October
AugustGlory days
Whilst we live in the present and anticipate the future, it does also pay us to reflect upon the past and John Adams’s column "The week that was" provides very interesting reading.
In the August 18 edition he tells us that 25 years ago, for most of us the recent past, VATC (now MRC) officials were shocked with the attendance of 9716, the lowest crowd ever recorded at Caulfield for a Saturday meeting, for the opening weight-for-age race of the season.
We are at this point in our new season!
He also reminded us that the stewards had "called in" four bookmakers for questioning over betting activities, in particular their recording of bets from a new group of large punters.
We now have telephone betting (recorded) and computer technology to record transactions.
We live in hope that these actions have "corrected any shortcomings" that may have been identified all of those years ago.
What was particularly of note in his chronicling, was that 50 years ago there were more than 260 bookmakers fielding regularly at Caulfield across three enclosures.
That is something we will certainly not see now or in the future.
Canterbury (Vic)