Pictured above is the Premier (ATL) odds calculator disc which was a vital tool for the old electromechanical totes, that were lacking mechanical displays, and relied on manual calculations and display of tote odds.
Search Engine & ATL Tote Odds Calculator
Updated: 27 November, 2025, 5:22 AM AEST by Don McKenzie.Odds Calculator Search Engine Tips
ATL Tote Odds Calculator
The odds calculator, was also the title of the person responsible for these calculations. They would read the Grand Totals and individual horse win and place total counters, then used the odds disc to determine the current odds, and then post them to barometers upstairs at the front of the tote house.
These barometers, made of brass strips about 6 inches wide and about 20 feet high, ran vertically along the tote house front between two rollers, one at the top, and one at the bottom, making the 6 inch brass bands about 42 feet long.
Or a better description: The individual horse barometers are like a conveyor belt, with a flat band running between two rollers.
These displayed win and place odds for up to 24 starters (48 ribbons). The odds dividend calculator, working from inside the tote house, manually adjusted these odds. The brass bands had markings on both sides, visible to the public outside and the odds operator inside, allowing them to set the odds correctly from upstairs in the tote house.
There's also a provision to adjust the Government percentage, which often changed upwards. I even got to operate one a few times when staff were running late to country meetings. I had two of these disks. I donated one of my discs to the Australian Computer Museum Society, and the other to Steven Pass.
Powehouse Museum has a Premier Odds Calculator also.The Powerhouse Museum provides manufacturing details and a solid physical description, along with a good-quality image.
Brian Conlon: Note - Neville Mitchell informs me that this indicator was in the paddock at Rosehill Sydney. The building is gone now, it was the main tote building with the machine room in the upstairs area.
Don McKenzie: This indicator was mechanically connected to the machine room, but it gives a good example of what the hand driven barometers looked like.
Brian Conlon's original photo and story.Check out the Search Engine Tips below:
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