The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1912-09-14
SIDE LIGHTS ON
HAvREIDE GRACE
RACE COURSE

of some of the things as they are at
Havre de Grace. A perusal of this arti-
Gle will convince you of how much the
Havre de Grace race track is adding to
the health and morals of this community.
Thirty blase bookmakers catered to the
sporting proclivities of a crowd of 5000
persons yesterday at the Havre de Grace
racetrack. third of the crowd were
women, many of whom literally patron
lied the "bookies." The other two
thirds was a typical racetrack crowd-a
mingling Of business men and the heter-
ogenous assemblage Of so-called sports.
They came from Washington, Balti-
MORE, Philadelphia and New York.
From this city there went a crowd OF
men and women mostly of the wage
earning or modest salary class Numer-
Gus clerks usually seen on Chestnut
street or in the quick lunch establish
ments at noon time were seeking tipA
and trying to pick winners The vast
majority Of them had never seen a run
ming race before, and their excitement
was intense as result. 1t is safe to as
sumo that tx, average salary of this
newly infected crowd is not more than
SIS a week. The majority of these are
single men, but many are married Mel
Their faction could afford to lose more
than $40, and some had gone deeper
than that before the fourth race was
called
OF course the real sporting element
the wise ones"-were playing with
their usual expressionless nonchalance.
When they lost it was modestly. When
they won it was substantially. They diff
fer from the "piker" class, inasmuch as
they do not deem it obligatory to place
bets on every race or take advantage of
every wild tip that slipped rom the
corners of the mouths of the furtive-
eyed ''touts" who were whipping the
fall guys" into line for the benefit of
their employers-the "bookies."
BETTING RING BUSY.
The betting ring was as busy as corn
field ant colony. Each bookmaker was
standing over his iron cashbox taking
anything from 81 to 800. On his right
was a man with pair of binoculars
watching the odds offered by competi-
tors. On his left, another assistant was
marking and re-mf king odds. Through
the crowd, like moles, wove 80 RAIN
witted youths, whose business it was to
size up the crowd, single out the rolls"
from the small change" and rope the
gullible who have yet to gain racetrack
wisdom The final class are inelegantly
catalogued as suckers" In this class
most of the small-salared clerks drift
unconsciously.
If they have any sporting instincts at
all they are easy victims. "Jewey" Pin
Gus, for instance, will side past a young
man who is studying three or four
charts andbecoming more and more I'M
decided "Jewey" Us an expert. His SER
vices are worth $1Ot a week to any
Cookie He is a little fellow with
dark, wel-colored face. e has two
steady brown eyes that compel confidence
and a general expression of sincerity on
his ingenious face IL is said of 'Jewey"
that he can see through pocketbooks and
skulls with uncanny ease. He can
smell sucker they say.
Into "Jeweys" CLUTCHES fall the green
horns He will size up his victim, watch
him finger his skimp roll and TIL n pro-
duce a few bills hrLsef. With a most
engaging smile he will turn TO the green
horn and say:
MANY 'IlhERS tAIGH1.
I've been playing the races for ten
years and am $1,000 to the good, but
never saw better bet than Arrow in
this race. | wish | had a century with
me. | hate to pass this up for less than
hundred I'm going the limit. Take
little tip from me, Jack. | don't know
you, but those bookies owe us fellows
something. Go to it."
"Jewey's" babylike stare ~ e ronder.
The greenhorn looks, listens and IS fol-
lowing "Jewey' before he knows it.. OF
course, Arrow hasn't any more chance
than a hound dog in the Madison Square
Garden kennel show. That is why Ar
row is in the race. She is owned by a
brother of "Jewey's" employer and in
the summaries her name is the last of
the also ran list Arrow was three
lengths behind the bunch a furlong from
the start. The odds We're 10 to l.
The races are conducted under the aus
pieces of the Hartford Agricultural and
Breeders Association. The Hartford Ag-
ricultural and Breeders Association is
the modest child of no less a parsonage
than our own familiar Tim U'Leary
and broadway Eddie" Burk, of New
York.
The "bookies'' are from New York
mainly. Mike" Costello, Sam Goldbaum,
"Banty" Gallagher, Harry Spivak and
Slick" Hogan are BaltimOreans The
rest of the ring are from Broadway-the
survivors of the crowd that passed with
Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Morris
Park and Saratoga, when Governor
Hughes signed the Percy Gray and the
Horton laws There are many familiar
faces. Dutch John" Heimberger, who
started his business career years ago in
stuss Joint" in Third avenue and
steadily assembled to opulence AT Brigh-
ton Beach, is one of the most popular
hookmakers doing business at Havre de
Grace.
"Mox" Ingham, whose father was the
business partner of the lamented kid"
Twist, the brief successor to "Monk"
Eastman, is making a book for a syndi-
cate of three New York poolroom pro-
prietors There are others equally well