TOUTS AND TOUTING 243 



generally knew it ; and there is no doubt whatever 

 that hundreds and thousands of pounds were betted 

 by the public on horses that were dead lame, and 

 had never been out of the stable or had a gallop for 

 months. They were kept in the betting list by 

 the artful trickery of the bookmakers themselves, 

 who for the most part threw dust in the eyes of 

 the reporters who compiled the prices. It was not 

 likely, if bookmakers knew anything which in 

 Turf parlance " smelt a bit " that they would 

 " give it away " ; thus outsiders were robbed right 

 and left ; and no doubt this accounts for the large 

 fortunes which were netted by the chief operators 

 at that time. 



Prior to the adoption of starting-price betting, 

 the whole of the transactions were in what was 

 called " list " betting on the day of the race. The 

 bookmakers throughout the country would put up 

 lists on the morning, stating the odds which would 

 be laid against various horses in the day's races. 

 All these bookmakers employed touts, or they 

 would have had very much the worst of the trans- 

 actions. The touts for the old " list " book- 

 makers obtained and sent to their clients tips about 

 horses that were not likely to run — horses that had 

 gone wrong, but were entered and " on form " had 



a good chance of winning. In the " list " days, if 



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