I can see three people in a partnership. Would putting a bar across the three names with a padlock be something one would do? Sounds like a forced partnership and not a happy one

The bar and padlock, along with the horse head brings stables to mind. I'm sure I'm confusing paddock with a pad lock.

Dating ivories are a real challenge. I believe the latest ivories I know of are from the raid in the early 1900s on the Madison Square Club in NYC. Even there those chips could have been made in the late 1800. Strictly from memory I believe Dale Seymour showed ads from ivory chip makes as late as the turn of the century.

These chips, don't ask me why, appear to be a turn of the century ivory. They don't appear to be mid 1800s.

What do you think that the chips appear to be connected with horse racing/breeding and cock fighting.

If there was only a horse then I might think of a rich guy that owned a horse he was mighty proud of.

I just checked the list of Kentucky Derby winners. The jockey that rode Hindoo to victory in 1881 was James McLaughlin. Of course I was looking for an owner with such a name