The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-06-18

he desires to carry all the horses in the
 backed down to, say to l. he can put
 up that price and take the money.
 Where such play is made on good
 thing the play on the other horses in
 the field is naturally lighter and their
 prices must advance correspondingly.
 Booking in an open ring is carried on at an average of about per cent. On
 small fields the penciler is lucky to have
 4 per cent in his favor, but where the
 field is large the percentage in the aver
 a ge ring is about s. When the play is
 light it is frequently less than 3.
 Working on such close margain, it is
 easy to see how the bookmaker who
 takes money at 6 to1 on horse that
 goes to the post at to 1 is placed at a tremendous disadvantage and is prac- tically forced to hold the fayorite. There is difference of il per cent be- tween to 1 and to i, so the man who
 lays against the good thing at to1, , when working even on so good basis
 as per cent, is thrown Dutch" When
 caught in that predicament he usually
 AELo tiS ldfOt4LS run ICI LIE puoh, uS IT he doesn't get the money in early, he will have to follow the market.
 This will throw the percentage still further against him, and all he can do
 is to take a chance of Knocking the
 good thing down." which, of course, means to take a chance of beating him.
 It is. of course, bad bookmaker who
 gets caught this way more than once in great while, and yet it is readily ap-
 parant that it takes considerable men tai agility to size up crowd, figure out what prices they are apt to take against horses, and not take it at an advance over the general market. This may explain to some people who are fond of abusing bookmakers and calling them "pikers' why they won't
 take sl0 on a 6 to 1 shot. After the
 prices are settled, and the men on the
 blocks know what the market is, there is usually little or no trouble in getting
 money on. One of the pecularities of people who think they have a good thing up their sleeves is that they are terribly suspicious the booknlakers will find out what it is before they get their money on. To prevent this they swoop down in a swarm on the first man to put up price. Then they get mad be-
 cause the man won't take their money.
 As . rule, when the prices are first put
 up the bookmaker is merely feeling out the market. He desires to find out what horses the majority of the people wish to play, and he governs himself according. He gets away from the one which there is the greatest demand and goes up on the others. When he gets to figure on the good thing which the crowd seems disinclined to accept, he lunches it up point higher, and then begins to take the money.
 The experienced bettor who thinks he has a good thing and wants to get the best possible price against it doesn't swarm very much at the first state showing prices. He usually waits and lets the bookmakers get the favorite played first.
 Unless the bookmaker wants to win to the favorite that is always the horse he wants to have played up to his limit first. When he ascertains the ring price against the first choice he has la guidance to go on with the others. The favorite. being at the shortest price lof course represents the largest part of his book and is the one he must not
 be caught out of the line on.- Rochester Herald.