VICTIMISING BOOKMAKERS.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVII, Issue 1008, 1 July 1909, Page 6

VICTIMISING BOOKMAKERS.

Some very ingenious frauds, committed by bogus telegrams, to fleece bookmakers iin England, have recently been brought to light by Scotland Yard, and one of them was exposed in one of the London police courts. The accused, who was charged with swindl.ng bookmakers, would write out a long, meaningless telegram, addressed to himself at a newsagent’s shop. Directly afterwards, he would, it was alleged, hand in five betting telegrams to different bookmakers, in which he offered to back a horse named Poker for £2 to win. Immediately the telegrams were handed in, the accused, it was alleged, telephoned to a bookmaker, who told him the result of the race. The sender of the five betting telegrams then burr ed again to the post office, and asked for those telegrams back, saying that he had forgotten to put in two words. The obliging postal clerk handed them back to him, and on each one he added, before the name of the horse mentioned, “ Athlete or,” Thus, in their amended form the telegrams contained a bit on Athlete, or, if that horse was not running, on Poker. It was suggested that the long and meaningless telegram had been handed in for the purpose of delaying the transmission of the betting telegrams until after the result

of the race was known. This, of course, is a very old dodge, but as bookmakers leave themselves open to be played upon, by accepting telegraphic commissions almost up to the moment of a race being started, they can hardly blame anyons else.