254 BETTING AS IT IS. 



declaration, he rose to 33 to i, at which price he stood some 

 time, and then advanced to 20 to i, when the commissioner 

 said that most of the money was on. But when asked for 

 his account, he replied that the returns from the country had 

 not yet been received, and that he would send it in so soon as 

 these came to hand. But the so-called returns were, as might 

 have been expected, delayed, and before their arrival the 

 horse had reached the short price of 7 to i. Then he en- 

 closed the account, saying : " With great regret I have to 

 inform you that my country agent has spoiled the whole 

 thing. He has missed the long shots and has been compelled 

 to take the shortest price, which only has since been obtain- 

 able ; and the unfortunate result is a considerable reduction 

 of the average which now stands at 12 to i." This is not 

 an unfair example of how commissions are worked ; and it 

 might be added that the excuses are often less plausible 

 than the one given in this instance. 



But let us sift this matter a little and see who won and 

 who lost money by this transaction. Basing my opinion on 

 the amount of betting on this race, I have little doubt that 

 30 to I would have been nearer a fair price than the one 

 returned ; indeed, I may say that 25 to i was the very least 

 that the account should have averaged. The horse won, 

 and what was the result ? Instead of receiving the ;^25,ooo 

 which we were fairly entitled to, we received only ^12,000, 

 or a little less than half 



Startling as is this statement, it is approximately correct 

 if it be not true to the letter. An act of suspicion could 

 not pass unchallenged ; but the agent had his reply cut 

 and dried. "The commission as worked," he said, "was a 

 failure deeply to be deplored. I have myself been deceived ; 

 but it has been an error of judgment on the part of the 



