Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-18
FRENCH MUTUALS.

The auction pool plan of betting was soon
introduced on race tracks all over the coun-
try and was quite popular. 1t lasted for ten
years. Then Leonard Jerome introduced
the French mutual pool system which had a
run of about ten years. He brought over q
number of the machines from Paris and
they were first used at the Jerome Park race
track. This system is modern one, and is
still very popular at the present time. 1t is
a mutual system; a man buys his tickets and
the money, after the race, is divided among
those who hold the winning tickets less 8
per cent which goes to the race track.
The habit of betting on races had now
grown to such large proportions and there
were such large number of men at the race
track who wanted to get their money down
in such a short time before the race that it
led to many of the large betting men becom-
ing bookmakers. There are now, in the
neighborhood of New York alone, about a
hundred bookmakers and most of them have
plenty to do. The bookmaker puts up his
odds against the different horses and the
man who wagers backs the animals accord
ing to their figures. A bookmaker arrives
at his opinion OF the value of horse by
watching the recorded performances of the
different racers, studying out their pedigree
and looking at them on the race track be-
fore they enter the race; it is simply mat
ter of good sound judgment Very often the
public on the race track compel the book
makers to alter their judgment, putting
their money on some mysterious horse about
which the betting men may not be so well
informed as the men who bet. One great
thing to be said in favor of the bookmakers
in this country, and it should constantly be
borne in mind-there has been no "Welcher"
found among them yet; they would be the
first to suppress him.
BETTING IN ENGLAND.
In England, where racing is a good deal
more popular and fashionable than it is in
the United States the bookmakers force the
public to name the favorites. In our coun-
try the bookmakers think they are pretty
smart and in order 10 facilitate business (as
they only have about 20 minutes time be-
tween each race) they put up the price
against each horse; but the public OCCASION
ally forces the bookmakers to alter those
prices showing clearly that the public some
times know more about the merits of the
horses than the professional betting men.
There is a certain fascination in taking
"tips" on the races even If you don't fol-
low them. OF course they are not O sale
takes them from half a dozen different sources
and very few of them are alike. Some of these
tipsters, however, are quite lucky in making
their selections. One OF the oldest men in the
business was once rich and lost all his money
on the English turf. While he was in England
he sold tips and now follows every important
race meeting in this country. He only claims
to name the horses that ought to win If they
have fair chance.
We borrowed this idea Of tips from England,
where turfmen have various theories in regard
to betting on races. Some, for instance never
bet on a horse until the day Of the race: they
invest on the race track. Many bet on the
large races as soon as they have an opportunity
TO do so; sometimes they want to bet on horses
before their owners have decided to enter
them for the race Some think the proper way
that the owner Of horse will not invest his