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BOOKMAKERS OF OTHER DAYS. With the advent of the pari-mutuel form of wagering on the tracks of Kentucky, Canada, and elsewhere, the doom of the bookmaker was sealed and n.any of the old price markers have engaged in other pursuits or passed into oblivion as far as the turf world is concerned. Many interesting tales are told of some of the old-time bookmakers, of whom Joseph J. Gleason and Frank Abrahall were quite famous in their days. Gleason :lnd Abrahall were partners, the latter looking after the firms booking interest on the western tracks, while Gleason took care of the eastern business. Although Gleason is credited with being the. inventor of the one-two-three-system, Abrahall is regarded as the man who made plasing races by form tables popular, he being the originator among bookmakers of the form sheet on races as in vogue today. The man who got out the first form sheet, which is so popular on racetracks now, sold the chart to Abrahall for per day. Abrahall made a snug fortune in the booking business and planted his profits in manufacturing interests in New England. He quit the racetrack in the days of the turfs great prosperity and never returned to the block again. At one time the firm, J. J. Gleason and Co., really Gleason and Abrahall, operated three poolrooms in addition to their racetrack booking enterprises and in the days of their big operations were never known to turn down a bet no matter how big once they posted the odds against a horse. One of the best stories that ever was told about the firm was in the nature of a rather small operation. It shows how lucky bookmakers can be sometimes, as in once trying to win railroad tickets Abrahall won over ,000. It was in the fall of 1S93 and for thirty days Abrahall had sweated in the ring at Latonia and managed to win ,000 above expenses on that meeting. The Kentucky Association wanted to give a nine-days meeting preceding thirty days racing scheduled for Nashville, but that club then being in hard financial lines, the only prospect for racing came from a guaranty fund put up by nine bookmakers, who laid down 00 each in advance as privilege money to insure horsemen .the payment of the purses. Abrahall was one of these nine bookmakers, and he went on from Latonia to Lexington and hung up his slate. That was the season that Byron McClelland and a few other Lexington trainers jiut over so many good things, and at the end of six days the ,000 Abrahall had won at Latonia and about ,700 more he had sent out. in a vain effort to get the old bank roll, Svas gone. Added to this was his crews salary arid expenses and the 00 paid into the club as privilege money, a total of about 1916.sh,000 to the bad. On the seventh day he handed one of his men the money to buy railroad tickets to Nashville and told h?jn: "I have time to make the afternoon train and book on the first race, and I will see if I can win even those railroad tickets in this town. But," he added, "we go to Nashville, win Or lose, and let the association be good and welcome to our privilege money ou the last two days." The opening race that day had for starters two of the .star two-year-olds of the west of that season, Pearl Song and Fraulein, and the field, while quite large, that opposed them, was of such a poor class there was no way to figure the race save Pearl Song first and Fraulein second, or vice versa. As a result the bookmakers all posted 9 to 10 and take your pick, which, if the play on each horse is even, of course; is a sure winning percentage book. Byron McClelland and his followers began at onee plunging on Pearl Song, the then popular Soup Perkins being in the saddle and, all at once, tlie colts" price fell to 3 to 5 and Fraulein soared up to 7 to 5. Then Riley Grannon, the biggest plunger the western turf has ever known, began to play the filly, which had for a jockey the skillful- Tiiie Williams, and his play was so heavy the liitters price finally dropped to 3 to 5 and Pearl Song slid up. to 7 to 5. At this stage of the game Abrahall looked over his sheet and found he was ditched good and plenty and either way it came, if either of the two horses won, he was bound to lose.! "Railroad tickets, eh?" he said to his chief . I clerk, "trying to get to Nashville cheap. We lose another bankroll, I reckon, so here goes," and with this remark he chalked on his slate 8 to 5 each. Pearl Song and Fraulein, and yelled out. "come on and get it." He was nearly knocked off the block, even the other bookmakers leaving their stands to bet him and round up their books, as they were all in bad shape on the race. Grannon finally made him wipe off Fraulein with a bet of ,500, but he was taking money on Pearl Song when the horses reached the post. The late Cincinnati turfman, Charles Fleisch-mnnn, had a colt in the race named Tirock, with Willy Jones then a maiden jockey, in the saddle and his odds ranged from 40 to 100 to 1. Just how far Tirock won that race no one ever exactly figured out. Some say ten lengths, other twenty and so on. He was sure a Hindoo that day and he made two stake horses look like selling platers of the cheapest sort. Pearl Song and Fraulein were in second and third places, but Abrahall had only booked straight on the race and as he never wrote Tirocks name, he had a clear sheet. He made good his word and left for Nashville that afternoon, by this lucky break quitting that meeting also a good winner, as his earnings in that race totaled about ,000. One of the best stories ever told in connection with Gleason and Abrahall was in the early days of their booking careers when they had shoestring bank rolls. The scene was in Montana, where Abrahall had gone with his chief clerk and an outside man !to pick up a little easy money. A bad break came along, however, and one day the bankroll was wiped out and Abrahall had barely enough money left to make his way back to New York. His two companions, as usual with such race track employes, were improvident fellows and never saved a cent, and so there was nothing for them to do but fight it out as best they could and dream of Broadway in their sleep at nights. The clerk concluded he would stay in Butte, but an adventurous mining party appealed to the outside man and he struck out with the crowd to try his luck. He was an illiterate fellow, unable to read or write and made a bad moss of prospecting, winding up again in a short time in Butte. While he was away the clerk had found an angel who had staked him to a restaurant, and when the hustler landed in Butte again his friends good luck was the first news he heard, lie lost no time in getting down to see his old side-partner and the latter met him with open arms and invited him to come and eat free of cost until he could get on his feet again. When the hustler had taken his first meal and gone; the old clerk, then the restaurant iiroprietor, calied the head waiter and told him that man that first went out of here will be in here from now three times a day to eat. He cant read or write, and no matter where he holds his finger on this bill of fare, dont you serve him anything but liver and bacon. Fall passed, winter came and went and then spring sped by, and still the hustler got his liver and bacon and that was all. Finally summer brought the races again in that country and the hustler got busy and one day he raised a stake. He did not go to his friends restaurant that night, but instead dropped in an eating house run by a Frenchman. Calling a waiter, he picked up the bill of fare; of course, it was all a blank to him, as ho could not read one even printed in English, let alone one in French. Said he, "Waiter, show me liver and bacon on this bill of fare." The waiter pointed at the French words which denoted that order. Grabbing the bill of faro out of his hand and at the same time laying a bill on the table, he said, "Waiter, I want worth of this bill of fare each way from liver and bacon." But when Abrahall and Gleason did get to making money and their bank roll got strong their motto was take the money if you can get it at your price. Abrahall always said no bookmaker can make money unless ho is willing to handle it along big lines. He used to ask, how can you get it if you wont take it? Gleason, in his lest days as a bookie, was built in the same mould. Another thing remarkable about this firm was their honesty in the business. Abrahall might taken an advantage with a horse that the betting seemed to indicate was not meant and run up a heavy sheet on him, but he never had dealings with any owner. He used to say: "Why, if he will pull a horse for me he will run one out on me some day. You can never trust a man who is crooked for you. If he has to, you are no better than anyone else. He will sure hand you one." The firm one year branched out as owners and raced a small string of two-year-olds with moderate success. The only real good horse, however, they ever owned was Fcnelow, a performer that ran some very creditable races in their interest and was, when at his best, a horse of a lot of class.
