294 THE RACING WORLD 



class of tipster means loss in the long run. Each 

 one, of course, of whatever grade, may have his 

 run of good fortune ; but the reverse is bound to 

 come. My own decided opinion is that one's best 

 chance of winning — certainly the way to lose 

 least — is to limit the number of one's bets. The 

 more frequently one speculates the more certain 

 and rapid will be the loss. It is extraordinary that 

 the betting public will not realise this, but 

 clamour for tips for practically every race at every 

 meeting ; and thus to meet the demand the 

 sporting papers are compelled to string out a 

 whole list of selections. This very fact alone must 

 stamp these predictions as guesswork, for no 

 mortal can reasonably expect to be able to pick 

 the winner of every race. If one is driven to 

 couple two horses in a race — with certain 

 exceptions, as, for instance, a very big handicap — 

 the use of the word " or " alone stamps it as 

 guessing, for if one is not sufficiently confident 

 from information or practical knowledge to give a 

 single horse as the probable winner, the race is 

 best left alone. Few tips should be given, and 

 with each an absolute reason for the choice, so 

 that, win or lose, the readers know the basis and 

 can judge for themselves ; and it is an old racing 

 maxim that the best judges are the public 



