The Totalisator in Victoria.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume IV, Issue 208, 19 July 1894, Page 6

The Totalisator in Victoria.

We append the principal speeches, for and against, the machine delivered in the Victorian Parliament. Mr Murray, the sponser of the bill, relieved himself as follows He argued that people would gamble on horseracing, and admitting this, was it not better to direct the gambling into a proper channel, and to keep it under legal control ? Gambling on the racecourse and speculation in mining shares were only two forms of the same vice. Personally he believed that it ' would be an unfortunate day for this country when the spirit of speculation and gambling and the love of amusement was dead, for we should then degenerate into a mere lot of old women, and could never become great. In the first place, it was necessafy to consider the owners of racehorses, who were de serving of some consideration from the state. Some were rich men to whom money was no object; others were men of moderate means, and, unfortunately, in this colony the latter class predominated, There were few rich owners, and some of these did not race from pure love of \ sport, and these had, perhaps, done more to demoralise racing than any other class. Among them were to be found the bitterest opponents of the totalisator. It was daily recorded in the press that if this measure were to become law they would be unable to back their horses to any large extent. Under present circumstances an owner backed his horse with a large bookmaker, and if the horse won he scooped the pool, presuming that the public had not backed it. Then the public would back the horse the next time it ran, the horse would lose, the bookmakers be recouped, and the public again deprived of their money. This arrangement really meant collusion between the owner and the bookmakers for the purpose of swindling the public. Again, there were a large number of racehorse owners who were neither rich nor unscrupulous, and these deserved the greatest consideration at the hands of the House, for considering the small stakes for which moderate horses had to compete, it was almost impossible for them to make it pay. Next came the trainer, and then the jockey, who was often debauched, sometimes by the . owner and sometimes by those who laid the odds. But the totalisator would not be found beckoning to the jockey and

tempting him to do a. dishonest act. Then came the ring. As a class the ring met its obligations as well as any class in the community did, at all events of late —(laughter)—but who were divided into the scrupulous and the unscrupulous, the latter class preponderating. If the totalisator were established the ring

would die a natural death. Last factor and most important was the horse itself. Racing was sometimes said to improve the breed of horses. But if the totalisasator were established it would put an end to one ailment, which defied the skill of'the best veterinary surgeons, and was known to the initiated as <( metallic fever.” Mr F. Madden was opposed to the totalisator, as he considered it prejudical to the horse and detrimental to the interests of the colony. Racing had done much to improve the breed of horses, and it would be absurd to do anything which would prejudice our trade in exporting horses. High-class racing could not be carried on without the bookmaker. This bill, if passed, would kill the ring. Not one horse in ten paid its way, and not one in a hundred approached first class, and how were the failures to be paid for unless an owner could back his good horses to win him good Stakes. The late Hon. James White, who had the cream of horses and won the best stakes, showed by a return extending over seven years that putting prize money against expenses he had lost £15,000 more: and it might be supposed that if Mr White had not been successful in the ring he would not have stayed on the turf at all. But with the totalisator an owner would have no chance of backing his horses at all. If we took from the ring that excellent old milch cow the public, the ring would not be able to bet with owners. Mr Madden thought the whole horse-breeding industry depended upon the solvency of the bookmakers, but did not allow himself to be milked for th e good of the cause because he had realised the folly of betting long ago. In France it was true they had the totalisator, but they had the ring as well. The totalisator had not killed the ring there, but that was because of the difference in population. Good horses were bought in New Zealand and South Australia to run in Victoria, while cast-off horses were purchased here to run in those colonies where the totalisator was in vogue on the ground that was good enough to race under the totalisator. The totalisator would extend betting; and as to the charity question, he hoped he never would see the day when the Government would encourage gambling as a means of revenue.