HANDICAPPERS 237 



with them) was outrageously bad, that of the past 

 season and of 1898 must have been extremely good, 

 and if the bookmakers were able to make a living 

 in the " sixties " and " seventies " when so many 

 favourites carrying " odds on " caught the judge's 

 eye, they must find racing under the present 

 conditions of handicapping a singularly gratifying 

 occupation, the wins of favourites being reduced 

 by at least one quarter, and those of " odds on " 

 favourites by five or six hundred per cent. But 

 the money invested on handicaps nowadays is very 

 trifling ; it may be granted that the many bet, but 

 they bet in copper where in former generations 

 men wagered in gold. 



