Chapter 66

Saturday morning early Little Eli had Cheyenne out on the track letting him run and kick up his heels. The Barkley brothers were there early and the other men joined them, leaning against the rail to watch him run. Little Eli held him back, not wanting to show his speed, but he still let him run to loosen up and settle his jitters down.

He knew Cheyenne was ready. He could feel his young horse’s energy when he moved.

There was a race scheduled for ten o’clock in the morning and another one at three o’clock in the afternoon, Saturday and Sunday. A horse could be entered in all four races if the owner was willing to race him.

Two hours later, Little Eli was standing at the gate to the announcers stand when the man opened it early for the owners to enter their horses and pay their entry fees. The fee was twenty five dollars a race, or two races for forty and four for seventy five. This fee was for each horse an owner entered.

Cheyenne was entered in all four races for the weekend and the Crow family and friends spent the next three hours making bets with anyone who would cover their money.

“Eli, look over there. There’s Mr. Parkman from over in Tulsa. Reckon he brought both his horses over here too?” Ezra said, being the first to spot the man.

“If he did and wants to bet, take him up on it. I brought a thousand, how much did each of you bring?”

“I brought a thousand and Isaac and Pike each brought fifteen hundred. I think Caleb and Micah each brought a thousand, but I’m not sure,” Ezra told him.

“Kit told Isaac and me that she and Ruby each brought five hundred and the other girls all brought eight hundred. I wonder how much Dad and the others brought?” Little Eli said as they talked about money and placing bets on their horse.

“I heard Doc and Smitty talking to Joe. Each one of them brought ten thousand,” Isaac told him when he walked up to hear them talking about money.

“Man, that’s a lot of money to be betting on horses. I sure hope Cheyenne is having a good weekend,” Ezra said as they grinned.

“Here, make me some good bets, Ezra. I’m too damn nervous to leave him long enough to go put my money on him,” Little Eli told his brother and handed him his roll of bills.

“How did he do when you took him out on the track this morning, Eli? There were at least ten horses out there at the same time you were and we saw you trying to hold him back,” Joe asked when he walked over to where the Bucks were.

“He’s wound up tight, Joe. I can tell you that for sure. He acts just like he did over at Tulsa when he saw we were about to run a race. He was ready to race those horses out there on the track this morning.

“My only problem will be holding him back and saving some for the other races, especially the one at three today.”

Later, Eli and Joe walked over to where the Bucks were sitting around in the stable, talking about racing. The Crow girls gathered around too, they wanted to learn all about horse racing and betting on horses. They wanted to know how to bet and make the most money with the odds.

“Eli, if you let Cheyenne run away with his first race here, the bets will drop off and so will the odds. You need to hold that young horse back. Start teaching him that he needs to run with the pack and be ready to let it go when you tell him to. He should catch on soon. He’s smart and he likes to run, but more than anything, he loves to win. If you can teach him how to win against these thoroughbreds, he will always be a winner,” Eli told his son, with the others leaned in close, as if he was telling the greatest secrets of horse racing.

“The first time I ever tried to hold him back was when we raced that day behind the barn. I couldn’t get him to mind me or even slow down to turn him around. Then when we raced at Tulsa the other day, he seemed to know what I was asking him to do and we ran a good race. I did let him have his head about halfway back though and he seemed to be happy with that.”

“In this first race of the weekend, see if you can’t get him to hold back and let the other horses get close before you let him run. We can all make a lot more money, and that’s what horse racing is all about.”

There were a lot of men who shied away from being close to Marshal Crow. He wore his marshal’s silver star no matter where he went. After most of the men present saw him placing bets with any and all who would cover, even the shyest of the bettors were coming around to take some of the Marshals money. If they could.

There was a sign over the betting tables, stating that all bets were subject to a two percent cut for the race track, to pay the purses for each race and upkeep of the grounds. There were two bookmakers registered at the track and each had tables set up with a man keeping up with the bets and the odds.

Cheyenne was unknown and the group from Crow Ridge found it easy to make good bets when Eli gave them odds that others wouldn’t put up.

“Marshal, you seem to know that big Paint horse pretty good, the way you’re throwing money down on him.” A man said from behind him.

Eli turned around to see one of the professional bookmakers looking at him with a broad smile.

“You want some? Two to one odds on five hundred or less. Three to one up to a thousand. Name your limit from there.”

“Put me down for three thousand at three to one, Marshal. I have a few big bills collected already that I know will cover me. I’d love to take a lawman’s money.” The man said without a smile this time.

“Be easy with your money, Mister. You’ll be collecting and paying out too when the race is over. Don’t lose your money, just trying to take mine,” Eli told the man as he wrote down his bet and his name, never smiling as he glanced up at the man.

