Short and his wife went to Fort Worth, Texas shortly after their wedding but soon boarded a train "for a brief stay in Hot Springs." A.G. Arkwright later recalled, "Luke Short came there, to the hotel where I was staying, with his wife, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of an Emporia banker, whom he married under romantic circumstances." "Doing the racing circuit" was a large part of Short's career as a sporting man. He and his friend, Jake Johnson, along with their wives, attended the inaugural running of the Futurity Stakes on Labor Day 1888. That event was held in New York at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track on Coney Island. By October 1888, Short and Johnson were back in Fort Worth. Short was no longer connected with the White Elephant, and Johnson had decided to open what the local paper headlined as a "super resort" called the Palais Royal, which was designed to rival the White Elephant. Short may have been part owner but if so remained a silent partner. Short spent part of each year, from 1889 until 1893, in Chicago. He usually went there during the summer months to get relief from the Texas heat as well as to attend thoroughbred horse races. Hattie always went with him. By the end of 1889 Chicago was well aware of who Short was. The "Daily Inter Ocean" reported that Short, "who is numbered as one of the prominent figures of the Richburg battle" had cabled Charles E. "Parson" Davies offering $20,000 to have John L. Sullivan defend his title in a championship fight at Fort Worth. On February8, 1890, Short's father, Josiah Washington Short, died in San Angelo, Texas, "at the ripe age of 78years", although Short only learned of his father's death after the burial. Soon thereafter, Short's youngest brother, William B. Short, was killed at the age of twenty-two "by a herd of stampeding cattle on the Tankersly ranch." The Shorts were on the move during most of what remained of 1890. Short, Johnson, and a gambler named Charles M. Wright, along with other sporting men, were partners in some Memphis faro games. The partners won significant amounts of cash, reported as "thousands of dollars," which were entrusted to Wright. He was designated as the banker for the group and was supposed to place the winnings in a hotel safe where the group stayed. For some reason, Wright decided to keep the cash in his hotel room and was robbed of the entire amount.