ACCUMULATOR SYSTEM EXPLAINED

Chronicle (Levin), 19 July 1946, Page 6

ACCUMULATOR SYSTEM EXPLAINED

Totalisator' double and treblc betting was a popular feature oi racing in ladia, stated Mr. C. R. O. Gardiner, O.B.E., a committeeman aad ateward of tlie lioyal Westeru India Turf Club, who was a visitor to the Taranaki Jockey Olub's meeting at New Plymouth last fcSaturday. Mr. Gardiner, who. was born at Napier, is manager of the New Zealaud Lnsurance Company's branch at Bombay and is just cndihg a two months 1 visit to New Zealand. The doubles totalisator was entirely separatc froin the ordinary totalisator, said Mr. Gafdiiier, and doubles and trebles were going on all races. He explained that it was usually referred to as the uccamulator, and he thought that this was the more eorreot description. Big Returns If a person made an investment on a winning horse, Kt5 could not eash that tieket, but he eould invest its value on any horse in any subsequent- race. If the second horse won, he could either coiiect that dividend' or accept a tieket of its value for investment on a tkird race, For three such bets a return of £2000 for a starting. investment of £1 was not uucommon, and he had seen the return reach £8000 for such a treblc. The average totalisator turnover, including the doubles and trebles machiue for oue day, averaged over £200,000, and at big meetings at Bombay the total had exeeeded £500,000 for a single day. In addition bookmakers operated J on the courses. JStakes were good, and i at Bombay there were few races worth less than £900 to the winner. Last year the winner/s sliare of the .Derby atakes was £9000, The best three-ycar-old filly won more than £21,000 for the season. The. Royal Westeru India Turf Club controlled about' half the racing iii; India, added Mr. Gardiner, and the ' other half was controlled by the Royal Calcutta Turf Club. Big meetings took place at Bombay during the winter and at Pooua in the summer. There were also other meetings at centres such as Karachi. The Bombay and Poona meet- 1 ings were run by tlie Boyal Westeru j India Turf Club, but at tlie other meet- i ings stewards of " '-e club were present I and had wide powers. Stewards' Powers The club annually oleetod a comrnittee of ninc, and the comuiittee ap- j pointed five stewards, two of whom ' might not even be members of the club. ' The present chuirman of the stewards j was the millionaire owner, 8ir Victor I Sassoon, wlio was not a committeeman. : The club had four paid stipendiary ; stewards, who wero present at every tneeting, but their powers were limited. ! They could inflict lines not exceediug | £15 without referonce to the stewards, but the stewards deait with all serious niatters. ; The stipendiary stewards were postod around the course, but the stewards followed every race in an open tourer car on a special track just inside the rail. "With live stewards following in this way the jockeys realise that they inust ridc cloanly and see that a horse. does its best," he said. A programme usually consisted of nine or 10 races I run at half-hourly intervuls. Mr. Gardiner was an intercsted ob-| server of the working of the electriej totalisator. At the Bombay course at Julius electric machine is in operation, j but Mr. Gardiner was struck with Ihe1 possibilities of constructing smallerj totalisator houses of the type at.Newi BJymouth on different parts of tlie | course at Bombay. He was particularly impressed by the speed with which the machine at New Plymouth was! balanced.