A tote board is a numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon.
Tote Board at Hollywood Park, California
Behind the betting windows at Ascot racetrack, Australia February 1939
Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets. In some countries it is known as the tote after the totalisator, which calculates and displays bets already made.
Betting on the Favorite, an 1870 engraving