296 THE RACING WORLD 



backers, or " heads " as they are called, do follow 

 the market and make a living out of it. Standing 

 near every substantial bookmaker will be found a 

 crowd of men waiting and watching what is done. 

 Throughout an afternoon's racing they never move 

 a distance of a dozen yards, but follow the good 

 money, especially when a rush comes for anything. 



It is a very serious fault to go to a meeting 

 open-eared, for then one becomes too clever and 

 learns too much. Everybody has a tip of some 

 sort for everybody else, and finally the would-be 

 speculator is so embarrassed that it becomes a 

 matter of luck which horse he supports. The 

 chances are that he misses the right one — not 

 improbably his own original fancy. 



It is merely a matter of sheer luck as to which 

 day one follows a certain owner or stable. The 

 smallest coincidences are accountable for the most 

 important results in racing and betting — a chance 

 happening, such as with whom one travels to a 

 meeting, whom one meets there, or even which 

 way one turns on arrival. To go into the paddock 

 might mean meeting Robinson, who has a horse 

 running, and declares that whatever beats him will 

 win. If one goes into Tattersall's, Jones would be 

 encountered, and he has a similar sort of story, or 

 is even more confident. To-day one follows 



