TOTALISATOR INVESTMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 242, 12 October 1929, Page 8

TOTALISATOR INVESTMENTS.

I wish to correct two fallacies;, one is. thai of the good old people who imagine such enormous sums of money are carried to the race.' courses by racegoers; the other is that of th.e ' bad young people -who imagine that they can make enormous fortunes by picking.the winliers. I will work on the Avondale Cup takings, when the sum of £46,797 passed through the "tote." Now, if only £.96501 was all the money on the course r the grand" total as above is possible. In fact that was tie actual money in use, no more nor less. Ws have the aggregate of the eight Jaces given us, and all else can be worked out from that—even th© approximate dividends, with: the other figures supplied by the Press. Avondale's Cuf day was actually using £1 4/ less than tie above to its grand aggregate for the.day; The sum actually working, if multiplied by 5, as 5 times £9C50 is £48,250, less 15 per cent' of the multiplied, £1447, gives us the aggregate of £46,803. This is six pounds too muchj as I am using the £1 4/ again (to f avoid fractions a little more and to give even.. pounds). The above is an average of £5850. per race, and this •■was the average sum'inuie; ; The'ls per cent for the use of this eight times; reaches 120 per cent and the total of £7020 for the day. It matters not how much or in, what order the money is put on the as long as the total is £46,803. . Take thesa, eight races. Percentages of 15 per. cent are in- parentheses: £9650 (£1447), £8201 (£1231). £6972 (£1046), £5926 (£889); £5037 (£756), £4251 (£642), £3639 (£546)? £3093 (£465); totals £46,801 and £7020. I see' that I am short £2, but as the "tote"; is. short oiily"> 9/ the poor backers, alas! have lost £1 li/. The backers get away with£262S' (should be £2 more) at the finish of the last; race. This and the percentages of £7020 gives , us the £9650 we started with. If any winners in the first races keep back any of, the money others replace it or all figures are upset and the final totals, of course, are altered. Any fixed sum, or sums, which become feed finally, if multiplied five times, gives "us the-' , - aggregate for the day. It also holds good in the reverse way, as the aggregate gives us the averages, percentages and fixes the sum that must actually have been at work. The tote,' lias now £7020 out of our £9650 and if there Tiad been eight more races it would have bitten, off another £1920 and left us £710 to pay' fates home with. Ultimately, though we came to the course in Rolls-Royces, we would haven Jto resort to wheelbarrows to get.homein. Racing being the sport of kings, only 'kings.., could pay 120 per cent for the pleasure or-;: lending the "tote" one pound for half a day,': for any length of time. Backers, collectively; , are losing 24/ on every £ actually invested,-, eight times. However, the capital required toreach the aggregate is less than 10/.per head, of the patrons. THOMAS H. FLETCHER.;^ Waipapakauri. , '_•.•'.