Galloping Inflation

As all armchair horse players
know, bookmakers don't pay track odds. They limit payoffs to $60 for
win, $24 for place and $12 for show on a $2 bet. Of course, this takes
care of most wagers, but with hardenedhorse players it isn't the principle, it's the money.

Now
some bookies have cut the prices in half, paying $30, $12 and $6 on a
$2 bet and there's a roar of disapproval from the players. They point
out the bookies' average net is 20% of the handle — that's $200 of
every $1,000. They could pay track odds, the players contend, and still
make a substantial profit.

BOOKIES who have cut the odds
say it isn't so. They point out in rebuttal that accepting bets on
horses is fraught with peril. They say protection costs are mounting
and worse, protection is spotty and unreliable. In short, there's
always the risk of aknockover, which means attorney fees, bail bonds and perhaps going to jail.

The players scoff at this and there's talk of organizing the Amalgamated Assn. for the Protection of Horseplayers.

Now please pretend you didn't read the above. There aren't supposed to be any bookies.