There's an old saying that all horseplayers die broke. But as a matter of recorded fact, one of the heaviest players the American turf ever knew died rich, honored, and immortalized.
Like most horseplayers he had one eccentricity. Whenever there was a gray horse in the field, that was the horse he bet on. And when a horse from his own stable was running, he would bet on it to a point of monetary collapse. Oddly, for a man who died rich, he, more often than not, picked them wrong when he wagered. He made up for that with his shrewd horse-trading. For example, he once traded a valuable horse named Magnolia for 5,000 fertile acres in Kentucky. And would you believe, after that trade Magnolia never won another race?
So fierce was his passion for victory that, when the Stewards in Alexandria, Virginia, awarded winning honors to a rival entry in a close race, he advanced on them with such frenzied argument that he caused the Jockey Club to reverse the judge's decision and give the race to his horse!
However midway through his life, with extreme resolution, he turned his back on the excitement of the track, gave up his racing stable, and devoted himself to raising mules!
You can be glad, because from that venture he moved into the military, and eventually politics. And, that eccentric, passionate horseplayer became the .............................
(The Wonder of America: Remarkable Stories Celebrating the Spirit of Our Nation by Derric Johnson)
Do you know who the identity of this person? His/her identity will be revealed next Tuesday when I post another Tuesday Tickler.
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