Others choose risk over caution. With everything in life feeling like a gamble, these Americans began taking chances that they never would have considered in prosperous times. So it’s not surprising to read, in a 1935 Post article, “The Betting Boom,” that racetrack gambling had become one of America’s few booming industries that year.

The author, Bryan Field, told how talk of higher tax revenues and employment enticed several states to legalize race-track betting. In the past three years, he wrote,

the number of states having racing and betting has risen from seven to twenty-seven, with more getting ready to leap on the band wagon. At the moment of writing, several other states have racing and betting measures in process of passage.

In the same period of time, the money handled in legalized wagering has risen to about $500,000,000 annually. [Roughly translated into 2011 money: $7 Trillion!]

Racetrack wagering had dropped in states where it had been permitted for years. All this recent growth, Field said, was in states that had recently legalized betting.

It is in such places that Old Scrooges and Happy Charlies alike have unearthed the tin can from beneath the brickwork in the cellar and put rainy-day money into circulation.

Taking an average of eight horses to a race, we get approximately 120,000 Thoroughbreds in action in 1934, as against a fraction of that number theretofore. There are only about 10,000 Thoroughbreds available in this country, so they have to be run over and over again—practically worn to a frazzle—in order to make up the number of horses indicated above.

Since 1932, when the inflationary expansion of racing began suddenly, the number of days of racing given has increased to almost 2000… The number of races in 1934 approximated 15,000.

Inevitably, this army of novice gamblers attracted crooks and con men. In 1930, they built a scheme around a little-known rule at the Kentucky Derby, which allowed an owner to nominate a horse for the race with no intention of actually running the horse. The scheme backfired in a most satisfactory way.

Rear View of the Machinery of the Tote Which prints and delievers your wage ticket and adjusts the odds in the same operation

Virtue scored something of a triumph when a sorry nag named Dick O’Hara ran true to form and finished last in the Kentucky Derby of 1930; for the fact that he ran at all caused the utter rout of a ring of Chicago slickers who thought they had a foolproof shortcut to fortune.

They almost had—if it hadn’t been for Dick O’Hara’s owner, the late Stanley Joyce.

Though Dick O’Hara was one of the worst of the season’s two-year racer crop, Joyce had nominated him for the Derby, partly for a gag and partly for a bit of publicity. It cost only twenty-five dollars, and no one expected that the horse would run, since it would take $500 just to place his name in the starting box and a lot more for the jockey, the trainer, and so on.

The nomination of such a hopeless candidate inspired the slicker’s dream—a lottery pegged on the Derby, plus a super-special come-on. Every ticket bearing the name of a horse which even started in the Derby, regardless of how he finished, was to win fifty dollars. And they instructed the printer to run off the vast majority of the tickets with the name of Dick O’Hara.

The lottery took Chicago like wildfire. Clerks, scrubwomen, janitors and other small-time gamblers snapped up chances on this cinch to win fifty dollars. But gradually, as news of the scheme spread, it became apparent that nearly everyone’s ticket was on the unlikeliest starter of them all.

The story got to Joyce. Furious that his horse should be used as a means of swindling thousands, he ordered the beast taken into seclusion, away from possible tampering; put his name in the starting box, to the unbelieving horror of the lottery-syndicate leaders, and ran him in the Derby—last, but in the field.

It was said that Joyce had operatives who watched the ringleaders and forced all who could be cornered to pay off.

Others of them also ran—away.

Open Betting Returns to New York after a generation;
a Bookmaker and his slate in the Jamaica Ring

Starter George Cassidy sends a field away from the Bahr starting gatesat Miami's Hialeah RaceTrack

Depression America Goes To The Horses The Saturday Evening Post

Woman in Huge Hat – Kimball – 2/8/1908

Woman in Huge Hat
by Alonzo Kimball
February 8, 1908

This pretty lady was quite a standout in 1908, with a hat large enough to serve as shade for three. This one must have required several hatpins to secure.

Woman in Plumed Hat, Chin in Hand – Harrison Fisher – 1/18/08

Woman in Plumed Hat, Chin in Hand
by Harrison Fisher
January 18, 1908

Harrison Fisher was an artist who graced many Post covers with lovely ladies. This hat requires a profile view for best effect. One wonders what poor bird(s) suffered for this work of art. Well, they say beauty has its price.

