AT THE RACES.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 94, 21 April 1924, Page 7

AT THE RACES.

HOPES AND REALISATIONS. j UIO-UCKY FAVOURITES. l'; "THEY'RE HARD TO PICK." It was all very exhilarating; green grass, blue sky, movement—a kaleidoscope of dress. The only thing missing comparable to a similar scene at Randwick was the roar of the bookmaker Horses move about on the lawn in front of the member's stand, rearing stamping, snorting, pawing the earth head tossing, eyes flashing, all impatience for- the gallop. Their coats .shine like silk; they move with a grace indescribable, even in their impatient plunging, infinitely more noble than their backers; they have no thouchts of dividends. They race for the love of it and will gallop to the last stride of speed, the last ounce of endurance The gate opens to the turf, and they pass proudly through, tugging resentfully at the restraining bridle as they do their preliminary gallops for the inspection of f.he vast, crowd.. They are being lined up at the barrier nnd there comes a sudden silence over ihe multitude, the hush of tremulus expectation. "They're Off!" - _,? ] _" sP° nt aneous exclamation from Jlurty thousand throats swells into a rending roar, which reverberates for a mile around. Then follows a babel of human voices, some fairly shrieking in their excitement. "Muraahi!"— "BonHetter!" — "Boomerdav!" — "Royal i J'ame!" Each shouts his or her fancy, while the racing colours are seemingly in a hopeless mix-up. "Bright Day! Oh,you beauty! Come on!" And Bright Day "comes on." and wins by a neck. Then you hear the laments of those who meant to back it, but were >'put off" and didn't. One man says the bunny weather was the sure tip for Bright Day. Did he back it? "Too right!" Ana he descends from the stand . with the air of one habitually used to picking winners. As a matter of stern' fact, he has invested a whole five shillings—being one of a syndicate of four which purchased a £1 ticket on. representations guaranteed straight from the stable. To-morrow lie will entertain his friends with the tale of the "five" he had' on the winner, and spend the few he won to celebrate the occasion. Some men consider that to be looked iipon as a Shrewd judge of horses and a winner of "easy money" excels any other reputation, and they pose to the picture. But they trumpet only their winnings, and no one would ever guess that they lost nine times out of ten. Then, when .Algie Suretip's books show a Niagaralike leakage, and his boss sends for the police, all his friends say: "Who'd a' thought it?" Algie tells the true tale from the dock before departing for a space to a place wherein there, are no totalisators, and where the only horses are those which draw the drays containing the metal he has helped to quarry. At the paying-out windows at the back of the "tote" the successful punters are eagerly treading on each other's heels, anxious to collect their *_iwys" and rush around ~the front again to reinvest. You'd think it was a. run on the bank or that the next race was only three minutes off'-instead of half an hour. Some of them count out the money handed them .at the window very carefully before leaving, thereby earning the abuse of those behind them. Others snatch it up and shove it in their pockets as if it were nothing in particular; then they bolt around the building to study .the figures showing the ' investments on the next race and tell each other what they ought to be' "on." Another yell announces the starting of another race, and the swift, thud of racing hoofs starts the babel in the stands again. This time the yells last longer, for the race is over a mile and a .half, but at the finish - there 'is a perfect crescendo of. frenzy, for the fay- , purite comes like a flash into the straight,, and, nevor slackening, wins by a clear three lengths. 'Listen to the shrieks of delight! Is this the finish of a horse race, or are we back again to the days of the war, listening to the announcement of a great Allied, victory? No; Parody has woi} his race, and that man who ,is stamping his feet and throwing his hat in the air with all the excitement of a boundless joy has won fully three pounds sterling! Will he buy a new hat with his winnings, or a pair of shoes for the wife? Neither. Frobably he will lose this "divvy" on the next race, and if he sees the sixth gallop with more than his fare home in his pocket he will be as lucky—well, as lucky as,nine-tenths of those who eeek to pick a winner in each event* . Going down the steps.after the next race, there is the lady we know with the golden hair and the rich husband. , The hair she has always with her, but the husband she leaves at home to mind the baby, they say. She is very. excited. Ihe gold teeth flash a smile under the golden hair as she answers the question: "What—won again?" "Yes; aren't I lucky." Bless her! She deserves all the reward of her , enterprise. She has backed seven horses.in the race. Yes; pho ahvays picks a winner: Quite a lot of people make for the gates after the fifth race. They go against their will for reasons which are • obvious. They could not stand the strain of seeing the next three events won by the horses they know will win ' but which they may not back owing to . the inconsiderate behaviour of five dead certainties that had run contrary to • form and smashed their sublime expectations. - \ "•'/;...»_ But there are thousands left to win or to lose in the three races to be run; Those who have won up to now grow more reckless in their betting; those who have lost grow more cautious stand- .-.. .ing in front of the tote and studying . with expert eyes the changing figures as the money pours into the machines. Which horse has the; greatest probability of winning, and at the same time paying a high dividend? That decided, you may put your money into the River of the Tote,, and go to watch the race (as a matter of form) whilst you wait to collect the swollen revenue of your investment. Great is your oxhilaration as you ,watch your horse go to the front, a winner all the way—until half a dozen others flash past it in the last furlong, . making its pace appear that of a slug. i It's- hard to believe. ■ Comes the last race of the day. Those who have won lay it thick on their fancies; those who have lost may chance all they have ' left in the v hope of retrieval. They're off again, they hmsn again .- arid again the favourite "> beaten. Many hive called, but few have chosen the winner, for an outsider .comes home again. ...•'./. The day is done, and so are most oi the punters. .. „- ■ , They're hard" to 'pick J ___y_ t __fi___iW' ( 18 % ■-.. '■;■;•• . / ;: