That used to be the case Darky but not anymore - the majority of 'serious' punters now do their wagering from the comfort on their lounge room. Approx 80% of rails bookies turnover now comes from telephone betting. Along with bets being made via the internet with either the corporate bookies or Betfair, then the big turnover is done offtrack now.

For instance on the Hong Kong mile race yesterday in which Silent Witness was beaten, Tab Ltd had a win pool of $166,000, Supertab $115,000 while Betfair matched $772,000 on win bets.