CASINO GAMES 



of persuasion or stick would make him face it. I told 

 him this. " But he doesn't fall ? " he asked, and I 

 told him no. 



There were only four runners, and he told me that 

 he had ascertained No. 5 was favourite. " What about 

 this No. 3 ? " he then queried. " If it were a hurdle 

 race, yes," I explained; " but he'll never go over the 

 water." There was only one other to discuss. That 

 was No. 1 on the card. Through a long season he had 

 never been placed, and had been patched up for this 

 event just on an off chance. It therefore seemed 

 any odds on the favourite, who was rather a useful 

 horse, and I told him so. He thanked me profusely 

 and went off to join his companion, an accentuated 

 type of elderly American. The younger man left the 

 other after a minute and went towards the ring. It 

 was before bookmakers were abolished. 



I didn't think any more of it at all until after the 

 race. The favourite made a very bad peck on landing 

 over the water, which seemed thoroughly to demoralise 

 him, and No. 6, the brute who had never been known 

 for twelve months to go the course, had for some 

 extraordinary reason raced away to the front — they 

 were trying a new jockey that day — and with the 

 other two dropping out all he had to do was to keep 

 on. But he shut up like a knife in the run in fi'om the 

 last fence and the favourite, who had made up a lot 

 of ground, just won a neck. About ten minutes 

 afterwards the older of the pair came round the comer 

 of the stand face to face with me. He also made an 

 apology for speaking to me and added : " I nearly have 

 to thank you for a very big win. I had five hundred 

 dollars on that No. 6, and should have won five 

 thousand. Did you ever see anything like it, only 

 just beaten ? You were the only one to fancy him,'" 



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