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FATE PLAYS FUNNY PRANKS Instances of Some Mens Luck in Winning Wagers Successful Tips on Eacers Handed HandedOut Out Under Unusual UnusualCircumstances Circumstances NEW YORK X Y December 25 Fate plays some funny pranks said an old turfman while discussing onliis favorite topic horses and racing hut I never saw it illustrated better than in the late 70s when I was doing tlie western racing circuits with a couple of smart trotters a quarter horse of more than ordinary quality and a simon pure thoroughbred that could run heats at a mile two miles or even four miles if there was money in sight sightWe We had been through Michigan and had won some pretty good bets on one of our trotters and when we camped at Cleveland we thought that Ohio would be as kind as Michigan as our horses were all ready and they were better than they had shown at Detroit and Jackson Among the first men we met in Cleveland was a friend of John D Rockefellers who was smooth enough for flash company ou any track when it came to getting the money moneyHe He was one of those who had been persuaded that there would be dividends in the petroleum business and all the money lie made in the livery stable game he nut into the enterprise Rockefeller and his associates had juSt formed He had a few pretty good horses at his stable in town and he conducted at the track a boarding kitchen where n majority of the help employed by the various trainers were fed AVe hadnt known him more tliiin twentyfour hours before he was urging my part ¬ ner and niyself to come around and drive some of his horses whenever we wanted to go to Glenville Theyre simply eating their heads off and it costs money to hire men to exercise them was the way he put it itSo So we drove them the two weeks we were there AAe won some races and the stable keeper was ia on everything we had When it came time to pack up and depart for Itnffaln and the1 east we were handed a bill that made us sit ui ind take notice AVe had been charged more than tue usual fee every time we drove one of tlie horses and if we had fed our men downtown at one of the fashionable places we couldnt have been set back much more 1 was particularly hot under the collar and carried the bill to the old fellow Haw about this bill I demanded AAhy its all right isnt itV was his reply after scanning it through his glasses first and then scrutinizing me over the top of them I gulped down my wrath but then and there made a mental vow to square things sooner or later AVell ISuffalo passed and we skinned over to Saratoga to take part in an engagement in which our thoroughbred was entered There was an old trotting horse acquaintance of mine who hunted me up soon after my arrival and eagerly sought my opinion of the races I was playing mighty lucky and a few days afterward when a particu uarly good thing at long odds had won my ac ¬ quaintance remarked Old Tom must bu a pretty good winner on cl the good things Ive sent him since you came to town Old Tom AAhat Old Tom I asked smelling a mousa at once for my man was froni Cleveland also AAhy Old Tom remarked the trotting horse horsedriver driver driverIt It was my dear old friend the livery man all right and I Imd hard work to keen from laughing in his face It was so easy to see what was going to happen to Old Tom I thought that tlie f fsi si tea were very kind to me the very next day when my acquaintance said lie had to go up the state for a coupl of days and would I send a few good things to Cleveland in his name namePLAN PLAN TO HAKE OLD TOM SQUIRM SQUIRMWould Would IV I would ba delighted and I set my plans to make Old Tom squirm There was a heat race on for the next day and when tlie entries came out I began operations operationsThere There was a cipher code that would suit any requirements and I doped out the information that there was going to be something doing in this event and that I would wire him bets that night On paper it looked like a cinch for a real smart horso called Mecca but about ten oclock I wired my man that the race hail been fixed for Uig Sandy and for him to tut down a chunk of money on that horse Early ntxt morning I made it stronger and just before the horses went to tlie post 1 shot another tip to him saying that it was as good as in inWell Well Mtcca won the first heat in a walk ami having started a redhot favorite the odds shortened up for fair Old Tom was in the poolnrom at Cleve ¬ land and he wired me anxiously saying that the race looked queer to him considering my informa ¬ tion I sent another hot line saying never to stop and what do you think happened Nothing but this Mecca broke down and IHg Sandy won the heat in a trot as our English cousins would say saylie lie won the next heat too and I was mad enough to bite a nail in two Here was my man delivered into my hands with the conditions made to order and in steps Fate and upsets my game gameSome Some men are born to have money and Old Tom was one of them I gave up trying to square ac ¬ counts with him after that To this day my trot ¬ ting horse acquaintances regard my picking of Itig Sandy as the crowning effort of my tipping career Old Tom is dead long since and perhaps the other men will learr the truth some time timeThat That reminds me of something that happened to Dave Pulsifer at old Monmouth Park twenty years ago remarked a listener There was an awful bore who annoyed Pulsifer PulsiferDave