Betting : the Theori/ and Practice explained, 89 



odds 3'ou are going to get. In England you hear a man 

 offering, say, 10 to 1, and of course there can be no doubt about 

 the precise proportion ; but in lotteries it depends entirely on 

 the actual amount realized by the auction- sale of the horse's 

 chances, and this cannot be known until all have been disposed 

 of. However if one cannot know beforehand what odds he is 

 going to receive, the next best thing is to be certain what odds 

 one has received ; this can be ascertained by the following 

 calculation. Add together the price of all the tickets, and the 

 prices realized by the auction ; from this total deduct the double 

 price of the one particular horse regarding which the odds are 

 to be found, and also the percentage of the lottery which is de- 

 ducted for the race funds (usually five per cent.). As the balance 

 is to the double price of that horse, such are the odds against him. 

 We now come to the " Pari Mtituel " which is adapted from 

 the French. Close by the race stand is a long box with as many 

 divisions as there are races to bet on, and in the lid are separate 

 slits for each division. You write on a card the name of a horse, 

 the amount for which you wush to back it, sign the document, 

 and slip it into the slit marked with the name of the particular 

 race regarding which you wish to speculate. Just before the race is 

 run, the slit appertaining to it is closed to prevent further 

 entries being made. Subsequently the total clue from those 

 who have backed losers is divided proportionately amongst 

 those who backed the winner, less the percentage for the race fund. 

 Here again, as in lotteries, there is uncertainty as to the amount 

 of the odds you are receiving. If a certain number of persons 

 were each bound to back one or the other of the horses for the 

 same amount, the correct odds would result, but this cannot be 

 expected. It is possible, though improbable, that you might 

 stand to lose in any case : for instance, suppose you backed a 

 horse for one hundred rupees whilst no one else made an}'^ bets 

 on that race, or all backed the same horse, and that the percen- 

 tage to race fund is five per cent. If your horse win, you sim- 

 ply get Rs. 95, that is, j'-our own hundred less five for the race 

 fund ; but if he loose, you forfeit the whole hundred, which 

 would presumably go to the race fund. 



THE TOTALIZATOR:— Is comparatively new in India, but 

 in Australia, whence it was brought to this country, it is employ- 

 ed in the following manner : — The right to hold the office on the 

 Race Course is put up to auction usually by the Race Stewards, 

 who take care that the person permitted to purchase it is a 

 trustworthy individual, not likely to bolt with the proceeds 

 during the running of any race. Any notorious Welsher would 

 therefore, have no chance of obtaining it, however high he 

 might bid. The recognized profits are realized by deducting 



