Sporting notions of present days and past

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70 SPORTING NOTIONS
they would not be able to afford racing if they I
were not cute—clever judges of value for money.
Tattersall's (otherwise styled reserved) ring fees u
are the mainstay of horse-racing, and, judging
from what I hear, the non-professional patrons �I
of these rings say such revenues are bound to
be reduced because of the gate. So long as
they get value for their risk these all-round
practical hands are game to go on. At the
same time, they are not built to follow any sort
of play which offends their better judgment.
As between racecourse proprietors and their
customers the crux is : are the latter satisfied
with their pound-per-day's worth, or possibly
more ? My informant-bookmaker's answer to
the question is unfavourable — decidedly so.
The volume of betting, so they assure me,
decreases wofully as between them and the
public able to pay their way — men of the
world who have a reason generally for their
wagers, but good customers all the same, because
they only bet out of their incomes and not from
their capitals. Why are these retiring, as they
undoubtedly are, in appreciable numbers? Why?
Because the gate sickens them. A few good
things come undone because the barrier is in
fault; or, let us put it, the selected animals
cannot get on with the gate—which is to say, off
by it; they, the disappointed, begin to ask them-
selves questions, and sooner or later--generally
sooner—turn the game up.
Poor sportsmen, does someone say?—poor
samples if they cut sport because they can't
gamble more or less mildly and to their own
satisfaction. Certainly I grant that in idyllic
Turf doings no one would ever be trying to
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