Some people

go to the races to see the horses and to enjoy themselves, but most people are more interested in betting. Everywhere on the course there are bookmakers ("bookies"), as they are called and their clerks taking bets from the crowd. Even if a man cannot go to the races himself, he can still place a bet on a horse he thinks will win. In fact, with horse-racing most of the betting is done through off-course betting offices which take most of the money staked.