1 84 A MIRROR OF THE TURF. 



are solely devoted to sporting news, and these 

 papers deal of course in " tips," and some of them 

 afford a place in their columns to a full score 

 of the daily increasing army of vaticinators ; 

 and yet, as must be patent to those who devote 

 time and attention to the study of such matters, 

 no betting man could possibly make a fortune, 

 or even earn a living, by abjectly following either 

 or all of the honest newspaper tipsters referred to. 



It is amusing to note how some of the more 

 " screeching " of the newspapers comport them- 

 selves. When one of them, for instance, after a 

 period of six or seven weeks, becomes some day so 

 fortunate as to select three or four horses that win as 

 many races, it shouts out next day in loud tones 

 so that all may have news of its prescience — a 

 supremely Irish mode of telling readers that to 

 follow its tips would be ruinous. One day's luck out 

 of twenty or thirty simply means to backers " fell 

 despair," and much of it. There is (or was 

 lately) a tipster who is never done sounding his 

 own praises ; *' as I predicted, Chance did the trick 

 easily," "my selection Accident ys on in a walk," 

 " I gave two for such and such a race, and my 

 first selection Happy-go-hicky literally romped in." 



But what of that, when backers of the two lost 

 their money, the romping in horse starting at 

 odds of 3 to I on him ! Let us suppose that 

 some sanguine speculator had risked a five- 

 pound note on each selection (because when two 

 horses are selected it is necessary to back both 

 in case of missing the winner), the result would 

 have been a loss of £^ on No. 2 and a gain 

 of £\ 13^. on No. I, showing a balance to the 

 bad of ^3 ^s. But, notwithstanding, the tipster 



