[AusRace] A Day at the Races - pt 3

[Tony Moffat]

Three times people died in front of me on course. It was nothing I did to
cause their demise and while I don't mean to belittle them or minorise what
they did it was getting a little worrying.

I was on course, but not working, when Baghdad Note won the Cup (25/1
-18.50) and I had this horse in the Caulfield Cup when it dead heated for
2nd, and had another as a saver, then took both in the Cup.

A couple of weeks later I started with Lew and Marie, on a Wednesday at
Sandown. I had worked with them all year at the trots but now they were
working both types, horses during the day in Melbourne and harness at night
in the country.

Our ring had 9 fielders and was out the back, under the trees and with a few
stalls off to the left and behind. There was always a horse incident, a
running away, a kicking, a biting or a frightening which is what happens
when an untethered horse wanders into the ring. It happened, more than once.
Once, it was stupid me that chose to hang on to orphan Ned until somebody
factored or figured it wasn't where it should be. It might have been that
orphan Ned realized her masters were on to her because formerly she had been
quietly watching the toing and froing, and refused to eat the offered 2
dollar note, then suddenly she reefed and tore and went backwards until she
contacted the fence, then she kicked that. A man, presumably related to its
ownership, took hold of the halter and proceeded to pull the horse forward,
just as the horse proceeded to pull itself backwards. The horse won. The man
went to hit the horse, and missed on the first swipe. Lew then kicked him up
the backside, as a way of informing, and enforcing, that is no way to treat
a lady and the man left, without the horse, and it returned to me, sombre
and seemingly content to keep watching, although not touching the offered 2
dollar greenie, still. 

The Clerk of the Course came and took the orphan off me and after the next
race the owner came to say thank you, for the dateing and also the
kinsmanship shown. She was a good performer, that orphan, and she threw a
couple of good performers over the next couple of years. She missed her race
that day, and never raced afterwards I believe.

Lew was specific with his instructions, which were good commonsense also,
bag closed always except when depositing, front on to the customer, then
turn open to call the bet, back amount first, then the runner name, then the
bet total, typically 'twenty dollars, Voleur, 100 to 20 , thank you, is that
correct' and don't call it if I don't have the money in hand, and confirm
with the client that I had it correctly for them. Sometimes, more often than
you would think, a client would ask for a quiet transaction, as in quietly
please, and in that circumstance I took the money and walked back to Stewart
and pointed to runner name on the sheet and stated the back amount. Lew
oversaw this and wrote the ticket and handed it to the client. If this
client was working the ring this was one way to keep the information quiet,
stop the stampede said someone, control the hysterium said Stewart, and I
think that is a quick growing fungus. Often, and nearly always, it was my
voice only, that is what you heard, then Lew with the ticket number, the
last two digits, and Stewart, or Marie, with the confirmation of the last
two digits. Lew would speak if you spoke to him, an opinion, a weather or
health query, and sometimes a call out to one and all to come and sample
what we had on display. The chain of command was me to Stu, then Lew to the
client. It takes 20 seconds between calling one, then calling the next, and
you would want to write out 80 so you had to get staccato at times,
otherwise you ran out of time, no matter that you could back yours with us
until they turned into the home straight. I started quickly, about 25
minutes out from the off, and within 10 or so transactions the stand became
a unit, I did this and that, Stu penciled, Lew wrote and wrote it all, name,
amount on, winnings, and returned the ticket to the client face down. I said
thank you to him, and straight away, went to the next client. There was no
order of precedence, if you were standing there and I addressed you, you
were the next. Only rarely was there a correction, or an attempt of a
correction as in I'm next, and they were, after the one now. There is no
queue, no standing in line to the right, no turnstile effect, nothing like
that. Perhaps there needs to be though. Plenty, may be 3 each race,
approached Lew and spoke directly to him, and the money came to me, it might
be several hundred, and I counted that in the confines of the bag, up to my
forearms in it and there are 8 compartments in a bag, three of which are for
field money, the larger opening for the hold, and I would count the offered
money into a spare compartment towards the rear, sorting the 10, 20, or the
fives and the ones, surprisingly rare. The 100 dollar could not come quick
enough (it was much later) and perhaps consider a 500 dollar note, for race
course use only for starters. 

Working the bag my first metro race was a hurdle, 13 running, with three
equal favorites at 4/1 and we could write them non-stop and did. Later Lew
said he had them at 10's in his notes. The winner was 125/1 and paid
$270.50, and no, he did not have that one factored in, it appears nobody
did. It was a skinner for us, most you would think. Next race was Higgins
and a favorite, always unders. The third race the odds on got rolled and we
held $40 on the winner. This really is like handing out cardboard for money.
The fourth race was a loss for us, a 5/1-11/2 winner, third favorite, and
Lew took a set against it.

