A HUGE DIVIDEND.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5377, 21 January 1929, Page 4

A HUGE DIVIDEND.

A WINNING HOBS® IN CHINA.

OTHER NOTABLE INSTANCES-

What probably constitute® a world’s record dividend was paid at the Chinese Jockey Club’s racq meeting at Shanghai on Sunday afternoon. November 24. A Chinese was the eple supporter of a horse named Garrison, which proved to be; a .winner, and paid a dividend equivalent to £lOB4 for 10s. The investor had Sdol on the horse (equal to 10s), and collected 10,841d01.

The biggest dividend) evep paid in Australia was that of £836 5s for £l, paid to a solitary investor on Mr D. O’Dea’s horse D.O.D. in the Goodwood Handicap, South Australia, in 1881. That big dividend, however (says “Musket”) wax the result of a mistake, and) caused a deal Of comment among the other investors, owing to the fact that D.O.D. ’s number did hot appear as a starter. The totalisator at that time in use was a rather primitive affair, and the vibration in recording busness had caused D.O.D.’s number to fall out of ts allotted place. The lever used by the operator to emboss the ticket and record the; amount was something, similar to an ordinary beer-pull engine, and the vibration, no doubt, caused D.O.D.’s number to fall out of view of the public; but the machine duly regiw tered thq £l. Before the receiving windows were Opened ito the public two clerks were told Off to see that the were set to nought, and to record the number of. each horse in each separate window. After, the race; .the same two clerks were reading the machine, when they found there was £1 invested on a horse without a .number, and on looking at their first record they discovered) that D,O.D.’s number had fallen out, and w.hen the operator inside the building put the number into position thqre was uproar and confusion. The secretary tried in vain to explain matters to the crowd, and' when someone demanded the name of the holder of the ticket, and was told it was a Mr Smith —we;ll, that settled it! Smith, however, was the name Of the lucky backer, and next day he was paid a cheque for £836 'ss.

New Zealand’s record dividend was paid out a few seasons back at Blenheim over the trotter Wairoa Belle. She had only one ticket on her chance, and paid over four figures. It is said that the lucky holder, on being congratulated afterwards upon his win, remarked that he waS, sorry he did not put more 'on it!