“I reckon you’re sayin’ that you’d enforce the rules if a man was to try and renege on a bet?” Another man spoke up.

“Mister, I’m just like you and the rest of these folks who came here this weekend to bet some money on the horse races and have some fun. But if there’s a shill among you who’s here to try and beat a man out of his money, you damn well better believe I’ll come after his ass!” Eli stated, looking up from where he was writing, to let his eyes make contact with any man gathered round who dared look at him.

“I was just making an observation, Marshal. No offense meant. I hope you do keep the other bookies honest, we’ve had some in the past who skipped out before the races were even run.”

Eli turned to the announcer who sat with his long megaphone beside his table and spoke briefly with him. The man smiled and stood to make a special announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take a moment to welcome each of you here this weekend. We have begun to attract more and more fans of horse racing each week. I want to thank Mayor George Phillips and his lovely wife, Harriet for their hard work in making the Vinita Racing Downs a fun and exciting place for families and friends to be on weekends. I also want to introduce a friend from over in Tulsa and have him stand up so all of you will know him when you see him. United States Marshal Eli Crow is here with some friends and members of his family.

“His son, Eli Crow Junior, is racing a young stud that is as green as he can be to racing, but shows some promise if he can be controlled; according to Marshal Crow.

“Oh, one other thing. Marshal Crow will be walking among all the spectators, bettors and bookmakers here today. He told me personally that he hopes everyone here will honor their bets.”

A quiet fell over the noisy crowd as Eli stood on a step higher than the rest of the crowd gathered around the bookmaker’s tables. He made a complete turn as he looked out over the crowd.

The Barkleys, the Crow girls, and the Bucks were with Little Eli later, when he led Cheyenne down the street and across the open grounds to the racetrack.

“Eli, are you going to keep that big saddle on him?” Ben Barkley asked.

“I thought about using a lighter saddle, but this is the only one he’s ever had on his back and I’m not going to make a change for his first big race.”

“I reckon it’s best you don’t then. You may want to start putting one of the lighter saddles on him that you got in your barn back home and let him get used to it. He’s fast, but so are a lot of other horses and they don’t have near the weight to carry as Cheyenne does.” William Barkley advised him.

“I’ll start him under a light saddle when we get back. I sure hope he can run with these thoroughbreds, some of them sure do look tall and long legged.”

“There’s a couple of smaller horses out there that you better watch out for too. Back where we come from, the small stock horses would run like hell to set a fast pace for the less experienced horses and riders. By the time the real race started on the back turn, some of the younger race horses were out of wind already,” George told him.

“Thanks for letting me in on these things. If I can learn a little more about racing, maybe I can make it easier for Cheyenne to beat even the best horses.”

“You and Cheyenne will do alright, Eli. He’s fast enough and young enough right now to overcome some mistakes. The older he gets, the smarter he’ll get and you’ll get too, about racing him. You’ll do alright, just let him run, but save some for the fast sprint home that the trained horses will have.”

Race time was drawing near when Joe gave Little Eli a leg up. They had decided to take the stirrups and fenders off the saddle to lighten the load a few pounds.

Little Eli quickly looked around at all the other entrants in the first race. The riders rode their mounts in circles, keeping them loose and alert. He counted eight horses but wasn’t sure about two of the smaller horses that were riding beside two of the more finicky thoroughbreds.

Sure enough, when the announcer asked the riders to bring the horses past the stands so the spectators could get one more look at them, there were only six horses entered.

One of the horses belonged to Mr. Parkman from Tulsa. Little Eli recognized the jockey and the horse, then looked around to see if the others had seen Mr. Parkman. He saw his dad talking to the man while the rest of the Bucks and the Crow girls stood close by.

The announcer called for the horses to line up at the starting line and Little Eli was more nervous than Cheyenne. He was even more concerned that Cheyenne was behaving so calm, after being so eager to race earlier when he was this near other horses.

The rules of the Vinita Racing Downs had been previously explained at length to all the owners and jockeys, but the announcer explained them once more for the benefit of the crowd.

If a horse jumps the starting gun, he is disqualified.

If a horse bumps another horse at the starting line, he is disqualified.

If a rider strikes another horse at any time, his horse is disqualified.

If a horse bumps another horse during the race, he is disqualified.

With the rules in place and the crowd on their feet, the announcer called for the horses to line up. There was a thin white cotton thread stretched across the narrow track just below the horses’ necks and the starter stood on a small platform above the track with his pistol raised.

With the shot from the starter pistol, the cotton line snapped and the race was on.

Little Eli was shocked when Cheyenne leaped out in front the instant the line fell. He let him run to the lead, but held him back to keep him from running away with the race. He remembered all he’d been told and kept Cheyenne in check as they raced to the inside, running the rail, easily leading the pack.