Milford chronicle., 1935-12-13
LADIES AT THE RACE
TRACK
By FRANK coNpoN

NOh long, IOuS lltuSl gVt
~ were forbidden to do almOs
anything in this precious
country of ours. the spirit Oi
reform was in the saddle, the blue
noses were at the steering whee
and life was pretty gray for people
with liberal views. Now everything
Is changed and you can do as you
please and are the released and
famished citizens having fun They
are indeed. Take horse racing.
Not long ago, horse racing was
scowled at and looked upon pretty
generally as a cardinal sin. You
were forbidden to make wagers on
the horses as they lOped around the
track, but recently the law-givers
switched over. State after state
has legalized hOss-racing, and what
is more important, wagering on the
galloping bezarks.
Instantly new vistas opened up to
the lOng-starved AmericanOs, who
love to gamble, the same as the
British, the French and the Dutch,
and the opening tracks brought
forth brand new class, an unsus-
pected group Of spectators, that
you might call the quiet women
folk, or the ladies' who used to stay
at home. It turns out they are
hearty gamblers. and nobody knew 1t.
I Now, them in those days before
hoss-raelng came back so jey0Hsly,
d, the ordinary American housewife
didn't do much betting, as there was
no place for her to gamble respect
ably. The big cities had their rae
ing ladies and feminine gamblers, to
be sure, but they belonged to a diff
ferent social layer and the home
staying women used to read Of them
In amazement. So far as they were
concerned themselves, they didn't
even know they, too. were gamblers
at heart. They thought they we're
mothers or housewives, or whatever
It said in the city directory.
With the spreading advent Of
hoss-racing, these same women are
cheerfully taking fathers money
out to the local track and trustfully
trying to. run two dollars tip to
small fortune. And 1t may be
good thing that so many new tracks
are hOurishlhg in so many states.
for the jaded housewives have at
length found a happy and exciting
way Of spending the afternoon. If
examined. II will be seen that there
is no sense whatever in the methods
or systems by which these IneXpe.
rienced danes bet on the horses.
They are not the hard.faced vet
Grams Of the track. They are not the
emOtiOnless Pittsburgh l'hils Of the
betting ring. They know nothing
at all about records or information
sheets, but are rapidly learning. Up
to now, they are a pOp-eyed crowd
of gulleless and enthusiastic imbe-
Giles. betting small sums on the run
ming Horses. and astonishing as It
may seem, they often win. to their
own delight and the boredom of 9TH
ers IN the family, who now must
listen to the tales Of triumph and
disaster.
In the old days, It was father and |
his golf. He came home evenings |
from the golf course, and even the
cook could tell how he had Jared
10 his jOustings with the boys by
looking at him.
II was a bit tlresOme TO mamma
and the boys, but those days are
ended. Mamma is now speaking at
Inner, having either made or lost
IS at the track that afternoon,
while father was winning the daily
bread at his Office. It is mother who
'elates with shining eyes how she
iad 50 on the nose, the nose be.
onglng to Flying Irishcake, who
,allOped IN second by a whisker. and
T he had only galloped 10 first,
mother would have enriched the
amily BY % bucks, gold clause
money.
It now takes the old lady about
0 minutes to describe properly the
hrIlllng fiscal items OF the after
oon. and every one seems interest
d. except father.
5 If those states that have not as
ct legallzed racing proceed to legal
se racing, then we may as well give
p the ghost, for the home-staylng
amale population Of our salnted
ind is almost certain to step right
10 the game. We have always de.
ended upon the sterling character
our wOmen-folk, but Il appears
lat their weak spot Is gambling,