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BETTING WHILE RACE IS IN PROGRESS The average race-goer is content to have his bet and then wander to some vantage point in the stand and quietly watch the race. It is not so, however, with some of the larger bettors. They generally form themselves into little groups around bookmakers, and continue to bet until the race is won, and sometimes they are even laying wagers afterwards, when, of course, the finish has been close, and there is a doubt in the minds of all but the judge as to which has won. In fact, it is quite an entertainment in itself, but particularly that in which Eric Connolly is the central figure. He makes a habit of going to one particular place. At the suburban meetings a man generally follows him around with a box. Upon this Mr. Connolly climbs as the field lines up, and around him flock numbers of bookmakers and big punters who are ready to lay him" a bet about the horses in running. Of course the main point in this kind" of wagering is to act on the spur of the moment and a man like Mr. Connolly, though essentially strung to a high pitch of nerve-wracking activity, is at the same time a shrewd judge of a horse and of a race. He might make as many as half a dozen wagers in the course of a race, picking eacli time the horse that at the moment looks to be going the best. Owing to the rapid fluctuations in running, it is necessary for a man to pick his horse, angle for a bet and close upon it, all in the one action. In the few moments of a race, hundreds of pounds often change hands in this manner and frequently Mr. Connolly has recovered what would otherwise have been huge losses in this way. Melbourne Weekly Times.
