MELBOURNE CUP COUPS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16807, 21 November 1928, Page 4

MELBOURNE CUP COUPS

BOOKMAKERS TAKE A KNOCK ESTIMATES OF THEIR LOSSES There have been many estimates of the losses of bookmakers over the victory of Statesman in the Melbourne Cup race, and l variations from £50,000 to £250,000 have been noted in the figures published in different sporting periodicals. While there is a general tendency to exaggerate the extent of the losses taken by the bookmakers, it is certain that the Melbourne Cup of 1928 was one of their worst experiences. One of the Sydney sports writers, subscribing to the estimate of £250,000, discussed the bookmakers’ transactions on the Cup as under:— There were scenes of wild jubilation when Statesman ran first past the post. He has been the public favorite for many months, since the issuing of the weights, in fact, and had been backed' solidly in doubles and straight-out at all odds. Although he did not finish the actual favorite on the course, he was easily the worst horse for the bookmakers.

Strephon, the winner of the Y.R.C. Derby, and the short-priced favorite, only came into favor during tho last two weeks of Cup betting and was not nearly so well supported as Statesman. Features of the last-minute wagering on tho Cup were the solid support given to Maple, the Caulfield Cup winner. She was backed for £43,000 on the night before the Cup, while big amounts were also written against many others of the more fancied brigade. Statesman and Strephon were the only horses backed within double figures, but big commissions came for Epilogue, trained by A. Scobie, who also prepared Trivalve, Bitalli, King Ingoda and Rivoli, all previous winners. Backers reckoned that Epilogue’s win in the Hotham Handicap on the first day of the Y.R.C. racing carnival merited his support in the Cup. Epilogue, however, finished a long way back. Balmerino, one of the lesser lights of the three-year-olds, was the minor hero of the race. He was in tho lead for a great part of the race, and, though he is reported to have broken down over the final stages, he struggled bravely on and was only beaten for third money by Demost, a lightly-weighted runner. WILD EXCITEMENT. Sydney went wild with excitement, huge crowds gathered in the streets listening to radio accounts of the race. Statesman was a Sydney-trained and owned horse, running in the colors of a. veteran owner-trainer, Mr. William Kelso. He made no secret of Statesman’s form and advised his friends 12 months ago that he was preparing Statesman for the Cup. The jockey of Statesman, too, J. Munro, is Sydney’s crack rider, and it is safe to say that a big proportion of the £250,000 paid out over Statesman’s win will go to Sydney. At the settling in the Victorian Race Club’s rooms in Melbourne on Wednesday there were unprecedented scenes. Bookmakers Mannie Lyons and Bob Jansen brought £70,000 cash to pay Cup winners. There were many others who had £IO,OOO or more in front of them when the settling commenced. Bookmakers reported that it was an expensive Cup for them, and particularly was this so for the Sydney antepost ringmen. At one stage of the betting before the Cup Statesman was q £20,000 worse horse 1 for Sydney’s leviathan bookmakers than any of tho other Clip runners. Needless to say, they covered up some of their liabilities, but after taking tho odds to £3OOO one of them was still a substantial loser over the Cup. One of the biggest winners was one of the syndicates which had taken

£60,000 worth of Statesman early in the betting. One. of the syndicates also backed the winning double, Maple and Statesman, for £40,000.

Bookmakers predict that shorter odds will be offered at next year’s Cup atthe opening of the lists after weights have been declared.

To make matters worse, the minor races at the meeting were won by wellfancied candidates, and nearly every bookmaker reported heavy losses.

Bookmakers are realising these days that punters are becoming too well informed and that they do not throw awav their money on worthless horses.

A feature this year of the Cup betting 'was the small number of horses which retired from the race before the start, owing to hi juries. Very few of the well-backed horses failed to go to the post, whereas in other years thousands of pounds have been put in the bookmakers’ bags owing to breakdown or loss of form by fancied candidates.