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minor events of the year. These men indulge their taste for betting 

 without the slightest knowledge of the horse they put their money on ; 

 they know absolutely nothing about him, but act on the "tip" they get 

 from a friend, perhaps as ignorant as themselves, or from those 

 " selections " seductively given in almost all the daily as well as all the 

 sporting papers. These infatuated people are, as a rule, innocent of 

 every sense or love of the sport on which they risk their bard-earned 

 pay, and only take to the vice of betting for the sake of gambling or to 

 supplement their salaries, which are, too often, scant. It is to this 

 betting and to its twin brother, stock- jobbing, that many a man who 

 was naturally honest and honourable has to attribute his downfall. 



Of course there is no harm in a man backing his fancy according to 

 his means to give him an interest in the race, particularly when he 

 would have none in it from a sportsman's view ; and it is very produc- 

 tive of innocent excitement to have a friendly bet for a trifle with a 

 companion while seeing the race run. Neither is there much harm 

 in having a little on something for the great races, such as the Grand 

 National, Derby, or St. Leger. But what I do object to is the all-round 

 betting for the pure love of gambling by men who can't afford to lose 

 the stakes they put on ; and it is to them, and them alone, I wish to 

 give the steel ! 



Some men take from the betting ring the same pleasure as others do 

 from the theatre and the opera. Therefore let them indulge their 

 propensity, but keep within bounds, and spend on betting only what 

 they can afford, same as the others do upon the drama and music. 



It is all very well for those who can afford to lose, and have the 

 mania for gambling, to bet heavily, for it is about the most practical 

 way for them to part with the money they so little value ; but it is 

 dreadful to think of the many thousands who, unable to afford to lose, 

 back horses, every one of whom lose sooner or later. 



What do these fellows know about a horse 1 What can they know 

 about the intentions of a rider or an owner in respect to any given 

 race 1 Certainly they are always well posted in the previous perform- 

 ances of the horse— thanks to the records of "Ruff," their constant vade 

 niecum. But without the essentials of practical knowledge they risk 

 their money upon unreliable tips of one sort or another. 



A man who is "in the know," and is sufficiently sagacious, may 

 occasionally win money by judiciously backing horses even though the 

 odds are immensely in favour of the layer, but the outsider cannot ; on 

 the contrary, he is bound to lose, and so is the man "in the know " if he 

 only sticks to it. Even with sagacity and a know^ledge of what is 

 "intended," and all else that maybe in the backer's favour, there are so 

 very many more chances against his favourite winning, not to speak 

 of squaring, roping, and scores of other means of robbery, together 

 with unfair odds given, at times, by bookmakers, that backing horses 

 is about the most certain method of losing money at present invented. 

 Though a man has the funds of a millionaire at his back he will lose all 

 if he backs horses heavily and habitually. 



