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— — » ■ PLUNGERS OF IRON NERVE ! Something of the Characteristics of Mike Dwyer, Pittsburg Phil and P. H. McCarren. j . ! "You niiirk my words," said an old-time specu- la tor on the turf, "its the fellow who bottles up his feelings and, shows no signs of emotion who . goo. away quicker than the chap who jells his head | off when his horse wins. "Ive noticed 1 lie «iuiet ones all down the line, | and the besl examples 0f their kind have gone. I i refer to Mike Dw.ver. littsburg lMiil and Pat McCarren. None of them ever batted an eye when he i had a nose finish for thousands, but they burnt up , internally, and would have lived longer if they had i yelled now and then. Its the way a high-strung i chap has of letting off steam, and it relieves the tension tremendously. "I remember the day that Previous failed to get away from the post for the Futurity, which the colts sul seouent form showed he could have won easily. Mike Dwyer owned Previous and he had 5 000 up on the son of Meddler. It was Dwyers custom to view the race from the end of the grandstand nearest the clubhouse when they were running at She.pshead Hay. and he was pacing up and down with his field glasses in his hand while the big bunch f two-year-olds weie at the post. From time to time he would stop and look anxiously through the glasses. Finally ihere was a shout of Theyre off! and a cloud of dust three-quarters of a mile away indicated that the race was under way. Dwyers glasses were glued on the starting point when Mr. Pettingill raised the barrier and the moment the start was made he began pacing 1o and fro, taking no more interest in the race. Somebodys left, ejaculated a byMander. Yes. its Previous," remarked the nervy plunger as he jcon-tiin.ed his walk. "It was no fault of the starter that Previous failed to get away, nor was it through any remissness on the part of Siiiims, the famous colored jockey, who had the mount. It happened that Previous had drawn the outside position at the post and that the farmer had the field next to the Futurity chute planted in oats. The waving grain swayed temptingly near the colt, and he turned his head for a hasty bite just as Mr. Pettingill released the barrier and called Come on! The jockey and colt were both caught unawares, and it was too late to rectify the mistake, though there are some who still think that Previous could have gone after his field and won. It is not recorded that Mr. Dwyer ever made any complaint to anybody or murmured over his hard luck. He realized that he was up against fate and accepted what came as his share of the uncertainty of the sport. DEARLY LOVED A FAVORITE. "Those who were most familiar with Dw.ver found ! it just as hard to gauge him and his methods as the most utter si ranger. He dearly loved a favorite, and the shorter the odds, the more money he would hot. On one occasion he bought a horse named Joe Cotton for SIii.immi ami started to win him out. The odds were 1 to .,. and at those figures he wagered $.10,000. The race was at Sheepshead Pay and the California mare, Itinctte. was at Cottons throatlatcl, all the way through tie- stretch, and only the judges knew which had won at the vim. Not a muscle of the plungers placid face moved as Cottons number was flashed to the announcement board, and his only remark as a friend win sat with him in the timers stand slapped him on the back in congratulation was "light squeak. "Pittsburg Phil was much like Dwyer in some ways. He was equally silent in the early days of his career, but when the disease which subsequently carried him off had made inroads into his system he was at times querulous and would argue veh°-mently when the soundness of his judgment on a race was disputed. Pittsburg was not as fond of favorites as Dw.ver. but. like his gret rival, there was nothing that occurred during the running of a race that he could not tell with great accuracy. Whether he was betting or not, he always watched the horses run. and there was nothing that occurred during that race that was not put away in a corner of his niarvelously retentive mind for future use. He played fewer races than Dwyer, going on the theory, always sound in any country, that the man who tries to beat every race has only one sight in view — bankruptcy sure and certain. When he had viewed the possibilities of the various candidates in a race from all points and made up his mind that a certain horse could win nobody could talk him out of betting on the chances of that particular horse or mare. "He was cunning to a degree in his methods, and it is on record that he has through his agents wagered as much as a thousand dollars on a horse in a race in order to mislead his sworn enemies, the liookmakers. When the deluded penciiers had offered a -ufficieiitly tempting figure against the horse Pittsburg really wanted to wager on his money ; appeared most mysteriously. He had many confidential betting agents or conuniss. oners but was constantly springing surprises on the fraternity in fresh recruits. WHOLESOME RESPECT FOR PITTSBURG PHIL. "It is said that a burnt child dreads the fire. It was a true saying so far as bookmakers were concerned, for tliey had such wholesome respect for the young plungers judgment that they cut the price "the moment it was apparent that it was his money t b.