UK & Ireland Racing - Who are we?

[bowles10]

Thought its about time that we understood a bit more about each other & what makes us tick. i have conversed with a number of you guys at various times but know little about you. I am not after personal information here just a few lines on what you are about & your betting preferences etc. I will kick it off, & feel free to generally add comment where you want to & raise any questions to whoever! I turned 40 this year & have been gambling since i was in short trousers.... the reason is my great grandad was a bookmaker from the 1930's through to late 60's. its a pity that i never heard all the stories as both he & his son (my grandad) died when i was very young. My dad has some great tales of the days before photo finishes when he used to stand on the winning line & know who had won so his old man could lay one off against the other! they mostly traded at the London tracks - epsom, sandown, ascot, kempton, hurst park & of course our local dog track - White city which was 10 mins from our's. In the Racing post last year on Derby day, they printed a photo from 1938 & my old man spotted his grandad's pitch in the photo. They blew up the photo for him & sent it to him. we also have some great photo's & also his betting association badges/shields etc I grew up betting on the ITV7's etc & then ventured into betting shops from about 16 when we used to sit in the local ladbrokes on a satuday all day doing 10p win yankees etc I was offered a job on a newspaper when i was 19 as i knew a fella who left the sporting life to become a tipster on this new daily rag. I was in my first job at the time & doing well & didnt want to leave it. I would only have been teaboy but it would have been a stepping stone, that fella now is the racing correspondent for one of the main daily broadsheets & its my sole biggest regret in life! :$ I change my staking plan every day, month, year & that is where i fall down. If i am in poor form i reduce my stakes so much that when i have that big winner, it doesnt make a dent into the debts! I must be more stable & thats my aim. I set up a website last year & i enjoy doing that in my spare time. One day i hope that will go further but my ambition is still to work in the industry. My asset is that i dont always read form & would rather take the trends into account first. Those of you that know me over the years, you know that is the case at Cheltenham which produces some excellent results. There is more to know.... but thats it for now!

[RussP]

Re: ATR - Who are we? I'm Russ, aged 34 (& a half). I've been gambling since the age of 16 and basically got into it because my Dad is a keen gambler too. Before PL, I used to have a Lucky 15/31 every weekend but now I am much more focused, mainly EW singles. I specialise on handicap races as that is where I have the most success, and I generally back EW at bigger prices. I use a set staking plan now, which has enabled me to make a decent profit this year (that has not always been the case, let me tell you!). Memories that stick out for me include:- a) an incredible summer this year where winner after winner was going in b) winning £100 when I was young as my Nan & I went halves on a placepot. She took my advice on the first 5 legs but disagreed in the 6th. She said "I like that name, Niche". Bloody hell, it was something like 25/1 but where did it finish....yep, you've guessed it...2nd:nana c) backing Lammtarra for the Derby after it had won its maiden. Took 33's and it won at 14's. Didn't have enough on it though. d) backing Arcangues for the Breeders Cup and it returned something like 120/1. Again very small stakes. e) Red Rita for the Lincoln, asked my Grandad to take the price. He didn't! It opened at 40's, won at 16's Biggest disappointment:- a) having a Goodwood placepot up (paying around £500) except for one leg. I had Grand Lodge in it but it got withdrawn, putting it on the fav. The fav being Turtle Island from Chapple Hyams yard, unbeaten on soft ground but terrible on good ground. Yep, going was firm and it finished down the field.:@ Favourite horses of all time are Istabraq, Arazi and Lyric Fantasy, the pocket rocket. My local track is Haydock Park, a cracking course.