Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1904-06-16
RACE TRACKS
ONLY WINNERS
Stockholders of Various Turf
Associations are Only Ones
Who Get the Money

NEW YORK. June 16.-1t Is said
that all the bookmakers at Westchester
are heavy losers. None Of the players
confess to being winners. There are
few players who ever beat Westchester.
and the bookmaker who does not put on
a poor mouth and moan over the pass
ing of the good old booking days IL
scarce article. II. therefore. the book
maker does not win and the player does
not win, where does the money go?
That seems pertinent question. and
affords a fertile field for research. 1t
is a fact beyond dispute that six men,
sitting down at poker table with
capital Of 500 each. will, II they play
long enough. find themselves broke at
the end of the game. The final sur
vivor may have a few dollars left. The
kitty" will have the balance.
So, in this great game OF racing, 1t Is
the capacious NAV OF the kitty" or.
in other words the strong box OF the
racing association. which eats up the
money and leaves all hands broke at
the end of the season.
ton Of those who are too indolent to
figure out the cold mathematics OF the
game: 1t is a conservative estimate to
place the average paying attendance of
a season at $4,000 per day. That will
be $4,000 for the grand stand. The
field enclosure will equal 81 900 in paid
admissions dali. There Is $1,000 which
t1.o b. ~ <Jo
which go to make up racing season.
At the end of the season the public
will have paid $1,2SS,OO at the gates.
In the big ring the number of book
makers will average forty per day for
the entire season. This does not in
clude the "dead-liners' and murders"
Say that. including the small fry the
revenue from the big ring daily is $4,000
"a very conservative estimate. From
The field ring, estimating the average at
thirty books per day. there will come
$3.50 more. A total Of 1880 from the
two rings each day for 1874 days foots
UP the enormous total Of 1890 900.
All this, OF course, comes out OF the
public pocket. The combined totals OF
ring revenue and gate admissions is
$1.S7s.000. Take In program expense
and the round figures will be about So
100000.
Now. II you want to go still further
you can figure QUIT ne probable aver
age losses OF each racegoer for the sea-
ron and tack that on. The figures will
make one gasp. Pretty expensive
amusement this for the public And yet
30 men out of 100 who go to the course
are deluded with the belief that they
are smart enough to overcome the
enormous percentages against them
and beat the game.
The only men who beat the races arr
the men who hold stock in racing as
sociations and who collect fat divi-
dends each year. Still. they don't have
the fun of winning their money, nor do
they have the narrowing sensations of
going broke and feeling as II the world
- coming to an end.
II one was In the mood and could
arrive at anything like correct esti-
mate OF the amount Of money that
changes hands at the race track and in
the pool rooms all over the country on
the result OF one race, what an eve
opener II would be.
Then figure on the amount that
: changes hands on six races: then ig-
ure on 1874 days racing Of six races per
Cay. or 1.104 races in all-well. a padd-
ed cell would be the finish. The brain
could not comprehend the enormity of
Il all.