A POPULAR “TOTE.”

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIV, Issue 86, 6 December 1912, Page 3

A POPULAR “TOTE.”

(To the Editor “Stratford Post.”) Sir, —A letter which appeared in the “Post” on Wednesday night hit off my sentiments “to a T.” As a visitor to the meeting last New Year I was struck with the absence of the facility of a ten shilling totalisator for patrons. The party of which I was one was not made up of millionaires, as you, Sir, can imagine, but it is certain that had the 10s totalisator been working, quite a decent little sum extra would have gone to swell the investments on the machine through similar parties betting. The reason is not hard to find. "\Yhile one, anc|, in fact, all the members of the party always had ten bob to do in on a race, the task of getting a mate to put in his bit and make up the £1 ticket soon gave everyone the “pip.” As you know, Sir, when such arrange merits are fixed up it is always about starting time, and the trouble of getting the money on very often results in failure. The story “Shut out,”' and “Shut out, again,” got on everybody’s nerves, and the next race was allowed to go hang! And so on until no betting is done. If there was a machine where each man could have backed his fancy and got his money on as soon as the machine was ready to take it, does it not stand to reason that the club would benefit considerably? Other clubs study the bulk of their patrons, and it is surprising, to say the least, to find out, as I did last New Year, that such a popular and otherwise well-managed, gathering as Stratford is deficient in this respect.—l am, etc., VISITOR. Stratford, December 5, 1912.