TOTALISATOR INVESTMENTS

Otago Witness, Issue 3335, 13 February 1918, Page 22

TOTALISATOR INVESTMENTS

BREACH OF GAMING AND LOTTERIES AOT. i CBJ&ISTGHUKCH, February 8. A case of considerable interest was heard in the Magistrate's Court to-day, before Mr Bailey, S.M. The defendant was W. H. E Wanklyn (secretary of the Canterbury Jockey Club), and the charges were:—(l), that on November 10, 1917, at Riccarton, being an officer of the Canterbury Jockey Olub, he did unlawfully permit an investment—to wit, the sum of £2o—to ■be re. ceived on the totalisator in respect of; a, certain horse named Cast Iron in the Mid-* dleton Hurdle Handicap after the time noti-< fled by the said Jockey Club for the starting of the race; (2), that ho did take into account in the calculation of the dividend the said sum of £2O, which investment was not publicly registered in accordance with the provisions of " The Gaming and Lotteries' Act, 1908." Chief Detective MTlveney said that on' November 10 he was on duty at the Riccarton Racooourse. The first race was the Middleton Hurdle Handicap, timed to start' at 12.50 p.m., but the actual startingtime, according to the racecourse clock was 12.44 p.m. He made a note of the investments publicly registered on the inside totalisator on each horse, and when he had finished making notes the race was half finished. At the time the investments on Cast Iron were shown at ,£242. After taking these notes witness walked towards the winning post; The race was won by Don Francisco, and Cast Iron was second. Witness returned to the paddock and found that during the absence £2O had been put on Cast Iron, making the total £262, and the grand total had also been increased by £2O. The alteration had evidently taken place between the time when the horses had gone half a. mile and the declaration of the dividends. W. H. E. Wanklyn (secretary of the Canterbury Jockey Club) said he had taken a great interest in the totalisator with a view to making it a perfect machine. During the whole of the time that he had had anything to do with the totalisator he had never known the public to be defrauded. The club might lose money, but the public could not. It was an impossibility for a, swindle to be worked on the public. The' computation of the dividend was made when; the windows closed, not at the end of a race. Before the race started the amounts taken at the windows had been reckoned, and even if money were paid in after the race started it would not affect the public, but the club. There was no possibility of the windows being open after the start of ai race. The mistake in this case must havebeen made by the man at one of the windows. After it had been discovered it had been duly corrected on each board. AH the money placed against Cast Iron's name had been received in the totalisator before the windows were closed. The correct; number should have been up before the race started, but it was often a human impossibilitv to do this, and when a mistake was made it was rectified as soon as possible. Every operation of the machine had! two or three checks on it, and no one in. the totalisator took part in two operations.It would be rather wonderful if the grand tot-rt.l were balanced up without an error at first;, but this did not affect the amount ofi money paid in by the public or the amount naid out in dividends. He could say dQf finitely that no money was received fo* Cast Iron or any other horse after the windows wore closed down. The first information was dismissed, and] a fine of 20s and costs was imposed on th<| second.