THE FIVE SHILLING TOTALISATOR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21694, 12 July 1932, Page 9

THE FIVE SHILLING TOTALISATOR

TO TUB EDITOR. , . Sir, —Tile Duuedin Jockey Club and tha Forbury Park Trotting Club should, in fairness to the followers of the sport in / these difficult times of falling incomes, consider carefully whether a 5a totalisator should‘not be introduced. As an ardent advocate of the 5s totalisator, I cannot understand why, if it is such a success where it has been tried in the north, it should not also be successful here. , The 5s totalisator is, I understand, universal in Australia, with its 7,000,000 people—in Adelaide there .is a ,2s 6d, window for. women—while in England, witu a population of approximately 35,000,000, the unit is 2s. If that is good enough in these countries why not in little Dunedin? ' .. , In my own mind these clubs, if .they would hope to keep up the interest oi the racing public, would be well advised to - adopt the 5s unit. Do they realise the , number of people who stay away to-day simply because they cannot afford to make 10s bets, but would gladly go it there was a 5s totalisotor or do .they realise again the amount of money in .5s tickets that would.be invested on out-; I would like the general public to know what a writet in the latest issn® < of the Referee, the official organ of the trotting and racing bodies in New, Zealand, says on the question: The potentialities of the Ss totalisator have hot yet been thoroughly exploited in New Zealand. The £IOO punters were never , the foundation stones of racing. The sport was built up on the patronage of the small mvesting host who haVe an interest in every race. The ss' unit, suits their means these days, and while it may not result in increased turnovers, it is a means of attracting mote people to. the races. What better insurance policy . is required f6r the future safety of the sport? The 5s totalisator should receive a universal trial, before any further experiments are tried. ... ... Trusting that this necessary reform will shortly he brought into beings here.— I am, etc., Abreast of the Times. ; July 11. , . p;