punchestown

It certainly looks like a roulette wheel.

The croupier looks creepier ...

An account of a court case at Down Assizes (Freeman's , Wednesday, March 11, 1840) centres around a "fraudulently constructed" roulette table at Downpatrick races, by means of which James Perkins cheated several people "of divers sums of money". Here's a snippet including a description of the dodgy roulette wheel. So roulette at a racecourse wasn't unheard of. BTW later in the account , after a witness was asked if he had played in the tent A pause ensued, which was sufficiently significant to cause the court to be convulsed with laughter, which was joined by the learned judge himself The defence counsel argued that a tent was not a house, so it wasn't covered by legislation concerning gaming houses. The judge sentenced Perkins to 3 months imprisonment and £100 fine, but the sentence was suspended pending a decision from the Court of Queen's Bench.

And in an account of "The Card-Cheating Case at Brighton" (Freeman's Monday, July 26, 1852) a witness says he had played roulette at races before this, and generally lost; he had never heard of anybody that won (a laugh). This suggests that roulette wheels at races (a) were commonplace and (b) fixed

... and in 1862 The plaintiff , on examination, stated that he kept a roulette table at races, and also used "bones" (dice) at races; was last convicted of gambling at Limerick; gave up going to races September last; he went to races with a roulette table for the purpose of opposing parties who had robbed him of £600 ... The jury found for the plaintiff one farthing damages

Dandy indeed

DannyM8 Thinking of switching to DandyM8? :)

There's no DOG!!! How can you have that many horses and not have a dog to bark at them? It's not natural I say. Great shot of the old pub - when it was an hotel no less!

I love the old picture, great find but that was a good point, not dog in sight. Did someone SHOOT the poor brutes?

Swordscookie Do you know where this was/is then, Sean? Would love a Google Maps link. Think we need to get Niall McAuley to do a Google Maps linking seminar with you... :)

"In 1868 the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, attends the festival much to the disapproval of his mother, Queen Victoria" www.punchestown.com/history.asp

It does look busy and with a cross hatch of people and dress.

Need the collective noun for sergeants.

I think this artist's impression shows the same stands.

OS 25" link at GeoHive