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VETERAN DAVID GIDEONS PHILOSOPHY Thinks Odds Laying of Today Unsportsmanlike in Comparison with Old Time Methods NEW YORK X Y April 17 One of theTnbst marked changes in turf affairs said David Gideon in course of general conversation upon his return from a pleasant winter in New Orleans is the absence of the oldtime bookmaker that we had years ago when it was a battle of wits between the men who followed the profession In ye olden days men had to protect theiriselves and not be protected by a blanket prescription which practically dictated what odds should be laid and what should not In the eld days fifty per cent at least of the men who made books knew just about what chance a horse had of winning a race and what was a legiti ¬ mate price to be offered against this chance They made their books according to their own inclinations and ideas and created competition among them ¬ selves How changed things are these days daysToday Today one or two men make a list of prices for the entire assemblage of odds layers with a decided percentage in their favor These prices are practically adhered to throughout the market transactions with little or no variation excepting when there is a demand for a certain horse which is immediately cut in price to almost a minimum Rarely is a liorse increased in price from the open ¬ ing offering excepting those which are so far out ¬ classed that they are merely shadows I think this is bad for racing and its patrons who become disgruiHled at the turn tilings have taken as it shows too much avarice on the part of the profes ¬ sional It could safely be said that if ninety per cent of the odds layers today were left upon their own resources to make their own prices against horses their lack of knowledge of such a matter woitld be their ruin iii a short time Consequently this blanket arrangement of having one or two inch dictating prices has caused every ring where odds laying exists to become a sort of syndicate affair Mind you I jtm not saying that a person should not buy all lie information lie can gather for his own use for a foundation of his book but to retain it as a mechanical arrangement or under ¬ standing is at times disgusting and disturbing to the patrons in general generalThat That is one of the reasons the mutucls are so well patronized The public makes the prices and they fluctuate according to the amount in ¬ vested Odds layers are practically killing their own game by not being more generous in their offerings and showing some individuality in their transactions instead of relying solely upon what their neighlwrs are doing If a man believes a liorse should be quoted at even money lie should so act and not offer 4 to 5 because liis neighbor is quoting that figure Few arc the men today who quote 50 to 1 against a liorse yet in the olden days there were frequent winners at that price Offer one of the Fraternity today 100 on a horse at 20 to 1 and he will possibly take 20 or tell you to pass along There are but one or two of the real oldtime odds layers left in the profession and it is doubtful if ten per cent of the operators today know a chestnut liorse from a bay Their only knowledge is that they have a percentage in their favor and they want to keep that percentage as high as possible It would be far better for the turf if there was more individuality among those who enjoy the privilege of odds laying and less of the followtlielcader propensity which today exists
