-
lar betting came in from tho track.
my friend bet hundred on a two horse
combination that he liked | asked him
TO explain tho meaning Of that combina-
ton business to me. He explained II.
Then picked up a list Of the entries at
three or four tracks for that day. picked
out seven horses whose names impressed
me favornbly and iotted their names down
on q slip Of paper.
At reckon III make one Of these COM
bnation bets myself, said TO my friend.
showing him my list OF horses What
price will get against these to VIM,
my friend smiled.
you're not going to play the Whole
seven to win, are you?' he asked me.
"Why not?' asked him. II they
haven't got a chance 10 win they wouldn't
be racing, would they? Yes, ! said that.
It's queer to remember how simple afellow
can be about this game when first he breaks
into it,
"Oh, maybe one or two Of en- might
win, said my friond. But seyen' Stop
dreaming"
How do bet on this comblpationr
! asked him, -.
"Just you walk over to that llttl6 win
dow he said TO me, pointing 10 q small
opening like the window Of a box office,
! and show the man behind that window
your list He'll tell you the price against
your combination. But don't take Il to
heart II he laughs. He won't be able 10
help IT, ,....
ESQ walked solemnly over TO the win
dow my friend indicated and laid down tho
list
'How much does that pay for Ave dol
ars2 asked him,
The man picked up my list Of seven
horses with an expression OF astonish.
rnent which quickly changed to one OF
amusement. and he showed my list 10 a
fellow standing alongside Of him back OF
the window. Then they both laughed quite
| gloCfully ..,
"'You sure want TO kill EN- good, don't
youY said the combination ticket writer
Well, I'll make II thousand 10 one, seeing
it's you, and he had some trouble restrain
ing his mirth. .....g
t'Give me five dollars worth Of It. then
said |, slipping in my five dollar note.
He scrawlod the names of my seven
horses on a yellow ticket and wrote 5000
10 IS at the bottom Of the ticket J stuffed
the bit Of pastoboard into my pocket after
showing il TO my amused oompanion,
1T was then about II O'Clock IN the NOM
ing, and as ] had been up pretty late thl
night before IYont 10 my room and turned
in for a doza. ! was pounding my ear in
great shape when the telephone bell m my
room woke mo up with a start As Jumped
out Of bed 10 answer the call saw 10y my
watch that II was after O'Clock IN the
afternoon. II was my friend a. tho other
emu OF INC IllOlF, ava lFl Wa ~ SN i'Ntt-
room whrrc | had made my 5000 10 10
combination bet that forenoon.
Say. YOU idiotc buheRi he shouted
! N NE through tho phone, dye know
that lye Of those informal crabs oRaVour
ticket have won? Come on down here
right away and watch the finish OF your
old ticket Looks Ike maybe You're going
to get some action on that ticket 40 shat.
The sixth horse on your list has Just come
in u | To fayoriic.'
# scrambled into my clothes and, gqt
! to tho poolroom just az the result Qf that
/ sixth race on my ticket was being called
/ on by the operator Tho hon7n whose
! name appeared OF my ticket had won in a
stroll by five lengths -.a
Not q word out Of yUu, now, my friend
warned me when found him These
/ poolroom folks will be huntirg yoh up
| In a minute 10 buy thet ticket from You at
as discount Perhaps thHy'll slip you 81 900
! for il Iu-v ought o. aayhrS, seeing that
/ your last horse j. Just HOw bang Scrlbbled
| np yondcr there on the boar 'a",.H SS.S p
! favurito
re hadn't finished speaking before
] there was another hash ON the iaynritp,
: my winding ~ horse, and the Price swltched
) from to 20 tu3
sWcll my friend and ! waited for the
poulroom folks 10 hegin 70 curl up with
| nervousness and to crawl out from behind
the counter with about four slNo0 bills
! in their mitts But they didn't do any
thing like that whatever. c1Tld have
laid on all Of that ticket among he players
I'm the room at / 10 > ur 3 10 ;, but MY friend
decided and ! agreed with him, that IL
would be hull hCap better 10 force the
nooroom folks 70 come across with a big
Offer for the paStchCard in bulk
Five minutes hofOrr the horses wers
due 10 70 10 the posr the operator sang ont:
Scratch Walking Ilomc'- wMrl1 Wasnt
the exact nrme Of tho horse, All bots on
on that race, aud twenty minutrs Tor u
new book,
Walking Homo WIS the overwhelming
favorite and the horse that WIS scheduled
10 wind mp my hC winning combination
ticket. Combination tickets. you uprer-
stand. call for all Of the horses named
on them 10 run. and If ono Of the horses is
scratched the entire ticket is valneless.
even IL all tho others have won. That's
what they call 'p1y or play At TINT time
il was permissible for an owner with a fair
sort Of q reason 20 scratch his horse out OF
a rae right up to post time.
SLOW was that, for a hard dishipg1 t
wasn't until quite number Of years after
ward that | found out why that horse
had been scratched Just whom il looked like
he was due 10 20 out and fetch me Home
S5 mn. The poolroom people who had
written me my ticket had got the horse
scratched. They had simply wired the
owner OF Walking Home that they'd slip
him the winners end Of the purse. about
$500 and $500 10 boot. II he'd scratch his
horse out OF the race or course, with that
kind of a cinoh the owner was dead willing,
and on the plea that his horse had gone