I gave myself £10 to spend - some of the others were betting (and losing) ridiculous amounts, but I wasn't there to make money (God help me if I did with my dormant gambling gene). There were seven races on the card, so I figured £1 per horse would do. We started with an accumulator - a spread of bets across the first six races. I picked two horses per race for a placed finish and put aside £3 for it. However, I'd got my calculations wrong and ended up spending £6.40 on a single bet. I decided there and then I'd place no more bets until my accumulator bust - which it duly did in the second race. Even then I held back on my money until the last two races: a £4 each-way bet on Grizedale (picked because it was the name of my college) flopped in the 4.55 and so - having gone slightly over my budget, and determined that the Independent's racing tips must surely produce a winner in the last race (they'd failed miserably in the previous six), I decided to put £2 on its tip - Portal - to win. I took one look at the odds and thought, sod it, I'll put my £2 on the outsider, Senor Dali.
Guess which one won?
That's right, the outside romped home and I got £17 back on my £2 stake, meaning I was up £5 on the day. Actually I ended up £5 down on the day as I handed £10 of my winnings to my wife in a fit of generosity, but you get my drift.
That's twice I've come out of the races up on my original stake. Another valuable lesson was learned in the process - when it comes to studying the form book and using newspaper recommendations, forget it. Instead, pick a name and go for it. And never bet on an accumulator...
[Listening to: Telephone Line - Electric Light Orchestra - (03:43)]
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