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ANYTHING TO BEST THE BOOKMAKERS The following clipping from some recentlypub ¬ lished South African racing reminiscences suggests that so long as the bookmakers are beaten some men an not particular as to the means adopted At one meeting some owners wanted to get their own back from the bookies On the course were old anil new stands if they could b called by any name so flattering In one race a pony called well AVest African was favorite and its colors were all blue on the program By an arrangement with tin stewards a change of colors was made tho result being that another pony carried all blue This change of colors was posted up on the old stand which no one ever went near Of course all blue was well out of it and some interesting betting took place while tin running was in progress There was much angry outcry on the part of the bookies who had laid any odds against West African in the running but they had to pay At a meeting near Sydney only recently a mistake in the colors given in the racebook was costly to some hackers notwithstanding a correction was conspicuously posted on the course Many people took no heed of the alteration and when they saw the horse referred to well in front at the turn confused it with another whose colors were cor ¬ rectly given in the book and duly supported the wrong one Their disgust can be Imagined when they later discovered that the winner was not the horse they thought they were backing Sydtnjy Referee
