Evening star., 1937-04-10


"A YEW YORK, April l0.-Striking a
rough average from the future
" books, as operated by half a
4. dozen of the country's leading
play pay Notwithstanding book
makers-the odds on the first three
horses in this years Kentucky Derby
sre as follows:
fOnpOOn --------------I 10 L
Brooklyn ------------8to to l
Reaping Reward----8to to
Those three August animals are far
and away the most popular in the
race, with Pompoon still holding an
edge on the field in spite of ghostly
rumors from Columbia, S. c., where
he has been working out, that the
big fella's leg was faulty. Brooklyn
is Cunnel Bradley horse, so ma
turslly he gets lots of backing Reap
ing Reward, from the Milky Way Sta
hIes of Mrs Ethel D. Mars, was one
OF the best Of his age last year, and
slayer.
To be sure, the great race at Louis
vile is full month off, and it is
foolhardy to try to guess the money
winners, or, for that matter, the
starters. But there are a great many
foolhardy citizens in this broad re-
public of ours, and the future books
are getting all the action they want,
to the tune of 81 to SIS bet
Losing Game for BOokmakers.
THE odds listed above on Pompoon,
Brooklyn, and Reaping Reward
are those of Charley Burke of st.
Louis, among others, and they have
The Endorsement of Tom Shaw, per-
haps the country's outstanding dealer
in horse money. Mr. Shaw was talk
ing about books the other day-fu-
ture books on the Derby.
You would be surprised at the
number Of so-called suckers who bet
in the future books, play or pay, with
no real idea of whether their horse is
going to be in Kentucky or not on the
day of the race" said Mr. Shaw, land
you would also be surprised to know
that the man who runs the book is
the biggest sucker of all"
This statement struck your CORE
spondent as being bit on the per-
picking side, since the future book
maker on the Derby, operating with a
huge percentage in his favor and a
big field of highly doubtful starters,
would seem, on the face of it, to be
riding up front on the gravy train.
You wouldn't think he could miss.
But be does miss, according to Mr..
Tomasso Shaw, the dean of the
racket. He misses all the time.
I've run a future book on the Ken
iacky Derby every year for years." said
Thomas, "and I've never finished
ahead. That's why I quit it this year.
except for q few odd commissions for
old friends and customers. Did YOU
ever stop to think that if q Derby
future book were a paving proposition
every bookmaker in the country would
be running one? While, as a matter
of fact, very few of them bother
with it.
Here is the difficulty. The per-
centaRe is all on your side. and nine
lenths OF the eligibles are not going
10 run, but the betting is chiefly on
hale a dozen good horses. II one of
those horses comes in, you're cooked.
Long Shots Get Small PLAY.
he way the bets come in, you
get few bucks here and there
on the long shots-the 100 to l horses
and tidy sum OF money on six or
seven good ones priced around 10 or
is TO i. I tried to be careful last
year, and stood to win with Gran
vile, the early favorite, but Gran
vile lost his rider at the post and
Bold Venture won. And I lost. There
was plenty Of money riding on ven-
lures nose at good long odds.
And the trouble is, if the odds had
been any shorter, people would have
yelled 'Murder!' and 'Robberr at me.
.aclc Venture Want supposed 10 ne-
ne.
.ncth.. ces ct what you ale up
s2S-n1t was Uhe oSse OF Indian Broom
last year. In she carly betting didn't
think much Of Indian Broom at all. I
figured him for just another horse
Wlts a. Western reputation, and I took
pl--ty ~ het. nn him well, he gave
NE > ses,e, cunning ti,iCd I had IN
t,e~ OF 4 lot e st,ow be.s, and -
s:,c wo,, I'd still be paying OF.
Newspaper fellows and certain
raart horse players laugh at future
book operators, including me, because
OF VIE shortness OF the price We offer
90 horse like, say, Pompoon, two
months before the race. They say
tase March price ought to be 20 to /.
They tell us how We ought to run our
books. They never stop to figure that
the betting on the long shots is very
slim, 80 that you have nothing to
pay off with when well-backed horse
like Bold Venture or Indian Broom
comes home.
IT'S not concluded Mr.. Shaw with
= sigh, a very easy way to make a
living"
questioned by your correspondent, the
baSt-backed horses in the race next
to tbe Top three Gf they run, when
they rim, and will they rum are privi-
legged, Moonton, Flying Cross, Galsun
= Maedic and Case Ace. And OF course
sprinkled through the list, there are
the usual number of 100 to l and
800 10 ] shots, horses with little more
than q breath Of prayer on their lips
hope by next week Mr.. Thomas
Shaw will have softened up to the
point Of giving me and you customers
a. more or less complete line of April
prices on what should be one of ths
1iveliest derbies in years.
copyright, 1887, by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, IncJ