Joe and Asbestos

[Norm]

There must be a 'capper or two here on the forum who has been around long enough to remember those beloved comic strip characters "Joe and Asbestos", those two famous (or maybe infamous) fellows who were found on the racing news page of the daily papers. Each comic strip included a hot horse for the day or some other tip useful to bettors. At one time they funded themselves with a bankroll of $5 and, over a period of time, ran it up to over $1000 using the 'tips' they offered (that was a lot of money in those days.) I must confess that one of their tips (it was actually cartoonist Ken Kling providing the information) on how to identify the "employees horse" at a certain track helped to fund my first trip to Europe. The employees horse was a 'sure thing' that was meant to supplement the poor wages earned by the racetrack workers, they seldom lost. Long gone and almost forgotten, they were a part of the 'good old days'. I miss reading them. Here, for a touch of nostalgia, is a link to a site that features a small collection of the old comic strips. If you go there, click on the dated boxes and the strip will appear.

http://www.barnaclepress.com/list.php?directory=JoeAsbestos (http://www.barnaclepress.com/list.php?directory=JoeAsbestos)

[misscashalot]

I would buy the New York Daily Mirror (in the 50's) and also purchase for 50 cents Klings code card, go to the flats in the afternoon and attend the trotters at Roosevelt or Yonkers in the evening. Kling also for a short period of time listed horses that had no chance...but soon enuf stopped that after one or 2 were put over for balloons.
I loved to read Joe and Asbestos. Thanks for bringing it up

[Premier Turf Club]

I loved reading Joe and Asbestos. I'm too young to remember them but it's really cool to see the strips. :)

[misscashalot]

I loved reading Joe and Asbestos. I'm too young to remember them but it's really cool to see the strips. :)

Book available at EBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/STUFF-ABOUT-STEEDS-by-Ken-Kling_W0QQitemZ4613596857QQihZ011QQcategoryZ378QQr dZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQ_trksidZp1638.m118.l1247QQcm dZViewItem

[Tape Reader]

How about Moon Mullins?
I think it was a three panel cartoon strip. (NY Daily News or NY Daily Mirror.) If you drew a line(s) in a certain way it equally divided into nine panels (races). Then, by counting the eyes in a certain panel it gave you the horse and the race with very interesting results.

[Indulto]

How about Moon Mullins?
I think it was a three panel cartoon strip. (NY Daily News or NY Daily Mirror.) If you drew a line(s) in a certain way it equally divided into nine panels (races). Then, by counting the eyes in a certain panel it gave you the horse and the race with very interesting results.I always heard there were coded selections in the Moon Mullins strip, but never met anybody who could actually decode them.

The character I remember best from Joe and Asbestos was Bermuda Schwartz who always bet a "Daily Single" for a dollar with his bookie.