RACING ROGUERIES. 277 



the other hand, it is desirable that as many of the 

 horses in the race should be heavily backed at 

 a short price as is possible, so that the book- 

 makers shall have no scarcity of money with 

 which to pay the sums they have laid against the 

 winner. As a general rule, in all great handicap 

 coups, it is usual for one or two bookmakers to be 

 in what is called " the swim," and these are 

 generally selected because of their prudence ; 

 bookmakers do not, as a rule, wear their hearts on 

 their sleeves. 



III. 



The planning and working of a handicap coup, 

 by which a sum of from twenty to forty thousand 

 pounds may be netted by a clever clique of racing 

 experts, may be figuratively described. 



The first thing to be observed is that such a 

 matter cannot be organised in a week or even in 

 a month. The long-headed turf expert who 

 strikes for fortune at a blow will probably have 

 been at work upon his scheme for perhaps twelve 

 or eighteen months, or more likely for double 

 that length of time. He will have commenced 

 proceedings perhaps by purchasing, for what is 

 called " an old song," some supposed broken- 

 down and worthless horse, which, however, as his 

 practised eye has discovered, might, if treated 

 with care and properly trained, win a race or two. 

 For a time nothing is heard of the purchase : 

 Conspirator is not entered for any of the passing 

 handicaps and becomes almost forgotten, although, 

 when a two-year-old, it was more than once 

 prophesied that it was a horse likely to be heard 

 of as the winner of some big event. In the 



