“Hands once clasped in darkness return in For a Bet, extended in control over the dealt hand that hovers, fanned over the cropped face of a horse peering out from behind green stable bars. Will the cards share his fate with us? Someone’s breathing property…an enduring testament to man’s power and potential when he subjugates others to his will. “A machine. He knows how strong & good he is, & he fears no one,” reads Blasingame’s handwritten notes. Bodily control over the prowess of another forces performance under surveilled scrutiny. Nature is instrumentalized and used as a backdrop for mint julep sipping, boutique hat wearing, and seersucker frivolity.”