Charles E. Van Loan

“ And the joke of it is," concluded Butch, "the old man tells me he's going to take the woolen string off the roll and set in the checks on Isaiah—to beat Prince Wang and Arabi. What do you know about that?"
"A fool and his money gathers no moss," laughed Newby.
"Even so," said Butch cheerfully, "that won't keep me from ribbing up some suckers to bet a few piasters on Isaiah—to come third." ”

“ Last of all, an assistant judge gave McGuire and Duffy a miserable half hour, and returned to the stand shaking his head. Those scalawags, case-hardened by experience, fearing neither man nor his brief authority, stood pat; and the bookmakers' sheets furnished no clew to the mystery so far as Duffy and McGuire were concerned.
The tall judge summed up in short sentences.
"Gentlemen," said he, "we have examined the sheets from the betting ring. They show that Mr. Curry was the only man who bet on Isaiah to win. ”

“ The jumping riders settle things before the race, thus eliminating Providence and the mischance of jogging to the post with the wrong ticket in the bootleg. It is only when the riders fail to name the caucus nominee that complications arise. And Old Man Curry, bless his simple, honest heart, thought it was Providence!
Speaking from a professional angle, Old Man Curry had about as much business on a race track as a tender squab at a Third Avenue banquet—and almost as much of a chance. ”

“ Man ought to be allowed to steal something if he risks his neck to do it. Which of 'em is going to ride for the old sport?"
"Not any," said Butch. "He's went and made a steeplchase jock out of the coon."
"Good night!" said Newby, with explosive emphasis. "Why, McGuire and Duffy and the rest of those mick riders will murder him the first time around the field!"
"That being the case," said Butch, "it's up to us to send flowers about Sunday week. Isaiah is entered for a week from Thursday. He ain't got a thing to beat except Prince Wang and Arabi—the two best jumpers that ever came West. ”

“ Molestar, Arabi, Prince Wang, and that bunch. A swell chance old Isaiah will have in that kind of company!"
"Wel-l-l," said Butch judiciously, "a jumpin' race ain't ever a cinch for anybody not even the best jumper that ever lived. Too many things can happen. And, then, the riders are always doing business—framing up among themselves. You never know what those burglars are going to do, or which horse they are going to shoo in. I'd hate to bet a jumping race—with counterfeit money." ”

“ We ain't half as civilized as we think we are."
A steeplechase breaks up the monotony of the daily racing card and fattens the daily attendance, but the bookmakers and the professional gamblers have small use for a jumping contest. There is never any real certainty of knowing how the riders are betting, and in a long race "over the sticks" almost any sort of a miracle may pass unquestioned by the judges. ”

“ Horses which shy at the barrier and refuse to break when the webbing flies up are put on the schooling list, and it is part of the duties of the assistant starter to train these wild creatures until they learn how to comport themselves at the post. It was after Isaiah broke sidewise, knocking two real horses into the fence, that the judges sent for Old Man Curry, and broke the news to him that Isaiah's entry would be refused until the animal had been schooled at the barrier. ”

“ How Isaiah, the star of the Curry stable and probably the most erratic beast that ever drove an official starter to drink, makes a bid for fame in a steeplechase. An exciting and amusing story of the race track
OLD MAN CURRY said the hand of of Providence was in it, which was as accurate a guess as he ever made in connection with a horse race. ”

“ Away in the rear, Sidney Albert cast a pair of wide eyes on jockey McGuire, still motionless in the grass. Men were running toward him. Out in the middle of the track several roustabouts were pursuing Prince Wang to remount and ride him home for the short end of the purse. At the fence rail, Butch Flynn was pounding Old Man Curry on the back. ”

“ In the first place, a man who can recite the Old Testament backward, and who reads the Psalms of David and the Song of Solomon instead of the form charts and the sporting pages is quite apt to find himself outgeneraled by the unregenerate in the matter of placing race horses one-two-three at the wire. To make it worse, Old Man Curry didn't have a horse in his barn worth talking about with a straight face. ”

“ There was once a man who figured out fifty ways in which the best horse in a race might be beaten; and it was a flat race he was using as the basis of calculations. In a steeplechase there are five hundred ways. ”

“ Nehemiah was a gaunt, hungry-looking, aggravating sort of an equine hermit. He could run fast enough to suit anybody, the only trouble being that he insisted on running alone. If he happened to get away from the post with the others, he sulked and quit ”

“ It goes to show that a man may be well posted on all the prophets of Israel, and still not know a great deal about the sport of kings. Steeplechasing particularly. Providence might stand some sort of an outside chance in a dash over the flat, with everybody trying ”