STL All Sports

Father Bill Daly is one of the legendary characters of the racing world. Much of his fame rested on his ability to make great jockeys out of green kids and winning horses out of patched up cripples. Many a long shot came home winning with old Bill's money riding on his nose.

Father Bill had a lot of his own tricks for getting an old cripple ready for a race. One day an official of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came around to the barn to see what the veteran trainer might be up to. As luck would have it, Father Bill had an ancient gelding standing in a steaming tub of boiling hot water.

"Here, you can't do that," protested the SPCA official. "It's downright cruel to make a horse stand in boiling water."

"The water isn't that hot," replied Father Bill. "I'll prove it to you." And he stuck his own leg into the tub to show that it was quite comfortable."

Satisfied, the SPCA official went on his way. As soon as he was out of sight, Father Bill lifted his leg from the tub, rolled up his trouser and carefully wiped off-his wooden leg.