WHO SETS THE .VARk'ETf 209 



being 10 to 1, but the newspaper which was at the 

 time of the race the accredited authority on starting 

 prices pubhshed 8 to 1 as the figure. There arose in 

 consequence a great cr}' against the journal in ques- 

 tion, which was stigmatized as the * bookmakers' 

 organ,' and loudly denounced as having given an un- 

 truthful return; but the editor of the paper stuck to 

 liis text, and asserted that he had ^^iven the fair 

 figures. It is not necessary to give here a precis of 

 the controversy, or to recall wdiat was said on either 

 side; but in time that particular paper was dethroned, 

 and another daily sporting print was elected as the 

 arbiter of starting prices. By-and-by the new 

 authority fell into as great disgrace as its predecessor, 

 in giving 8 to 1 as the starting price of an animal 

 which it was maintained started at two points longer 

 odds. There was another 'row' over this matter, and 

 probably there are many more quarrels and disputes 

 in store for starting- price speculators. 



To non-sporiing readers, all that has been said on 

 this topic may appear ver}' much of the storm-in-a- 

 teapot order; but a deduction of £2 in a case where 

 thousands of bets may have been made is a serious 

 business to the bettors, as it re})resents a total sum of 

 large amount ; a difference even of 5s. or 10s. in the 

 price makes a hole in a settling. There are persons 

 who say that, taken all over, the paper odds are really 

 vai'TQ liberal than the prices which can be obtained by 

 individual bettors attending the various meetings. 

 Another factor in the matter of starting price is the 

 general belief held by thousands of those persons who 

 back horses — that the p 'rsons whoso duty it is to 



