134 RACEALONG 



located near the one occupied by J. B. Haggin, the 

 owner of Ben AH who with Blue Wing was considered 

 the two most formidable competitors in the race. He 

 also gave us a little information about the horses 

 and said that he thought that the Virgil colt would 

 win. 



"Calling a messenger I requested him to go to the 

 betting ring and get me the odds on Ben Ali. He re- 

 turned with the information that they were three 

 and a half to one. Larry heard him and offered to 

 place my money. I gave him $300, and that was the 

 last I saw of him until after the race. 



"When the flag dropped for the Derby, the field 

 ran in a bunch until within a couple of furlongs of 

 the finish. At that point Blue Wing and Ben Ali 

 slipped out in front and ran on even terms for several 

 strides. As they approached the stand, Ben All's head 

 showed in front and it remained there to the finish. 

 In a few minutes I learned that Haggin won $72,000 

 on the race. My ticket also won but Larry kept it. I 

 never asked him for it and it was the nicest present 

 I ever had an opportunity to make to anyone. 



"For some reason Larry Jerome did not take to 

 southern people. He always said that they had big 

 feet and that was ^hat kept them erect. One winter 

 we were fishing at New Smyrna, Florida. All of the 

 guests at the hotel were from the south except Larry 

 and myself. He would not mix with them, while his 

 big feet idea was always on tap. 



"One rainy afternoon when all of us were sitting 

 on the porch, Larry turned to me and said: Trank, 



