South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-12-30
TRACK GAMBLERS
CLEANED Up HALF
MILLION DOLLARS
Details of Crooked Affair
Pulled at Southern Course
Years Ago is Re-
veaIed.
BY Frank u. Menkc.


est killing" ever made by race track
crooks was executed II or Is years
ago on a horse named Royal NettIe,
then running on a track in a famous
southern city. II was cleanup that
netted close TO half a million dollars
for the conspirators.
Old time race track followers prob.
ably remember the incident which
vas given rather wide publicity at
tho time. but the story. in detail
never has been fully told. And it's n
story that probably will be a new one
for the younger generation.
The coup was engineered by half
dozen wealthy gamblers. aided by
about % tools" and four crooked
telegraph operators who got enough
for their services" TO enable them
to retire from active work for the
rest Of their DAYS
This is how the scheme was
worked:
Line Up Operators.
The gamblers lined up four tele-
graph operators who were working
at the track and said to them, in eff
feet:
You boys aren't getting any real
money for your work here. We want
you TO get in with us on a certain
deal and if you do Wen see to II
that you get enough money for that
little job 10 take things easy for the
rest of your days"
What's the scheme?" asked one
operator.
Very briefly. the scheme is for
all of you TO send out on a certain
day the name of a certain horse as
the winner OF a certain race, whether
that horse wins or not"
But Wen lose our jobs if we do"
spoke up one operator.
Probably you will, but what's
your job in comparison with what
we're going to give you for turning
the trick 30
What will you give us?" asked
one of the quartet.
The conspiratOrs named an amount
that is said to have run into the
thousands.
The operators later talked the
matter over among themselves-and
they finally fell
'sTools" Do Work.
And then the corspirators got
busy They gathered their tools"
about them, equipped each one with
about $1,000 and sent them to diff
ferent parts OF the United states
where pOol-rOOms were operating.
stay at your hotel until we wire
81,
bet" were their orders when we
tell you TO bet then go to the biggest
poolroom in town and bet the limit
Of YOUR bankrolls Don't place your
bets all in one place 1t is likely to
excite suspicion; as soon as possible
after the race is over cash in tickets
and beat it from that town. In case
you can't get your tickets cashed
within an hour after the race don't
wait Beat it,"
About four days later the tools"
in the different cities got their or
ders:
Bet on Royal Nettie TO win the
race in which she is entered today"
And the tools followed the or
6ers.
Royal Nettie didn't win that race.
She finished among the also-rans.
But every one Of the four operators
who were sending out the race re-
ports from that track performed his
crooked job-he took the name Of
the winning horse from first posi-
ton, placed her among the also-rans
and lifted the name of Royal Nettie
into the winning position.
And so il was flashed from the
race track that Royal Nettie. a %
10 l shot, had won the race.
When the fake result trickled in
TO the different poOlrOoms some OF
the proprietors felt that some error
had been made in the transmission
of the result. SO they asked for a
as 70 Royal Nettie win
ming the race. The requests for con-
firmatiOn were flashed through to
New Orleans and into the track
I'VE are questioning result of race.
Did Royal Nettie win or was that an
crror?" was the query.
And the operators at the track
flashed back:
Result sent is correct. Royal
Nettie won the race"