Commission for Commendation

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 114, 4 August 1927, Page 6

Commission for Commendation

Not By The Stable A Sydney bookmaker who has just ! returned to Sydney from Melbourne ; throws some interesting light on the : Commendation commission worked i recently in both cities, when with Royal j Feast he was coupled for £ 50,000 I worth of double money. The Cud market, this bookmaker de- ; dares, is^confined distinctly to doubles in Victoria. He had a certain amount to lay I straight out against candidates for the j

Caulfield Cup, and he laid this to the Commendation commission. But Victorian bookmakers have no straight-out books on the race. They offered only double wagers, coupled j with Melbourne Cup horses. So when , the commissioners saw the situation j they realised that their only plan was J to take Commendation with the prom- j inent Melbourne Cup horses, including i Royal Feast, for the £ 50.000 mentioned. ; i and with Limerick and Naos for lesser amounts before the former was with- j i drawn. NOT A REAL PLUNGE I Thus the Commendation move, after • jail, couldn’t be called a real Cup plunge ,by the stable. The backing of these

j doubles at which are so inucb ' longer than can be obtained abort I straight-out wagers would be coniI paratively cheap, and would not irI volve the outlay of a sum commensurae i with amounts involved in the good o * days, when horses could be backed tor j tens of thousands either in Melbourne j or Sydney for the Caulfield Cup alon*‘ Bookmakers who have double volj umes on the two Cups in Victoria are content to work on those alone. Thej have no desire to lay straight-out i wagers on a single race when, by sticking to doubles, they impose on their j clients the task of winning their money twice before they get it. So Cup wagering is different, and the I old order changeih. Attempts at double coups are be coming the fashion. , And mostly these end in success an profit—for the bookmaker.