MODERN BETTING ILLUSTRATED, ETC. 197 



paid one of his customers a sum of ^15,000 

 the morning after the race. Many reminiscences 

 of big sums lost and won over the Blue Ribbon 

 of the Turf have appeared in print, and also 

 of the amounts won at the lists. These were 

 large, no doubt, but the money as a rule went 

 into few hands. When the big bettors, who 

 had the entree of Tattersall's, were paid their 

 twos and threes or ten thousand pounds the 

 money was exhausted ; but not fewer than twelve 

 or fifteen thousand individuals would probably 

 draw from five to fifty pounds each over Blue- 

 gown's victory in London, whilst quite as many 

 persons scattered over the United Kingdom would 

 pocket lesser sums. 



That the " small money " expended to-day 

 in betting soon accumulates can be easily proved. 

 Here is one way, for instance, of arriving at an 

 illustration : there are at the present time about 

 twelve thousand public-houses in London, nearly 

 all the frequenters of which take some degree 

 of interest in the Derby or other race, and 

 assuming that each house on the average has 

 two hundred and fifty regular customers, of which 

 one hundred will have a bet on some race of 

 the season, that gives a big figure. Should each 

 person back a horse by even the outlay of a 

 modest half-crown, the total money so invested 

 would sum up to the very handsome amount of 

 something like ^150,000, and certainly quite 

 as much would be risked by more daring backers. 



In this view of the case it is in vain to tell us 

 that betting is declining, either on the Derby or 

 any other event of turf speculation. The great 

 obstacle to big bets being made is the miserly 



