TOTALISATOR BETTING

Press, Issue 22599, 3 January 1939, Page 10

TOTALISATOR BETTING

HOLIDAY FIGURES

INVESTMENTS EXCEED

£1,000,000

HEAVIER NEW YEAR’S DAY

SPECULATION

Every race meeting held in New Zealand yesterday produced increased totalisator returns. The only trotting meeting, that at Addington, showed an advance of £11,788 on the investments on New Year’s Day last year. The biggest increase in the Dominion was at Auckland, where, for the third day’s racing at Ellerslie, the totalisator handled £ 20,658 more.

The total amount speculated at the nine totalisator meetings was £294,1522', £65,752 more than last year. Stratford showed a remarkable increase of £8363, while the investments at Waikouaiti, Dunedin’s holiday meeting, also improved by nearly £SOOO. Other racing centres to report a substantial increase were Marton and Hastings. Since the holiday racing began with the opening of the Manawatu meeting on Christmas Eve the sum of £1,013,220 has passed through the ticket windows of totalisators in all parts of the country. As is usual at this holiday period, betting has been heaviest at the Auckland galloping and trotting meetings. With the final day of the gallops to be held to-day, the investments are already £ 450,3014 for that centre. For the first time since 1930 the totalisator investments between August 1 and December 31 exceeded the £3,000,000 mark in 1938, The amount invested in the last five months was only £ 560,000 below the total in the full racing year of 193233. An unofficial computation makes the amount £3,125,487. Comparative figures for the previous six fivemonthly periods are:— £ 1932 „ .. 1,372,843 1933 v 1,548,122 1934 Z .» 1.546,884 1935 L 747.872 1936 .. .. 2,368,046 1937 .. .. 2.870,957 Comparative Returns Holiday racing investments were:— New Year’s Day Racing 1938. ' 1939. £ £ Auckland ~ 67,8054 88,4634 Greymouth e 9,1364 - 10,248 Waikouaiti ,« 18,604 23,772 Wyndham 19,9694 22,2004 Marton „ 19,7874 26,812 Wairarapa 4* 21,2264 26,2284 Stratford 23,9804 32,3434 Hawke’s Bay »» 11,7194 16,1254 Total 192,2294 246,1934 Trotting Canterbury Park .. 36,171 47,959 Grand total .. 228,4004 294,1524

December 24-Deeember 31 Racing 1937. 1938. £ £ Auckland .. 165,204 i 171,0931 Greymouth •• 7,957 i 7,205 Dunedin «. 39,803 i 44,603 Mana\yatu >. 100,009 122.054J Taranaki .> 43.886 50,764 Waipukurau >• 6,153 8,551 Westland ~ 5.225 ‘7,385 Wairarapa .. 19,221 i 23,759 i Total .. 357.550 436,315* Trotting 1937. 1938. Ashburton .. 27,535 36,302 Auckland •• 125,660 189,844 i Gore .. 18.193 19.794 Westport .. 15,687 18,858* Wairarapa .. 5,642 ■ Reefton .. 3.770 4,554* Wintpn .. 12,938* 13,398* Total .. 209,425* 282,752 Grand totals .. 566,975J 719,067*