Year: 1876




BETTING ON RACES.


The RespeetLye Merits OF EngIish Book


and AmertcRu Pools.


The Louisville Ledger says: About
two years since, Mr.. George Wilkes, OF
the New York Spirit of the Times, in
troduced into this country the English
system of betting on American race
courses. 1t is true Mr.. Wilkes did not
himself open the books, but by repeat
edly calling attention to the advantages
which books offered, and by persuading
John Morrissey first, and afterwards
Kelly and Bliss, books were opened in q
few of the leading stables at Jerome
Park and Saratoga.


But Notwithstanding the success which
attended the venture, even to this day
Saratoga, Jerome Park and Long Branch
are the only courses whose stakes have
been honoreG with book. Louisville,
New Orleans, Nashville, Lexington, Bal
timore, and, in fact, all other courses, are
dependent entirely on the old plan-the
American pool.


There are many advantages in the
English plan which ours does not enjoy
but on the whole, if we were to be de
prived of either, we should be compelled
to own preference for the American
pool. However, as there are many OF
our readers who have but vague idea
of English books, we explain the matter
a little before saying anything of its
advantages.


Ia England, the book-maker is the
party who lays odds against the various
horses entered for the stake, and 50 is the
book plan as introduced among us. Say,
for example, that Ten Brock, George
Graham, Volcano, Emile Cobb, Jack
Trigg, and Judge Wells are entered for
a cup race, at 81 miles. The book-maker
would look at the recorded performances
of each horse, what he could learn of his
private doings at home, and then would
set about making up his betting list,
which is called the book. From the lot
above, it would be almost a certainty
that Ten Brock would win the race (;
but then he might break down before
the race took place, or he might not start,
or might be scratched by his owner, or
some of the thousand accidents which
horse flesh is heir to, might overtake
him; so the bOok-maker would say: 81
will lay four to one that Ten Brock does
not win" Looking at George Graham
with the above chances against him,
added to the fact that if he and Ten
Brock came together all right, that
George would certainly be compelled to
take a second place, he would lay seven
to one against him; about the same
against Emile Cobb, with ten to one
against Volcano, and fifteen to one against
Jack and the Judge-and thus would
his book be complete. In this book he
limits himself to a loss of ten or twenty
thousand dollars. OF course only one
horse can win, and as bets are against
them all, every bet which is laid, ex-
cepting the one against the winner, Is
cash to the book-maker's pocket. SO also
is a bet which lays on horse that breaks
down or does not start, and this, In fact,
is the chief profit reaped, for in a stake
of forty horses perhaps only ten will come
to the string, and of these ten but one
can win, excepting in case of dead heat
when half is paid to each horse; and 1T
is from the large amounts received from
those which do not win that bOok-makeTs
are enabled to lay such heavy odds
against the different contestants.


The great advantages in the English
system are-One knows exactly how
much money he will win or lose by bet
ting on any named horse that he can
bet as small or as large a sum as he may
desire that he has no per centage TO pay
on his winnings =; that he can place the
bet at any time during the season when
he has the money to spare, and Is not
cramped all at once. But the greatest
advantage lies, where properly it should,
to the owner of the horse, the party who
spends his money and time in creating
sport. Say, for instance, that an owner
has a colt which he has entered in vari-
Gus stakes ss two year old, and which
has run unsuccessfully as did Calvin and
Pennington, here the owner has run into
great expense. When the three-year old
stakes are announced very heavy odds
are placed against his horse. In Cal
wins instance thirty to one was given by
a colt shows wonderful improvement at
three over his two year old career. or
course at home and by his owner is this
first known. Aagain, recurring to Cal
vim, in this very manner was Mr.. McGrath
enabled to win $4,000 for $500, as Cal
vim won his three year old stakes right
off the reel, while as two year old he
was worth nothing at all.


Under the pool system this would
have been absolutely impossible, for as
the colt had been galloped on the track,
half the bummers of the town would be
lying in fence corners catching his time
and telling of the discovery made.


Still English books have many disad-
vantages, as we have already shown, and
besides, to those who have no means of
knowing anything about the horses, a
personal observation is necessary to
such as wish to place their money intel
ligently, and not altogether from chance;
while in heat race, one has chance to
hedge, which is something unknown 10
the English practice. Hedging, in fact,
is always possible in pools if one will
only take the time to wait his chances,
as pools constantly vary during an even
ing selling to 50 large per cent. in
fact that we would not like to name the
figure for fear of not being believed


But the greatest impOst which is placed
on the American pool is the per centage,
"A sum on a weeks racing 80 enormous
as to frighten anyone that will take time
to calculate it. Three per cent. four
times a day is twelve per cent, and on
the six days is seventy-twO per cent,
provided one will bet on every race, and
as every race has to pay the per centage,
the bookseller actually gets that amount
during the week, and this is what en-
ables Morrissey to pay the jockey club
so. 900 year and have little to spare
for himself.


A GENTLEMAN in Paris paid visit
the other day to a lady, in whose parlor
he saw a portrait Of lovely woman OF,
say five and twenty. Upon the entrance
of the lady, her visitor asked her if the
picture was a family portrait, and was
told that it represented her deceased
daughter. Has it been long since you
lost herr" asked the gentleman Alas.
sir :" replied the lady, "she died just
after her birth, and had a portrait
painted to represent her as she would
have appeared if she had lived until
nOw."


"MY boy, tell us what you knowlabout
rattan p said the committeeman. at
is sometimes called the calamus rottang;
comes from Penang, Samarang and Pa
dang, and is used by the master in this
school too dang often"