A POPULAR INNOVATION.
Five Shilling Totalisator.
(Special to the “ Star.”)
AUCKLAND, November 29. JOME TIME AGO the committee of the Takapuna Jockey f Club decided to instal a five-shilling totalisator at its course.
. was tried for the first time on Saturday, when the spring neeting was commenced, and it proved a great success, its >opularity with the public being demonstrated by the support it received.
No racecourse innovation ever proved more popular than the issuing of five shilling totalisator tickets at the Takapuna Jockey Club’s meeting to-day. Recognising that the people who patronise the “ sport of kings ” are not so well off financially as they were a year or so ago, the committee of the Takapuna Jockey Club decided to meet the position by installing a five shilling totalisator. The step taken was a courageous one. There were the usual pessimists, but the general opinion was that the club had done the right thing by the public, and the wish was expressed that the innovation would prove a big success. The club had a double-barrelled attraction to entice racegoers to make the trip across the harbour. Not only was the five shilling totalisator offering.
but the day itself was beautifuly fine, a most wecome surprise. At the outside machine there were a dozen windows for five shilling investors, and from the time business began there was an eager demand by backers. With well-backed horses winning, betting continued to increase, and soon the queues at the “ dollar ” windows reached well out towards the terraces, while at the pay-outs the queues were such that those who were not in early had a fairly long wait. Messrs Blomfield and Co., the firm controlling the totalisator, put on a big staff to cope with the exceptionally large amount of business, and every thing was carried out as expeditiously as was humanly possible. Backers were loud in their praise of the institution of facilities to permit the public to bet in units according to their pockets.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS19301201.2.128
Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 19241, 1 December 1930, Page 12
Word Count
331A POPULAR INNOVATION. Star (Christchurch), Issue 19241, 1 December 1930, Page 12
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