RACECOURSE INCIDENT

Hokitika Guardian, 5 April 1921, Page 1

RACECOURSE INCIDENT

BOSS OF TOTALISATOR TICKETS

DIVIDEND COLLECTED: POLICE

RECOVER MONEY

“.Just my luck,” iumed a man at the races at Ellerslie. He had come from the country, and had got lour £•) tickets oil Tam-a-roa and one £5 ticket on Silver I,ink in the Easier Handicap, ami, being a methodical sportsman, had sat in the grandstand and taken his watch out to time his latuies during the course of the race. Silver Link won. and on putting it back he found lliat in pulling it out he had dislodged his investment tickets from 1 1 is vest pocket, and of the live tickets only one on Tamn-a-rnn was left. He searched frantically but fruitlessly for the Silver Link ticket, which was worth over £SO. and then went to a detective with bis tale of woe, at the same time voicing suspicions of a man he bad seen near the spot he sat with when the iaee was run. Ihe suspected man satisfied Ihe detective of his innocence, and then the latter took on a listening job among Hie thousands of people on the. lawn on Monday. Some stray remarks came to his ears that sounded likely, and. following these up after the races he located a man on Tuesday who admitted having picked up three Tam-a-roa tickets and one on Silver Bink for £5 apiece, collected the dividend on Silver Link and split 0 with a mate who was with him. 'lhe Detective re—collected the amount of the dividend from these two men, and paid it. over to the country sportsman before he was out of bed on Wednesday. 11l paying over the money Detective Knight icmarked to the sportsman that be bad the luck of a Rockefeller fo get the money under the circumstances. but the other fellow could not S(V it. His complaint was that the four losing Tam-a-roa tickets represenied liis money, but lbe twice lucky Silver Bink ticket, had been for a friend in tlu‘ country who bad entrusted bim witli cash to get the ticket. Talking j about, luck and its opposite, which is j known as “stillness.” the man "bo * picked up tbo ticket may have some j quite pronuiieed opinion.