Dave was having a big run of luck about that time winning race after race with Rapine Grimaldi and other horses in his stable These horses wer much better than people generally supposed and they were ridden by an unfashionable jockey named Joodale JoodaleThis This fellow Im speaking about met Dave one day through a friend and for a long time he both ¬ ered him much Every day found the bore waiting to have his card marked and finally Iulsifer de ¬ termined to stop the nuisance Accordingly he put a cross opposite the name of a filly named Lacka wanna and told the man that she could not lose and to play her to the limit limitIn In the nice in question Pulsifer bet a couple of thousand on the favorite and he was talking with his trainer Donovan at the conclusion of the race i Continued on sixth page J FATE PLAYS FUNNY PRANKS Continued from first page when he was almost knocked down by the bore whose hands were full of winning tickets on Lackn wanua whose number was being hoisted on the winning board Oh thank you thank you Mr Pulsifer I got GO to 1 and Ive won 0000 on your tip he gasped gaspedALMOST ALMOST SWALLOWED HIS CIGAR CIGARPulsifer Pulsifer was having his customary dry smoke and he almost swallowed the cigar but he finally managed to say something about IMHIIK dimned if he ever saw such luck I guess that was another case of fate fateThe The best bunch in the world broke in another listener is when you want to call a bet off and the layer refuses to shift it to another horse Thats I he time you wtnt to go the limit on your original horse for in nine out of ten instances the horse you bet on originally wins winsIts Its a sign of weakness when anybody can come aJong with a story of fast work or feed box Information and shift you Ive seen it work out more times than 1 can tell Of course there are exceptions to the rule such as a horse being lame or coughing or something like that but in the main your first choice is right When Mr Layer gets a grouch and doesnt want to take it off pass on to the next fellow where your credit is good and paste him one on the eye for luck luckThe The way to beat the races in my opinion commented a quietlooking man who had paid close attention to all that had been said is to employ the tactics of the wife of a friend of mine She goes to the races but seldom just often enough to keep up her interest Su the sport and she always says that the combination of horses music and the crowd was what won her allegiance though of course the zest of winning an occasional wager was not a detriment by any means meansIll Ill never forget her first wager It was in the 80s and I had a position at the track that paid me well One day us I was preparing to leave for the course my wife handed me a twentydollar bill saying that our friend had left it that morning with instructions to put it on a horse called Harvcd in the Lawnview Handicap that afternoon at Graves end endI I laughed at this for Harved had only got out of the maiden class the week before and his oppo ¬ nents in the Lnwnview were two such splendid per ¬ formers as Richmond owned by the Dwyers and Favor from the barn of Green B Morris I wanted my wife to keep the money and return it but she demurred and I took it and started for the track trackThe The commission was about forgotten and I was coming out of the paddock when Charlie Reed the philosopher of the turf happened along I told the old gentleman of the twenty dollars and remarked that it would be a lot of fun to hand it back to her the next day Taking me by the arm the old man said gravely Sonny if somebody gives you money to bet on i bay ox beating the best thoroughbred in the world put the money on the bay ox I started for the ring on the run and found GO to 1 and Sol gave me a ticket reading 1200 to 20 Harved There were but three starters McLaughlin on Richmond Fitz patrifk on Favor and a midget named Osier on Harved It was conceded that the race would be good and close as Richmond and Favor both fouryenrolJs were evenly matched and they had the best riders in America at that time on their backs backsWhen When Caldwell dropped the flag Fitz and Jimmy rode knee to knee watching each other intently Fitz had waiting orders and McLaughlin refused to make pace Osier accordingly shot to the front with the featherweighted Harved and going up the backstrcteh lie was a dozen lengths in the lead The others realized at the end of the stretch that the leader wasnt coming back appreciably and they set sail sailIt It was a breakneck pace around the upper turn and through the stretch and Favor stopped first Richmond under the lash wore down Hatreds lead inch by inch but the distance to be overcome was too great and Harved won by a neck amidst the wildest excitement excitementThe The blunder on the ijart of the crack Jockeys had made the outsider win I was in a daze and a cold chill ran up and down my spine when I realised the close call I had had The soundness of Charlie Heeds advice came home to me with con ¬ vincing force as I tucked away 1 220 in my trous ¬ ers pocketThat pocket That evening when the lady and her husband called and I had counted her winning into her lap I said Now that its all over tell us how you doped it out Why I dreamed that he won I heard shout ¬ ing saw the populace much excited and distinctly heard the cry Harved or as I thought Harvard wins but upon looking at the entries I saw that the horses name was Harved Thats all
