302 ATTACKS ON THE TURF. 



supporters are the public, led on by touts and tipsters. Those 

 who back and those who advise, continue to sing the praises 

 of the animals in hopes that a shorter price will enable them 

 to hedge, and so stand to win a good stake but lose nothing : 

 whilst the unfortunate owner, wishful to back his own horse 

 at a fair price (knowing its real chances) has often to look on 

 and ultimately in self-defence to withdraw him from the race 

 — as I have before explained. 



It is therefore clear that the owner has no motive for 

 dishonesty. But for argument's sake, we will assume that 

 owners, trainers, and jockeys conspire to defraud the public 

 of their money by the vilest deception. No one, not even the 

 Professor, can believe that the public will be hoodwinked by 

 the most ingeniously concocted scheme. At least, the success 

 of such a thing has not come within my experience, nor I 

 venture to say within the experience of any careful observer 

 of the turf and its patrons. 



On paper, nothing looks easier than to lay thousands 

 against a horse and thus ruin credulous dupes and make your 

 own fortune. But in practice it is very different. Then, 

 experience shows that there is considerable difficulty in 

 hedging one's stake, though only for a small sum, and even 

 that this cannot always be done. But when anything beyond 

 it is attempted, the bookmakers and the public are on the 

 alert, and the facts (or what they surmise to be the facts) are 

 telegraphed to thousands of people in a few hours, and your 

 horse is driven from favouritism to an obscure place in the 

 betting ; perhaps reported lame, and certainly predicted to 

 be an absentee on the day of the race. 



I think I have said enough to show that it is not possible 

 to win enormous sums by laying against horses in our day. 

 And I hope I have succeeded in making clear that Professor 



