I'm blowed if I know how people write books and recall exact details of things that happened in their childhood or distant past!

I was 12 years old when the TAB began operating in Victoria (1961). I had my first illegal bet with them two years later. The woman asked me if I was 18, I said yes, she gave me a funny look - and then wrote out my ticket!

That's right, she WROTE out my ticket! That got me thinking, and that's when I realised my memories of my youth are so foggy. I can remember you had nothing to fill in, you went to the window and verbally gave your bet to the TAB clerk who wrote it out in a pad of betting tickets which had a piece of carbon paper to record the TAB's record of the transaction. Carbon paper!!!
Pretty sure you had to express your wager in units not money. A unit was five shillings. How on earth did the TAB work out the dividends in those days? Was there a delay after the race before they announced the dividends? I think there was but I may be wrong? There would have had to have been, surely.

I can't remember what the TAB sign looked like in those first days. I'm sure it's different now, it's probably had several changes.

Mum and Dad were keen "five bob punters" and had the radio on 3UZ from early doors right through to after the last race, when Bert Bryant would repeat the placings, dividends and starting prices for each race. 3DB, Bill Collins, also covered the races. So did 3LO, Joe Brown! In Melbourne, at least, you had the choice of THREE radio broadcasts of the one race. Unbelievable. Haha I can remember Dad twisting the dial frantically between stations whenever one of his bets was involved in a photo finish. I remember Ken "London to a Brick" Howard covering the Sydney races for 3UZ.

Maybe some of you punters of a similar vintage to me have a better recollection about some of the things I'm not sure about.

Boy, haven't things changed!

i remember when TAB first started in Tasmania. I was working with a Postie (we are postoffice people) in a nearby town and he liked to punt.
One day not long after the TAB started he placed $40 to win on a horse (around 1977). The tote was about 150 yards away so he walked down put the bet on and came back to work and sneaked the race on the radio.
the horse won. The postie walked back to the tote to pick up his winnings.
He was paid $40. yes that's right after backing the winner all he got back was his original money.
the tote over here struggled in its early days and after taking its share of the pool and most money being on the winner the punter got back his original stake.

also reminds me of the days when i used to go to the dogs in the 60's
you could bet with heaps of bookies or on the course totalisator.
often a tote place bet of five shillings would return 2/6 which is half what you put on even though you dog might have won or finished second.
so for winning you got back half your money.

you think its tough these days but boy back in those days you were on a hiding to nothing.

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laurie