Woman in Paisley Turban – Harrison Fisher – 5/21/10

Woman in Paisley Turban
by Harrison Fisher
5/21/10

There are dozens of Post “hat ladies” to choose form, but we couldn’t resist this gorgeous paisley turban. This was also painted by artist Harrison Fisher. We love the color reproduction for 1910.

Women and Dog in Auto – Harrison Fisher – 11/25/11

Women and Dog in Auto
by Harrison Fisher
November 25, 1911

Let’s home that fancy motor car doesn’t get up too much speed! Somewhere between glamorous and…well, crazy, these hats make a fashion statement…of some kind. Luckily there was still room in the car for the dog.

Coffee and Conversation – Harrison Fisher – 1/20/12

Coffee and Conversation
by Harrison Fisher
January 20, 1912

Artist Harrison Fisher must have done some serious hat shopping. In “Coffee and Conversation” from 1912, this lady’s headgear is bound to turn some heads. We kind of see Lady Gaga going for this one.

Lady in Wide Brim Hat Holding Tea Cup – Penrhyn Stanlaws – 3/24/28

Lady in Wide Brim Hat Holding Tea Cup
by Penrhyn Stanlaws
March 24, 1928

Thank goodness for Derby Ladies! Where else can we drool over these beautiful hats these days? Such as this simply elegant cover from 1928. We found her at the Curtis Publishing website under the appropriate category of “Glamour”. Reprints of Saturday Evening Post covers are available are available at Curtis Publishing, and these stunning covers would be stylish indeed!

Looking for a Saturday Evening Post cover? Questions about Post covers can be directed to info@curtispublishing.com or d.denny@saturdayeveningpost.com.

Classic Covers: Kentucky Derby Fashion Tips The Saturday Evening Post

Developed by the Brown-Forman Corporation of Louisville, the cocktail creates a more feminine libation.

The Oaks Lily®

Oaks Lily

 

• 1 ounce vodka
• 1 ounce sweet and sour mix
• 3 ounce cranberry juice
• splash of triple sec

When the ingredients are mixed, place the pinkish cocktail in an official Oaks Lily® glass (stemless wine glass) with crushed ice, add a straw and garnish with an orange wedge and cherry.

New Derby Drink The Saturday Evening Post

By 1966, production of the collectible glasses rose to 250,000 from less than 100,000 in 1952. Today, the production run stands at 700,000, according to the The Kentucky Derby Museum.

Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse.

Emeril’s Mint Julep The Saturday Evening Post

The energy Bower brought to his art began at an early age when he attended the School of Industrial Art in Philadelphia. Magazine work quickly followed, and his art was published while he was still a student there. Later he became a medical illustrator in the U.S. Army during World War I.

It was only five years ago that an acquaintance, Jane Garrabrant, kindly sent us some biographical information on her substitute grandfather, “Morry,” as she called him, noting that he moved to Paris around 1926, although he still worked for Curtis Publishing. He periodically returned to the United States to fulfill illustration obligations for the Post while living a glorious life on the Left Bank of Paris with many artistic types, from choreographers to writers to artists like himself. Sadly, this charmed lifestyle ended with the stock market crash of 1929.

It became difficult for Bowers to find work at a time when photography was outpacing the demand for illustrators, and jobs turned to the not-as-lucrative world of portrait painting and illustrations for minor publications.

Garrabrant’s notes also detail the caring relationship he and his sister shared. Bower moved back to Collingswood, New Jersey in the early 1960s, and at age 87 he decided to buy a new lawn mower because he didn’t care for the way the neighborhood boys were cutting the grass. But he wasn’t strong enough to pull the cord. His sister, Trudi, “a youngster” at 75, would start the mower, and Morry would cut a little bit of grass each day, stretching it out so he would have something to do the next day. Maurice Lincoln Bower died at the age of 91 on October 4, 1980, one month to the day after the death of his beloved sister, Trudi.

Maurice Bower "Speeding Stagecoach" 1937

Maurice Bower "Harness Race" 1935

Maurice Bower "Racing to the Fire" 1935

Maurice Bower "Circus Bareback Riders" 1935

Maurice Bower "Polo Match" 1934

Maurice Bower "Thoroughbred Race" 1934

Classic Covers: Maurice Bower’s Horse Power The Saturday Evening Post