The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-06-17
SENSATIONAL DERBY REFS.
It'd Bits. }

"Bookies are afraid to lay good
odds nowadays" an old racegoer re-
marked at Newmarket cecertly. BETS
are mere triftes compared with those
OF the old days" An rcertainly we
40 not hear of "plunges" such an
those. for instance, which character
ICED n transactions Of Mr.. Davies,
the first bookmaked to be called a
"leviathan," who betted in tens OF
thousands.
In the year 1856 he laid Mr.. Clarke
100000 to $4,000 against each of
three horses the latter had in the Der.
by that year, Mr.. Clarke having to
pay, while. If Barbarian had won the
Dsh.oy OF 1853 instead of Daniel
netted something like $500, 900.
One of Davies first big wasers was
to lay Lord Straord $50, 900 to $4,000
aginst The Cur for the Cecarewitch.
Davies started life asa carpenter, and
began betting in a small street off
Gray's Inn road by taking half crowns.
hut by great ~shrewdness and insight
he soon gained the confidence of the
public, and he amounts he paid away
daily to ready-money clients were
enormous. He Is said never to have
quibbled or suggested mistakes, and
such was his honesty that on one oc-
ras1on, When he found that a success
full client had died since making the
bet, he paid the winnings over to the
widow.
Another famous bookmaker who
made big bets, and in whom the rae
ing fraternity had the same high con-
fdence born of actual experience, was
the late MIR. Frey. In the course of
his long and highly successful career
he paid out as much as 800, 900 on
a single wager, and in more than one
tntance a sum of 5000. And while
he lost upward $4,000 through de-
faulters nobody ever lost a penny ow.
ing to his failure to pay up.
. 1t has been suggested that there
have never been such big betting
transactions during the last 20 years,
In 1902. however, when Ard Patrick
Won the Derby, the Grately Stable
had a ~tremendous gamble on Pekin,
snd would have taken more thar
100000 out Of the ring if he had
won. Only a few Epsoms ago ar
amateur Spectator had 100000 on
one OF his horses in a selling plate
and lost them oney, while more re-
Gently still 100000 to 10000 was
laid to the stable against the horse
that won the Cesarewitch.
Reference might also be made tc
Mr.. Henry Chaplin. who was said t.
nave mad a quarter of a million
wHcil his HORSE hermit won the Der.
by. but probably half that amour,
would be nearer the mark. At tn:
odds Of Sc to 1 Mr.. Chaplin would
have had to invest less than SIC, O0(
to do It.
Quite naturally. It is in backing q
faNorite that the largest bets ar,
made. The odds are Of course. small
and 1t takes money to make money
1t may be accepted as an axiom tina
In a f1rst-class race half the betting 1.
upon the favorite.
Thus. when the ~favorite fails to win
the public r badly hit, and thu
oooklnakers net thousands and thou
sands Of dollars. Probably never dit
hackers suffer more severely thai
when Sir Hugo won the Derby in tn,
1892 race, at odds of 40 to 1.
There was probably only one maj
who backed that horse to the. extern
Of $3.760. and he received 1920, 90,
for his bold venture.
But on La F1etche. the favorite a
very small odds. gold was poured 1,
a ceaseless stream-in fact, until tn,
bookmakers refused to take a sover
eign more.