-i t was coming into the ring in such chunks. In the early days of his career, which by he way began ::t old Monmouth Park about IMS, the -mart book makers of the Wheeloi k anil Lfctktcasteta type thought they could break him. and they took his money every time it was offered and on any thing that he cared to wager. Some heavy winnings, one in particular oer Kolian. a horse owned at the time by the late A. .1. Cassatt. president of the Pennsylvania railroad, and afterward sold to Garrison, the jockey, caused them to look for softer game. "The race where he made his star winning was over a two-year-old owned by himself, whose private form had been carefully concealed. This youngsters name was King Cadmus, and Fred Taral was engaged to ride the Mil in a dash down the straight course at .Morris Park. Taral was in the heyday of his career and could out finish any jockey then in t It- -saddle. It took all the phenomenal Dutchmans muscular driving and lifting to land King Cadmus first by a nose. Pittsburg was in the stand, the least excited man in the throng, and the only sign of emotion that he showed was the slight smile in response to Walter Kcycs jubilant announcement of "Jeorge. weve skinned the ram! "Smith was never very fond of giving information to those whom he thought were not entitled to it. and he would never admit iiow much money he won Ihat day on King Cadmus. It was rumored that the records of the ring, which could be got at pretU thoroughly. as neatly all of the smart fellows got a lambasting, showed that Smith took more than 00.1*00 out of the ring over that particular race. Put Smith won on other pe iples horses very largely, and frequently seared when the owner and trainer of the horse did not think they had a chance. Sometimes he would meet the trainer and in an exchange of opinions would demonstrate clearly that the horse under discussion should win that day. taking form show u on a previous occasion a- a line by which to figure. Commencing life as a cutter of corks, and having practically no knowl"dge of horses, he developed into one of the liest judges of condition to be found anywhere, and if a horse did not warm up to suit him. or show the sweat running clear and pro-luse in the paddock before the race, he would have none of him. or if In chance his money was al-icady down, he hastened to ledge. ••Smith was clever though to always have some good riders that were friendly to him. and one of them. Willie Shaw, who is now riding in Cennaiiy. was :is close to the plunger as his brother Hill, who trained the h i~e- running in the name of Pittsburg. Shaw was never much of a finisher, hut he had that ran quality which made Isaac Murphy, Jimmy Me-1-iugliliti and Willie Martin great jockeys lie could tell you everything that happened in a race after it. Of course, you all know that the best horse does not always win. Half a dozen things can happen during the running of a race. juid ajq one of them may be fatal to the chances of the best horse. Ooltiig into a pocket is aavc of the ways a good horse can lose, and iscpecia lly if there are jockeys riding who hae a grouch on the rider on the horse .ii.it is in the tight place. They wont pull out and let the unfortunate through, and in taking back and going around the field much precious time is lost. "Shaw could Mil not only what had happened to his own mount, but to every other horse in the race. • perhaps ] on dont think that so-t of news was valuable to Smith: The horse that met with all the trouble would probably be at a much longer price the uext time he faced the barrier and plenty of folks couldnt understand how anybody could bet on ■ ! j ! . | | i i , i i ! ; ,——.————. I 1 " ±dm his chances with the degree of confidence Smith dis- 1 played when he put down his thousands. ■. "Did you ever think that Pittsburg Phil was 1 abjut he only one of the big plungers who brought i next to nothing into the game and left more thai .."i00.000 in good hard cash and securities when he 1 died a few years ago? Just run your mind over some of the high rolh rs. Mike Dwyer made money. I and lots of it, in the meat business long before he ever thought of owning thoroughbreds. John W. Jatcs. as inn know, got his easy money in Wall i Street. The old tinier. Hernard. had a profitable business working for him. ami it kept him going for J years, and so it goes on down the line. But Pitts- i burg Phil came from SS a week as a cork cutter to a millionaire, and all between the ages of 20 and 37." i "Did you ever hear of the time he got his tickets mixed at old Monmouth and got into trouble for a day or so because of his youthful appearance?" in- , terrupted one of the listeners. "No? Well, Ill I tell you about It. "Phil had grown tired beating George Prices poolroom in Pittsburg, and he yearned for actual racing and a sight at some of the horses and jockeys he had been reading about and figuring on for a few years. He packed his bag and landed in New York, knowing not more than two or three persons in the big town. One of these was a printer who had worked in the composing room of a Pittsburg 1 newspaper, and being fond of the races himself and a frequent visitor at Prices had made the acquaint- , ance of Phil. who. by the way. gained the sobriquet which stuck to him through life by giving it up whenever he bought a pool, much the same as a : I broker in the street gives a name to the purchaser , of stocks. I "Pittsburg always looked youthful, and when In-first appeared at Monmouth he was not more than twenty-one and looked eighteen or younger. It was ] the day he burned the ring up on Eolian, and he was in such a hurry getting his money down that J somebody else in the excitement of the speculation got one of his tickets calling for
