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GEORGE ROSE ONE OF THE LEADING EXPONENTS OF THE ART OF BOOKMAKING WHEN the courtly oldtime turfmen of this country such as Colonel Johnson of Virginia who raced Henry against Mr Stevens Eclipse Duncan F Kenner who practically ruled rac ¬ ing In Louisiana Andrew Jackson who domi ¬ nated the sport in Tennessee and others of their time and tastes desired to hack their horses in raving it was man to man betting by proposal and acceptance There was no iwol selling bookuiaklng or mutiiels as in the pres ¬ ent days Nevertheless betting was heavy when tho occasion was of engrossing interest and not only money but laud crops horses slaves and other descriptions of property were l wagered freely on honor and promptly turned over to the winners after the decision of the event It was not until about ISoUfiT or T S that Doctor Underwood was inspired to in ¬ vent the method of wagering called poolselling Tile comparatively greater simplicity and con ¬ venience of this then new plan and the other fact that it reduced betting to it matter of cash alone with prompt settlements in cash ap peaed to all concerned and it was not long until iHiolsclling entirely supplanted personal wagering and for many years was the only style of betting on the running turf and the trotting turf alike It fully met all the needs of the time and was beneficial in doing away with one of the worst features of the way of betting it succeeded This was when unduly excited men of good estates sometimes wagered till of their possessions on some great race to lind themselves and their families reduced to Iioverty in t few minutes One might Ioe his ready money in jK ols lint not his other pos ¬ sessions without lirst turning the latter into money also Doctor Underwoods ways and personality had much to do witli the Instant popularity of pcolselling A witty rollicking Irishman gifted with a melodious enticing voice the droll stories and mirth provoking side remarks with which he embellished his work when selling pools rendered it a real treat to be in attendance and made him a valued crony of such men as the elder August Belmont Lawrence Jerome W 11 Travers John Mor rissey Trice McGrath and other oldtimers Hobrrt Catlicart who might be called Underwoods successor was also famous and popular in connec ¬ tion with his vocation as u poolseller on the New York tracks lie was ait im osiiig appearing ami handsome man with an appealing voice and the most polished manners imaginable In the course of time and coincident with the spread of ratIng other men became widely known as poolscllers by no means ChicagoBookmaking the least persuasive and well esteemed of whom was Silver Hill Hlley of Chicago Bookmaking on American tracks was unknown until 1871 when an English liookinaker named Stanton made Ills appearance at Jerome Iark and took bets on the lawn but some future books on the leading events of the time had been conducted prior to that by Kelly and Bliss of Now York Parlmutuels had lieeii introduced supplementary to poolseliing about 1870 and proved popular John Morrissey had the mntnel privilege at Jerome Park Only straight 5 tickets were sold and the sales at that most fashionable qf tracks ranged from SliOOO to 2i 000 on a race without seeming to affect the i oolselling in the least Iut Slantons experimental bookmaking at Jeronie Park proved such a success that he was presently joined by Cridge Co Kelly and Bliss and others all of Whom flourished The fact that prices were tixed and that the Itettor knew from the time lie made his liet exactly what he was to win if successful api calcd urgently to the American temperament and pres ¬ ently the jioolselling stands and mntuels began to be deserted in favor of the liookmakers This process went on until poolselliug and mntuels were banished and for years all betting on the great tracks of the United States was by bookmaking alone The growth of the system was as remarkable as the growth of the running turf It became so in time that at the great meetings at Sheepshead Bay and other New York tracks from three linndrcd to four hundred bookmakers did business in the betting rings and returned a tremendous aggregate revenue for the privilege Of doing so When racing was at its height at Chicago St Louis San Francisco New Orleans Memphis Nashville Los Angeles the Kentucky tracks and less inix rtant points the liookmakers reigned supreme with the track managements relying largely upon their returns from the bookmakers for defrayment of run ¬ ning expenses and profits in excess excessWhat What this In part led to ultimately in the way of hostile legislation and resultant cessation of racing on the great tracks is well known to all interested in the sport and needs no relating here One peculiar outgrowth is the return to favor of the mntuels and their substitution for the liook maker on the now nourishing Kentucky tracks at Toronto and Pimlico to say nothing of an evident tendency to continue this return to an oldtime way of speculating on the other tracks where racing is still conducted Except here and there the day of the liookniakcr has passed and with it many strong characters have disappeared from the public eye It is but truth to say that many men en ¬ gaged hi lKM kmaking were highly objectionable persons corrupting to racing and unscrupulous as to methods of getting the money On the other hand many were men of absolute integrity in their dealings and guided by a standard of honor In their oiierations comparing favorably with the ani ¬ mating principles of any other class of men engaged in any oilier avocations The heavier operators bandied an astonishing total of money annually and as accurately and carefully as any banker in the country also witli an entire absence of the defalcations and embezzlements that now and then shock our communities in connection with banking It is a modest statement to say that in taking in and paying out money such oiicrators as Burke Cowan Cartwrlght ITllnian Wheelock Schreiber Hose and many others who could IH mentioned handled millions of dollars and of their class there is no record of any one having failed to meet the obligations Incident to bis business businessOf Of the front rank liookmaker the men who took won and lost heavy bets from and to the big plungers of the turf George Hose was well known from New York to San Francisco Like all book ¬ makers he could cut his garment according to his cloth and could reduce liis operations to compara ¬ tively small proportions on tracks where the volume of money in daily circulation called for It but on the leading tracks of New York Chicago and San Francisco it was pretty hard to offer him a wager that be wotild not accept promptly And contrary to tho ways of many of his calling it was his pleasing metliod tit take all bets ottered big or little with an unvarying courtesy that conveved to each liettor the flattering impression that he bad rendered an especial and highly appreciated favor to Ceorge Hose by betting with him Quite the Chesterfield of the betting ring was he and it is more than probable that a fairly good proportion of his patronage was attracted by his suavity not a bad asset in any pursuit Withal lie was and is a sagacious man and knowing the fluctuating for ¬ tunes of his calling did not neglect to make investments from his profits mainly in San Francisco that caused him to be rated a wealthy man a few years back Humors that he had met tinunclal reverses were afloat in the course of the last year but not well authenticated and it is more than probable that lie is well enough provided for to get along comfortably despite the nlalnlv evident fact that the days of heavy l ookiuaking in this country are numbered The portrait of him here pre ¬ sented is mil to characteristic
