It is the 60th anniversary of one of the most significant events in the history of all three racing codes in Western Australia: the opening in Perth’s Barrack Street of the first WA Totalisator Agency Board agency on 18 March 1961.
The Totalisator Agency Board Betting Act 1960 enabled the constitution of a Totalisator Agency Board in Western Australia, to authorise the provision and operation of betting services on totalisators through the TAB and for totalisator and other betting with the TAB and for incidental and other purposes. By the end of the 1960s, there were 161 WA TAB agencies operating in the state.
The Australian TABs have their faults – for starters, I wished they would reduce their tote takeouts and actively promote pari-mutuel wagering instead of pushing fixed odds in their mass media marketing – but they are why Australian connections across thoroughbred racing, standardbred racing and greyhound racing compete for outstanding prize money.
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