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WHEBLOCK AND HIS WAYS. I d New York, N. Y., April 4 —Wheelock, of All Over, W. H., is one of the keen and snccessf al I men of the American turfs speculative side. I In the last twelve years Wheelock has accumu- j. lated a million or less. He has a domestic es-1 J r stablishment in Thirty-third street and lives as I he likes. Then, too, he is known as one of the I . three men "making prices" in the eastern bet-1 ting ring. Burke and Duffy are the others. I . Wheelock is one of the directors of the Book-1 2 makers Association, and is of good repute with such men as August Belmont, Hon. John San-ford, etate commissioner of racing, and Andrew Miller, of the Board of Stewards of the Jockey J Club. Wheelock was born in St. Louis some forty- [ six years ago. He is generally credited to Hebraism. Jewistry is marked in Wheelocks s countenance, demeanor, associations and thrift. Many wagers are annually made upon the angles of Wheelocks pedigree. He is a fairly well read man and is always in line on matters of public interest. This point about Wheelock [ is shown by the fact that for many years he has been one of, if not the highest, bettor on the Republican side of politics. Wheelock is of medium height and weight, dark of hair and eyes, swarthy of skin and sparsely decorated with straggling although I well kept whiskers. He is an urbane fellow with a "kidding way," ; and a smile for everybody. When fifteen years I old, he was— to use a "Johnny on the spot," but out of fashion term— seduced from his fathers store in St. Louis by old Tom Gallagher and Gene Garter, the billiardists. It was not long before Wheelock got into "th» free for all." The others, members of his clan— since more or less well known, were the late John F. Donovan, Joseph F. Ullman, Leo Mayer and W. H. Gatton. Wheelock was always a mathematician and quickly became known for facility in getting the better of the market on figure propositions. He soon learned to be an expert card player and also one of the best i "bank nhot" billiardists. Until he was twenty-nine, Wheelock followed such games for a living. It was in 1881, at Cincinnati, O., that he i first took to the "block" as a bookmaker. This is as he tells the story : "I had ,000 and lost ,000. Now, it came to a guess as to whether I should go to St. Louis, stick to the races, or take the train for New York and play caids. I finally and luckily decided on the races. Card playing is precarious. St. Louis isnt much better. "The tide that tarns, etc., was my tide. Among 1 its ebbs and flows I have been up and down. But the ebbs predominated, notably the one 9 where at Saratoga I had two-thirds of a ,500 bank roll. E. J. Baldwin had the balance. One 9 morning I rode to the track with Mr. Baldwin a and he showed me Los Angeles. The filly looked 1 perfectly fit, and I said to her owner: She will do for the stake to-morrow, wont she? He answered, " yes, and I told him I was going to bet the bank roll on her. This I did, the money in 1 and out of the book averaging 3 to 5. The race 6 was one and a quarter miles, and Bo Peep was 3 the contender. Away they went, and passing the 6 stand Bo Peep led by ten lengths, increasing gradually so that midway up the backstretch Los Angeles, second, seemed to me to be fifty lengths behind. Never since have I had such a sensation. "All at once, I noticed Isaac Murphy was sitting still, in a contented sort of way. Bo Peep came back a bit around the turn. Ike never moved, but gained stride by stride and they say still sitting still, shot Los Angeles home in front by a neck. While he was doing it I was d j. J r . I . 2 J [ s [ I ; I i i 1 9 9 a 1 " 1 6 3 6 dead to the world, and walking around in a t trance. From that day on I made money. I a was lucky when Boyal Arch beat Volante, on 1 1 which horse I tried to bet at 10 to 1 on and again is i when they wouldnt take my money 0,000 on i is Dorian at 15 to 1 on when Victorious beat him. i By the way, that day George F. Slosson came to e me with and said : Mrs. Slosson would like to have that on Victorious. Put it in 1 1 your pocket, said I. By Jove, the billiardist 1 1 had to pay his wife 0 as Victorious started at 20 to 1. "The first really great day I ever had was when, at Washington Park I bet 6,000 at 6 to 5 that Salvator would beat Tenny. On the first ] local race of the day I bet ,000 on the favorite, and won. They say that the finish between Salvator and Tenny was a close one. There is a snap shot picture owned in Saratoga which shows that Salvator won by a neck with Murphy looking around. I think Isaac Murphy was the best jockey that ever sat on a horse. Do you ; know what his orders were when riding the famous match? No? Well! Byrnes said Salvator is a good horse today. Go on with him, and run every quarter alike. He can live it out. His Murphys rated his horse, per quarter, at exactly 25 seconds." Wheelock is rich in reminiscence. Here are a few bits : "Just to show how a little thing— or a combination of trifles — may change the features of a betting man, listen to the story of the election of Theodore Roosevelt as Governor of New.York : I started in betting 5 to 3 on on the rough rider. I kept on betting up to even money and then took 7 to 10, at which price Judge Van Wyck closed, the favorite. Altogether I got on 1,000. The early evening figures showed Democratic gains, and having in my head a table of figures of every county in the state, it didnt take me long to cipher out that by the Herald returns Van Wyck was elected. I considered the Herald to be the more nearly independent of the newspapers. I at once put my 1,000 on Van Wyck. I was tired and went home. The phone— via my brother— rang and told me that Van Wyck was beaten. The in-formation was from headquarters and almost l official. I hurried back to the Hoffman House and bet 7,750 quicker than scat, my brother . making memoranda, as I didnt have 0 in x my pocket. It is said that I bet that chunk of - money from two to five thousand at a crack in just sixty seconds. Then I cried: 0 000 more on Van Wyck with no taker just as Mr. J. W. Gates of Chicago, who has always been , my friend, jerked my sleeve and whispered, George I have just come from Tom Piatt and he , says Roosevelt wins by 18,000. You ought to j have seen the sensation my plunge produced i . Over 0,000 was bet in a few moments on Van Wyck on my tip, as I rushed in as if I had a good thing. It was 9 oclock when I left Herald j Square and then the searchlight pointed south, which meant Van Wyck. At 9:45 I had quit t betting, This was rapid action for so decided a , shift in the returns and never till this day have e I been able to fathom the falsification of the e figures. However, one may see how the ordinary amenities of life cost me 7,750, as it was 100 to 0 II would have been snoring in bed only to wake 9 in the morning to find my money won."