Before the next race I was paying out, checking with Marie thoroughly,
methodically repeating number and payout, when the stand she was on became
the last resting place for an elderly gentleman. He sat holding his stomach
then lay down sideways and passed out, never said a word, never made a
sound. We had to stop, and move away, to continue, they want their money no
matter what, and Marie and me went to Dent and Co stand next door while
Punchy and Lew worked with this poor fellow. It took a while for the
ambulance to come to us and during that time we finished paying out. The
ambulance did come and they walked the remaining 20 feet up to us and did
what they do but nothing could help this bloke. The Police came and took
some details. Then they covered him up with a sheet and it looked like they
were going to leave him with us. They didn't leave him, they loaded him into
the ambulance and left. 

We missed the next race, wrote nothing, probably didn't put the names or
prices up even. We took some time for ourselves, and a mug of tea, nobody
spoke. The even money favorite romped in. The Police came and got us before
the next race and we didn't work that one either, we were typing a statement
in the administration office before, during and afterwards.

We were back on the stand for the next, a 5 furlong romp, Higgins again at
7/4 and Lew agreed with that. He was able to make a book and we seemed to be
square afterwards. It was the same in the last, Higgins again on the
favorite, Lew thought that was about right, and he was able to make a book
as well.

The race before, the race between Higgins winning,  was the welter and we
won that, wrote three tickets on the winner, and Lew backed two for the
book, the winner paid 11.30 and we had it at 8/1, although 10's were offered
next to us but he went to the tote, like always. Lew said it was overs, even
at that price, except a big plonk on the tote came through right on the
death.

The bag hold was counted each race, you knew you had 5 or 6 large up front,
and really it was just counting, after sorting, the 'frillies' which is
somebody unique way of saying single bank notes, in all it was done in less
than a minute and was correct, at least with me, every time although the
coin, stupid stuff and suitable only to be sworn at, was counted in 10
dollar increments and held in bags
I took time with the tidy up, all the notes around the same way, 10 to a
fold, 10 folds in a wad (apparently a North Island word), counted and
balanced it all except the coin of which I had $20 to start with and I must
have missed a mug of tea someone had. Lew checks the cash hold always then
retains a float or more often banks it on course and gets fresh notes from
the bank on the morning of the next working day. He keeps his personal
winnings, he, or Marie often, collects those and he is more often his usual
svelte self, light brown suit, bronze tie, shades and black shoes although
there has been days when I have seen him walking off the course with me like
a badly stuffed chaise lounge, with notes padding him all over. He takes a
taxi then, and I get the keys to the car, a Ford Galaxy, which is mine until
mid morning tomorrow.

The coin was an annoyance, can you tell, and Lew would accept a bet with
offered coin often only saying to me 'does it look like 10' and the client
would say yes it was and often I would get half of its quantity counted, and
could compare weights now and agreed. Often it wasn't though, typically 50c
short it seemed, and more than once it was 2, or more dollars down. Ok, it's
not going to break us but the owner of it, the coin, would have known,
surely, and just needed to get his bet on, again and often it was a Higgins
horse. The betting ring can be the home of the destitute and the despondent,
and that is before the race is run some times. Still, if they had bet with
us, in the good times let's call it, then they were welcome again, anytime,
and it wasn't encouraged, truthfully. Lew was agreeable to accept their
bets, them standing at the Tote while their stake was counted, twice, to be
20c down and knocked back was not what he wanted for them, and Marie might
chip in the needed 20c, to get that last dollar on at the Tote. In essence
$10 on the nose in most scenarios gets you round dollars back, except when
the odds get inside 15/4 say, 10 out 47.50 back and Lew would say 'write it
as 4's' if you asked, the client or me. For example 13/4 went to 7/2, 11/4
went 3/1, etc, and then the turns got tricky 15/8,7/4,13/8,11/8 went 6/4,
and thankfully his market rarely went into the realms of back fractions, I
mean what demented, loveless bastard thought up 10/9, needlessly complicated
and meant to keep brittle minds broken. Lew more often would keep the bet in
at the call amount then pay out up to a whole number so that 7/4 would be
called at 10 -27.50 and paid out at $30, all, and only it seemed, to avoid
me sooking about the jingling jangling coin handling. A stewards inquiry
would look at you askance if you said you gave your client an advantage, 2%
in this case, so it was better, easier, and correct to keep the book entries
pure, and spoil the client, and explain that to them too.

