Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-29
BASE BALL ON TOP
PIunger Ellison Says 1t Has
Taken Place of Racing.
OLD SPORT NOT WANTED
Money Is Coming in Easy and the
New York Crowd Is
Satisfied.
BY H. w. LANIGAN.

BY II. w. LANIGAN.
! ARKANSAS HOT SPRINGS. Dccembe;
:S---In the opinion of Charley Ellison
/ the noted turfman. who continues max
| ing a business of horse racing and who
! keeps on getting the money the sport
| of kings will scarcely he revived i'm New
! York. for the most excellent reason that
the old race track crowd has broken into
base ball and is making big money with
out as much as taking chance of max
! ing losing. hence is willing to let well
! enough alone
Ellison reached the Arlington Hotel
| with his handsome wife fortnight ago
He plans upon paying his maiden visit
to Juarez shortly after the first of the
year.
The blond plunger, who has been a
| conspicuous figure on the American turf
for the past twenty years, though he is
scarcely forty years of age. has always
been keen follower of base ball. He
is particular pal of Johnny McGraw,
among a host of other diamond celeb
| rites. In a sporting talk in the rotunda
of the Arlington the other afternoon
Ellison remarked:
Loss of Whitney Hurt.
Racing suffered a tremendous loss
when William c. Whitney died Then
when men like Belmont and Keene quit
racing their strings there is not whole
lot left to the game. l keep at it because
racing is the only business I know. and.
while the day of big betting and big
winnings is d thing of the past, / am
sun apie to make a good living. But
nowadays the player is forced to play
them close to his stomach, in the Ian
guage of the poker player.
II used to be pipe to get out in
the old days when one got off $4,000
or sle.ooo loser on the first three or
plunge very high these days They
have got me enrolled with the big bet
tors. but honestly a $500 wager is a
big one for me. They'll get the guy
who CANDLES high, and they'll be
wonders if they ever get Ellison.
New York Crowd in Base Ball.
II don't believe that old crowd in
New York is very anxious to have
the old tracks opened. Why? Be-
cause they are pretty we'll mixed up
in base ball and getting the money
without taking a chance on being taken.
There is Frank Farrell. who used to
race one of the country's foremost
stables. Blues, great handicap horse,
and all those kind. at the head of the
New York american League) club.
Jim Gaffney, another of the old race
track guard, owns the Boston Nationals
Then. guess Tim Sullivan and some of
the others have a slice of the Giants.
Yes, and another angle to profess
sional base ball. the greatest cinch
game Of them all. There is Mr.. Taft
owning the Cubs and the Phillies, and
he probably has holdings in several
other clubs Judging by what 1 heard
the last time l was east, he is really
the man who is putting up that big
new park in Brooklyn.
1t is my tip that New York isn't
in any great hurry to re-establish
horse racing, as the old crowd is doing
well enough in base ball. and appears
certainly received a solar-plexus blow
when MIR. Whitney died. and Mr. Bel
mont. Mr. Keene and those kind got
rid of their famous strings There
Very Modest Is Ellison.
Mr.. Ellison is very hard man to
interview. for the very good reason
that he abhors the spotlight, and
doesn't think ii according to Hoyle
for him to pose in the role of critic
However. the writer feels that he has
not abused any condolences in quot
ing the blond plunger. He is laden
down with bully good tales of the
turf. One good one well explains the
enormity of the racing game in the
old days around New York. Ellison
was racing a star string at the time.
and Lady Navarro was one of his
best performers. She was in what he
thought soft spot one day at Sleeps
head and Ellison set in his chips
Lady Navarro was 10 to ] in the
betting. and despite the fact that En-
son played her heavily she went to the
having 20 Ia LADY Navarro
with Tommy Burns in the saddle. won
a nose on the post from one of Brad
Iey's best sprinters. Ellison bet his
money in small sums and bumped
practically every bookmaker in the
ring. When he figured up after the
race he found he had pulled down some
thing like $4,000.
More Bets Found Later On.
A couple of days later Ellison. in
going back over his programs to look
up horse happened to turn oyer the
program the day ne had made the
killing on Lady Navarro On the back
he saw a long list of new figures
They were bets on Lady Navarro bets
he had overlooked. They footed up
close to $4,000, So all told Ellisons
| winnings on the race were practically
$40, 900. That. he states. was his best
winning wager.
| He had a fair season at Norfolk and
counts upon operating at Juarez. Ellison
| has never yet visited the track across the
| border, but has his checkers" on duty
! there and states that all reports indicate
! that the meeting is successful one, and
will get better as the season advances.
As regards base ball. matters were very
/ quiet during tire week. Doc Owens
manager OF Wilmington Park. gave it o;t
/ tina: he was satisfied that the two ma jor
| leagues as Well as the national commits
sion have probably thought ii for the
! games best not to have more than two
! teams. and one from each body. train in
any one town in the future. Hence, that
| the Boston Red SoX and Pittsburgh Pr
rates would not have any company here
next March.