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REAL PATHOS OF THE RACE TRACK Interesting Tale of the Turf of Other Days with a Happy Conclusion The biggest and best chap I ever knew about the race courses said a veteran racing man was Dave A squarer man never stepped in shoe leather and how he loved his parents and sister His one ambition in life was to win money enough to make them comfortable A dozen times he had a snug sum put by but whenever he took the final plunge which would win enough to give him the amount he considered necessary the fates turned traitor It was the same with the stock market too nothing stood for him There was a place in Canada near where Dave was born which his mother had always admired It was known locally as The 1ines Dave had long regarded the place with covetous eyes The broad manor house of white brick and the red roof were conspicuous for miles and when the train from New York bore him home for Christmas Dave told me it was the view which fascinated him most He said that he had always hoped to be able to own it some time and one winter when he was home he confided his ambition to his parents and sister The place was for sale at the time timeHe He had bought for a couple of hundred dollars the previous autumn resumed the speaker an undersized yearling by a horse that was regarded in Kentucky as having more speed than stamina No ¬ body thought enough of the colt to bid for him and my friend Day got him practically without opposi ¬ tion He turned him over to a friend to train and among the hundreds of colts and fillies being broken in September he was not heard of all eyes being centered on the gallops of the youngsters from the big stables which every year furnish ninety per cent of the stake material One morning however before sunup Destruction that wasnt his name but it meant the same thing got away from the boy and worked ah eighth through the stretch that made the trainer think his watch was playing pranks on him himHe He told Dave about it Fearful lest anybody should see a repetition of the fast trial they took the colt to Monmouth Park course in New Jersey a portion of which was still utilized for training purposes and there Destruction showed that the trainers watch told no lies Then and there a plan of action was agreed upon The winter was to be spent in the endeavor to form the runt into a race horse of size and power Dave spent the bulk of the season in New Jersey and we saw lit ¬ tle of him around old Gilsey House where he conld always be found evenings when he was in town Destruction grew amazingly snd one fine afternoon in March when I was asked to go down and look him over I didnt recognize in the stout high headed colt the weakling of a few months before beforeThe The days were warm from 10 oclock to 3 on the Jersey coast and the sandy soil enabled the colt to be out on the track much sooner than any of the thoroughbreds on Long Island and as a consequence when the season opened Destruction was ready for the fray The trainer was anxious to start him in an overnight race but Dave was patience itself and the meetings at Morris Park and Gravesend passed without Destruction sporting silks My friend wagered carefully all the way through both meetings and when it came to Sheepshead Bay he was a win nar to the extent of perhaps 10000 There was a stake on the grass for twoyearolds to be run there and as Destruction was eligible for it the trainer breezed him one morning on the turf and found that he had a colt that could run faster even on the turf than over the dirt course a most desirable condition as any racing man will tell you youOMINOUS OMINOUS No 13 ON HIS SADDLE CLOTH CLOTHThe The night before the nice Dave came to me continued the narrator and handed me 5000 asking me to put it on Destruction the next day regardless of price He counseled me at the same time to have a good bet down for myself but as the Kcene and Belmont stables were represented by their best colts youngsters which had won good races I was skeptical and began to argue with him He held up a warning hand and knowing that my arguments would fall on dumb ears I desisted I got m average of 8 to 1 for the money the next afternoon and found Dave perched high in the grand ¬ stand in a seat he generally occupied when he was betting a chunk I handed him the sheaf of tick ¬ ets remarking 40000 to 5000 but he waved them back and pulled his hat lower over his eyes and watched the colts as they came trooping from the paddock on their way to the post There was a bakers dozen of them and Destruction wore the ominous number 13 upon his saddle cloth He was number 1 at the post however and when they got away it was before the day of the starting gate Destruction beat the flag and showed in the van as the field bunched for the run up the backstretch Lower tilted the hat and the big knotty hands were clinched till the white knuckles seemed ready to start the skin The strong jaws were firmly set Keep him Up boy dont et them pocket you lie whispered half aloud At the turn two colts challenged determinedly and Destructions rider a mulatto gave the colt two smart blows of the whip Head and head the trio came on nose and nose and cheek by jowl tUey bounded into the straight horses and riders struggling nobly De ¬ struction was still on the rail and in making the turn he had the advantage of his competitors His splendid head was thrust far forward as he ran and when the stretch was well entered his adver ¬ saries were straight as a string Inch by inch he forged to the front and when the finishing line was readied Destructions neck and shoulders showed I looked at Dave in those last strides He sat as though turned to stone until the numbers went up and then two great tears raced down his cheeks and splashed upon his big hands which were closing and unclosing convulsively Come on he muttered I want to send a mes ¬ sage sageWhen When we reached the telegraph office he seized a pen and tried to write but his hand would not be controlled He passed the pen to me saying Canada Destruction has won and The Pines is ours Im not ashamed to confess that as I signed his name a tear or two dropped from somewhere and the blank was wet when it reached the hand of the operator to whom it meant nothing I hadnt won a quarter on the race but I had been tin to Daves home and had heard them all talk about Tiie Pines and I had a mental picture of the trio father mother and daughter when that mes ¬ sage came announcing the victory of Destruction New York Sun