Twice I have been present when murderers were arrested, right there at our
stand, and ok, they weren't convicted yet but they pleaded guilty at the
first opportunity, both hoping that the full facts of their abhorrent crimes
would not be disclosed. I mean although you read the truth of the whole
episode in The Truth in subsequent editions, that was not the reason for its
existence, the form guide was that, right. Several times I have been present
when murder was contemplated,  when wives set upon their husbands with
weapons, although inadequate for the job at hand, which is the reason they
were not incarcerated it said. There was a female third party present each
time, terrified, and some of those physically damaged by the actions of the
betrothed. Again, and I don't mean to minimize the actions of the crooks
here, perhaps a garden fork was not the correct choice of weapon and then
don't throw it, guide it.. 

The second deceased was an older man who seemed to be drunk earlier, at
midday, he was seen by me, and everybody, to be using the wall for support
and had just been up to us for a bet but didn't seem to know what he wanted.
I asked him first, then said sir I have clients waiting, I'll get yours next
and served one, then a second, and perhaps up to a 7th or 8th but he was now
about in the third row back and did not bet with us. He looked normal, just
did not have the perambulation right it seemed. The race was run and he was
over on the wall and Punchy went to him, and was beaten by another from
another outfit, and while I worked I saw the Police come, then a chair, then
the ambulance, and it seems he died in there. He had been a regular in our
ring, a friend as a result.

The third person to pass away had just arrived back in Melbourne from flying
in from Europe. He was in a lot of pain in the chest while sitting on the
newer seats on the lawn area beside the grand stand. There was a lot of
people around him, medical and others, and I had $6000 in notes chained to
me, and could not divest myself of that to help him, probably by joining the
circle of persons already there, so my life went on there and then, and his
ended sadly. It was disclosed next week that he had suffered a blood clot,
and that was when I learnt of his travelling also.

There were the occasional fights, funny, sad, serious as they were, in fact,
the sad one was when two older men fell out over the race entry of a horse
and the grandson of one struck the other elderly male. I don't think it
would ever have resorted to a fight if the two seniors had been left to it
but stupid youth does stupid things, and the analogy was proven when the
stripling behaved as he did. It was right there, at the stand, at the
payout, and as the senior male was being paid out by me the stupid one
struck him to the side of the head, strode up from behind, said nothing, in
fact was never in the field of vision for the victim, and struck him as I
said. Again, Punchy was on hand and remonstrated with the coward, who went
to run, bad mistake because Punchy has been on tours with the Kangaroos, and
the young man was prevented from leaving and held and taken to the Police
post, the back door of that opens onto our area. The victim had a broken
jaw. We assisted the Police and I was going to Court as a witness except he
pleaded guilty at the last opportunity, and got fined. 

The serious one was when a younger woman, a mother, was assaulted by a group
of men she knew, over the indiscretions of her husband, who had run off.
Three men had slapped her, and others were queueing when the Police arrived,
and now the assailants began to run. One ran and jumped the decorative rail
of the featured garden and this rail broke and he broke his ankle. Another
was detained by stable staff, and a third turned himself in. The gang, for
that is what you are when you consort for a common illegal purpose, were
rounded up in a few days. The woman was ok. Nobody cared about the husband,
least of all his wife, the ex perhaps.

Funny, there are so many incidents classified as funny. One that sticks, as
I recall, was the demonic celebration of a group of winning owners to the
annoyance of others standing near them, owners of losers as they were
reminded by some in the first group, which may have been a mistake, in
protocol for starters as you are expected to be respectful winners, and
respectful losers by association although the rules of etiquette don't
mention that.  Anyway it festered, fizzed, bubbled and boiled for a few
races while the alcohol worked its magic and during the running of the sixth
some girls from one camp fought with others from the other and the
celebrations of an important race were delayed while the situation was
settled and the damage of war was repaired, a sponsors display, and stand,
had been destroyed. There is a photo of an older woman, in a mini, with her
undies showing, being unceremoniously upended by a male. She has a shoe of
hers in her hand. The sponsor product display forms a backdrop to all of
this, so much for a quiet drinkie poo. This was the time of the rise of the
party animal, the racing was secondary or less, and there was an implied
licence to conform to a code of behavior, none of it normal, nice, necessary
and perhaps only seen on course. I've rarely been drunk, my choice, and to
this day I don't believe some of those misbehavers were drunk, just
experiencing life on the party train for the first time, I'm here, so are
you, lets misbehave. So many I know, year long supporters of racing, stay
away at Carnivals, then and now.

Anyway, my race is coming up

Cheers

Tony


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