When The Totalisator Could Not Pay Out

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 February 1947, Page 5

When The Totalisator Could Not Pay Out

An incident ' probably unique in New Zealand racing history is recalled by the death of Mr. R. J. Matthews at New Plymouth. The incident occurred at the Taranaki Jockey Club’s meeting at New Plymouth on Boxing Day in 1895 when the totalisator was unable to pay out on £ll/10/- worth of tickets held by Matthews on the winning horse. The horse was a mare called Flying Fish, owned by Mr. Matthews, but so little was known by the general public that out of a pool of about £6OO only £l3 was invested on her chance. When armed with his tickets liepresented himself at the pay-out window, the embarrassed totalisator manager had to admit that the totalisator was not in a position to pay out, and Matthews was requested to return later in the afternoon.

To those with a knowledge of the present totalisator, this inability to pay out is incomprehensible, but in those days no money was taken to the ’ totalisator and the pay-out for the first race came from the money invested on that race. To-day the pay-out money for the first race is already in the hands of the pay-out men before the money invested on that race has been checked and counted. On the day that Flying Fish won a

good deal of betting on the totalisator is reported to have been done with lOU’s and those who had been betting in that manner had not been successful, with the result that a good deal of the totalisator’s money was in the form of these promises. In consequence there was not enough ready cash with which to meet the liability of tickets held by Matthews. Liquidate To Be Trained For Jumping * •- | The Defaulter-Divinette gelding, Liquidate, owned by Mr D. R. Dowel l, of Greymouth, has been sent to F. Christmas at Riccarton to be prepared for hurdle racing. Liquidate has beeh a disappointment'on the flat, winning only one race. He is yet only a five-year-old, and, as is often the case, he may improve in stamina when raced over the battens. He has always shown a lot of pace, but has failed to stay on. The Defaulter gelding comes from a winning family, being a son of Divinette, who was by that good sire of jumpers, Thurnham, Divinette is also the dam of Dividend, a useful class hurdler by Lord Warden.