Mechanical Memories Magazine

Derby Day
By Robert Rowland
Some regular readers may remember my long search for a 1960s electro-mechanical
wall machine called Derby Day. This search included a regular monthly wanted ad. in
this magazine as well as various wild goose chases around the UK (see my original
article in MMM, Issue 34 April 2009). Luckily, I eventually found a Derby Day and I
thought that a closer look at this 1960s machine would make an interesting story.
It all started in the summer of 1965, my first year living in Mablethorpe, aged ten.
There were six amusement arcades in the main high street: The Empire, Bingo/and,
Queens Arcade, Fun/and, Jacksons Radio and Marine Pastimes. And I was allowed in
them all. I first came across a Derby Day in the Empire, which was the only arcade in
town to have one. The red and white printed artwork on the front glass depicts horses
racing round Tattenham Corner at Epsom on derby day. The horses are numbered 1 -
16, with the words 'Derby Day' above the horses in large yellow lettering.
The winning horses were 1, 3, 7, 9, 13, 15 all paying 2d, 11 paying 6d and the
one you really wanted, horse 5 paying 12d. The even numbered horses were all losers,
so simply any odd number was a winner and any even number was a loser. To play
Derby Day, you would insert your penny in the slot and press the small button just
below the coin entry. All the lights would flash and three seconds later one numbered
horse would remain. If it was a winner, the machine would pay out accordingly.
As the days went by, I began to notice that a certain sequence of numbers led up
to the 'bob' horse coming in. So I wrote this set of numbers in a notebook, which went
6, 8, 14, 4, 12, bob (that's horse 5, the jackpot 12d win). Then every day, I started to
watch the machine and write down the number of the winning horse on each play.
Eventually, the numbers started to match up and I ended up with a notebook of various
small but reliable sequences. Despite having this information, I only really used to
look out for the approaching horse 5. The bob was well worth winning - it didn't
appear very often but it was a bib thrill at the time when it did, and the six rapid bangs
of the payout solenoid sounded great.
Moving forward to today, as I now own a Derby Day, I decided to look closely at
this machine. The left-hand uniselector which selects the winner has fifty positions
and simply moves one position on each play, with horse 5 only coming up once in
every fifty plays. The longest losing run before a winning horse is achieved would be
five coins. A full cycle of the uniselector will result in Derby Day taking in fifty coins
and paying out thirty-six coins. This was definitely a generous machine.
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