Cryptic crossword clue
System of betting in Lima, Peru – put off, losing plenty, initially 4-6

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 6 letter word PARI MUTUEL

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
P
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "System of betting" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case system of betting = pari mutuel.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does PARI MUTUEL mean?

PARI MUTUEL noun
  1. Any betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house take are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all placed bets.
  2. A booth used to place such bets, or a machine used to record bets and calculate payoffs.

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