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Man versus Horse Thanks for the memories.
My introduction to betting on horse races started about the middle of WW11 in western Kansas. On Sundays we held horse races between men and horses on a dirt road where the traffic could be easily blocked . Most of the races were run around a stake and back at about 25 yards or in some cases as long as 50 yards. The horses were for the most part cutting horses and could turn very sharply and resume their speed rather quickly. Dave Rinehart was my primary bet and almost always won at least one 25 and back during the early going . I had helped him shock feed at his folk's place and he usually gave me a tip on the race he was going to go full out on. Money was hard to come by in those days as I only earned $3.00 a day that summer for shocking barley from sunup to sundown so an extra .50 or dollar was mighty welcome.
From there I graduated to the county fairs in Kansas and Oklahoma where we had a live bookie with a small chalkboard who sat under a tree and took bets.
I guess that was a long time ago but it is pretty vivid in my memory.
TD
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