TO GO FOR THE GLOVES, verb. phr. (racing).—To bet recklessly; to bet against a horse without having the wherewithal to pay if one loses—the last resource of the plunging turfite. The term is derived from the well-known habit of ladies to bet in pairs of gloves, expecting to be paid if they win, but not to be called upon to pay if they lose.
1877. HAWLEY SMART, Play or Pay, ch. xi. One of the boldest plungers of the day, who had begun badly, was GOING FOR THE GLOVES upon this match.
1886. EARL OF SUFFOLK AND BERKSHIRE and W. G. CRAVEN, Racing, p. 259. Hardly worth mentioning are the backers who come in for a hit-or-miss dash at the ring—‘TO GO FOR THE GLOVES,’ as it is called in Turf parlance.
1891. Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, 3 April. Although we frequently read in stories of the hero backing the right horse at a long price, and so getting out of sundry monetary difficulties, we rarely find the idea realised in practice. Many a bookmaker has GONE FOR THE GLOVES.
