MEMORIES OF THE DOUBLE "TOTE"

Chronicle (Levin), 15 August 1946, Page 7

MEMORIES OF THE DOUBLE "TOTE"

Just forty years ago — it was in Noveinber of 19(Jti — a inan on the Riccarton course watched Captain Shannon winning the Stewards' Handicap after anothcr outsidcr, Star Rosc, had won tiie Kew Zealand Cup. It was rather imjiortant for tliis particular spectator that Captain Shannon should win the big sprint, for in his iiocket he had a totalisator ticket wliich proved to be worth exactly £2061 10s. It was tlie only ticket on the winning combination on tlie doubles totalisator, and the dividend was tlie reward for investing tlie suni of £1. Now that a Gaming Commission is sclieduled to sit in New Zealand in the very near future, and knowing the cramped odds that wefe being ofl'ered on tlie Grand National "double" by so-called bookniakers, outside the law, it may be interesting to recall that the doubles totalisator operated in New Zealand for oue season only, that being tlie 1006-7 season. Without going into the merits or dernerits of the doubles totalisator, it w'oulil be fairly safe to assert that, wero the betting public given the opportunity to express tui opinion, an overwheiming vote would be cust in favour of it operatiug on the Doininion racecourses to-day. When tlie doubles tote was legalised in the Doniiniou, clubs generally sliowed a reluctance to introduce it, tlieir cliief objection being, so it was declared, that peuding the decision of -tlie two events constituting tlie double, much money would be held up. Tlie result was that few clubs installed the tote i meutioued and, in Auckland, the only ciubs to operate it wero tlie Auckland Racing Club and the Takapuna Jockey Club. Takapuna First Dealing with tlie Auckland proviuce only, the lionour of presenling tlie ' douoles niaeliine to Aucklanders wentj to the Takapuna .Jockey Club. it was at the spring meeting 011 November 24, 1006, and tlie races selected wero the! St. Andrew's and Cheltenham llandi-j eups. The winners wero Geordie andj Lucrece respectively, and the dividendsl £6 2s and £5 ls. On tlie doulile totef tlie dividend was £47 12s. The socondi day the double was tlie Stanley Jlundi-j eap, won by Black and Gold (£5 2sJ,| and Spring tiandicap, won by Apologuej (£0 l^sj. O11 the liouble niacluno tliei dividend was £002 8s. At the Takapuna summer meeting in' January, 1007, ihe doubles inachine was' agaiii in operatiuu. O11 tlie first day', the events nere tlie Zealaudla llaudi-l eap, won by Biacki and Gold (£6 7s), J and Takapuna Cup,- won by Scott.v (£8 5s ). O11 the nnieliine the eombinatiou : returned £25 10s. On the second day! tlie races wero tiie Suburban llaudictip, i won by Omuti (£4 12s), and the Jockey j Club llandicap, won by Bully (£10 8s). j i'lie double price was £270 Ls. I It was in the autumn of that yearj that the doubles tote was installed at j Ellerslie, and for tlie third occasibn' •Blae.k a,ij.d '-Gold,. who was owned by tlie Devonport sportsmen, -Messrs. R. aiid H. ■ Duder, ligured as the winner of -diiie ; "Jeg. " The events were the Tramwayj and Easter llandicaps, and Black and: Gold (£2 0s) won tlie former and Wai-! punu f £4 18s) the Easter. Tlie double; returned £22 14s. On tlie second day1 tiie Huia llandicap was won by Caiu-l brian (£4 7s) and the Wt. George's lian- : dieap by Paritutu (£6 11s), and tlie ; dividend 011 the dquble was £40 7s. j The following 111011th. the Takapuna' Jockey Club held the winter meeting,! aml tlie double was taken bv two out-.

siders. Millie (£17 7s) won the E111-, pire llandicap, and Duart (£12 5s) tlieRoval llandicap. On the double totoj (he return w as £707 17s. O11 the second j day Byren (£5 14s) won the Britannia: llandicap, and Aliss Winnio (£6 11s) j tlie Victoria llandicap, and tlie double | tote paid £130 10s. Tlien followed the Great Northernj meeting, and the last appearanco in I Auckland of the double tote. O11 the, lirst day the Great Northeru llurdiesj was won by Merriwai (£8 10s) and tliej.; Cornwall llandicap by Uranium (£4 6s),' the double tote paying £117 13s. Kia-. tere (£7 12s) won the Great Northeru j Bleeplechase, and Tui Cakobuu (£8 18s) j t he i'riaee of Wales Handicap on Ihe j middle day, and tlie double returned j £148 ls. On the coneludiug day, a ranki outsider. Uenuku (£.'14 l(is), won the! York Weller, and Loeli Fyne (£5 4s). the Winter Bteopleehase. And tlie win- ■ uing double paid the barc £8U4 6s. 1 Lucky Break 1 1 11 coiuieetion with the Locli Fyne-' Uenuku double, Ihe story was told at j the t ime, aml tliere was every reason j to believe it, tluit 011 tlie niorniug of j Ihe ruces a theu weJI-known Auckland! barrister and soiicitor was gLven £1 by j a friend to invest 011 Locli Fyne and j Uninium. The legal gentleinan merelyj made a note on a pieee of paper, writ-| ing ' ' L.F. and U. ' ' Wlien he arrived 011 the course andj approached tlie maehine to invest hisfriend 's £1, he found that "U" lnight , mean eitlier Uranium or Uenuku, and' not being certain whieh horse it was, his friend had mentioned, he decided to; play for safety and put £1 011 botli I doubles — Uranium and Locli Fyne and| Uenuku and Locli Fyne. Ilis uncer-[ tainty brouglit liim in a prolit of £803 : Gs. * j Raeegoers can form tlieir own opinion - froni the above as to whether the | double tote was popular with bai'kers. j And, for good measure, it niight be! mentioned that at Jdanchester, Eng- j land, 011 Noveinber 11, 1937, Ihe odds returned by (die winning double, >8olitaire and Wheel of Joy, were 9358 to 1.