The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-05-15
IT LOOKS LIKE
MATE TO OUR
CHOLLY CURTIS
Vice-President Knows His
Hoses and He's There
for the Derby.
AND LADY LUCK ENTERS
One Rub on Negro Jockeys
Head and White Pilot Is
Sure of Victory.
BY JOE WILLIAMS
,orts Editor. New York World Tel


LOUISVILLE, May 15.-A swarthy
gentleman, quite elderly and sport
ing a mustache that seemed a
tri1e moth eaten, sat back in one
of the big mahogany chairs in the
Office Of Colonel Matt VIM. the
Derby man, out here Thursday and
talked about his days as a jockey.
1t was easy enough to tell he was
an old timer. It was easy enough,
too, to tell that, at heart, he was
a hossnan. But there was nothing
about his dress or manner that
implied a current association with
barns or thoroughbreds.
He wore one of those soft, crushed,
doppy black hats that suggested
the old days of Bryan and the free
silver issue. In every sartorial de-
tail he reflected the halls OF the
legislature.
Everybody called him Charley.
He Likes to See EN- Run
'T always try to see a big race
whenever I can" he said. "Hoss
racing is the only sport I'm inter-
ested in. like to see 'em run.
Yes, it's true used to ride. I sup
pose I rode over all the old half mile
tracks in the west and the south
west in my day.
'I- suppose / would be in the game
yet if it hadn't been for my grand
mother. She made me quit the
track and go to school.
You'll never amount to any
thing as a jockey she said.
well, don't know about that
I was a pretty good jockey and I
had more fun riding than I've ever
had doing anything else"
The speaker, if you haven't al
ready guessed, was none other than
Mr.. Charles Curtis, Vice President
of the United States and a power
full figure in Republican politics.
he is here for the Derby, to be run
Saturday, and there is nobody
around the track who knows more
about the competing field than this
gentleman.
He Knows Hoses
It was interesting to hear the
Vice-President Of the country sit
back and tell you why this boss flg-
ures to beat that boss. 1t was par
ticularly interesting because his de-
auctions seemed so precisely sound.
have a notion that it amounts
TO cardinal crime for a Vice
President to walk up to a mutuel
booth and lay a few bobs on the
boss of his choice, but there is no
law against Mr.. Curtis handing an
envelope to an agent and, In that
case I'm sure he'd whisper, don I
LET all this chatter about Twenty
Grand being super boss sway you
Stick with that Mate"
There's a lot of superstition on
the race track. George Ellis rode
Mate to q surprise victory In the
Preakness last week. That one was
supposed to be a two-hoss race,
between Twenty Grand and Equi-
poise.
Ellis is fine jockey, who doesn't
need luck or superstition. You can
depend on him in the tight places
when the stakes are high.
Now Enters Simpson
Just to digress for a moment,
there are very few Negro jockeys
left. The only real good one on
the track today is R. Simpson. He
Is a Kentuckian, and he has been
riding well in the south.
New, here's where Ellis and super
stition come in. An hour before
the Preakness at Pinlco last week,
Ellis walked over to Simpsons
barn.
Il want to get lucky today" he
said. Let me rub your head. J"
There's an ancient superstition
around the track that if white
jockey .rubs q colored boys head
before q big race he will win.
Simpson took off his cap. Take
a good long rub, white boy" he
laughed. you'll need 1t to beat
the big boss today" (Twenty Grand
is the one they call the big hoss)
You know what happened. Ellis
got away winging with Mate and
booted him home. After the race
he went back to the barn and
handed Simpson 500.
Here's Simpson Again
81 must have taken a good long
rub, because it worked" said Ellis
A train rolled in from Maryland
Thursday night. discharging hun
dredS OF Derby enthusiasts. Among
them was Simpson. He didn't come
here to ride any boss or to see the
race.
he came as Ellis guest. a few
minutes before Ellis climbs on tor
Of Mate TO go out after the fifty
seventh Derby Saturday, Ellis viii
walk over to him and rub his bare
head, 3 good, long rub.
And this time Simpson, typical
Of his race, will try to muster g
certain amount of spiritual assist
snce. The ritual worked at PIN
leo 1t also yielded the colored boy
500.
You can't make Simpson believe
it won't work here. If it works this
time Simpson will collect $500, in
addition to ell his expenses to
Churchill Downs.
I've heard Of a lot Of fantastic
gags around the track, but to me
this one Is tops.
Hourly Temperatures