Captain Billy's Whiz Bang, December 1924 · page 6 of 71
Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #67 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from the satirical magazine contains a humorous tall tale about horse racing. A young jockey brags about riding "the fastest horse in the world," claiming it performed impossibly—passing eight horses, stopping mid-race, giving birth to a colt, winning anyway, with the newborn colt finishing second. A gullible farmer ("hay-shaker") believes this obvious fabrication and bets money on the jockey, who immediately falls off after 30 yards, exposing the lie. The satire mocks both credulous people susceptible to outlandish boasts and the culture of horse racing gambling. The closing quip—calling racing the "Sport of Kings—Queens—and the Joker"—suggests the sport attracts foolish bettors. The page also notes Winnipeg's jockey club success and Manitoba's legalized alcohol ("wet...under government control"), presenting these as signs of general contentment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
=[Captain Billy's Whiz Bang]= Jockeys boasting about the horses they rode. "I am going to ride the fastest horse in the world," remarked one freckled-faced lad. "In a race last year she came to the post late. She passed eight horses at the quarter pole, stopped to be rubbed down at the half, foaled a colt at the three-quarter, won by eleven lengths, and the colt came in second." Well, naturally, this old hay-shaker thought the jockey was some rider and placed a little wheat money on him in the first race. The boy must have been riding that colt he'd been telling about for he hadn't gone 30 yards before he fell off. Yes, sir, hoss racing is the "Sport of Kings"—Queens—and the Joker. The Jockey Club of Winnipeg has enjoyed a prosperous year. It introduced the Pari-Mutuel betting system and both Winnipeg tracks have been well patronized. Then, too, the province of Manitoba is wet, under government control, and everybody seems happy. HERE'S a sassy, two-legged little "pome" from Daisy B. Hay, of Anniston, Ala., which was inspired by the receipt of a rejected contribution to Whiz Bang. We don't know yet whether the author was aiming praise =[4]=