It's Cheltenham

[Onelife]

What with several of my good forum friends having lost out having decided to cancel their cruises l thought it an appropriate time to bring a little joy into their lives......l mean, another £20 lost ain't going to make a lot of difference is it?

With most bookies going nrnb (none runner no bet) it's time to spectacle to accumulate, so with this in mind 'onelife' is putting up two horses for Cheltenham...

The first of which is declared to run Friday......"Mohaayed"... currently trading at 10/1.... should give us a good run for our money.....its form figures won't endear you to backing it but D Skelton (trainer) has earmarked this race for some time.

The second horse "Barra" which is declared for two races on Friday (l think it will run in the 5.30?)
Note...As yet this horse won't get into the race due to other horses needing to drop out, however, if it dose get in the 50/1 in places 33/1 generally looks a steal for a good run.

As always no whinging if they get stuffed.

P.s I will post my daily selections for your tv viewing entertainment.... starts Tuesday.

[Onelife]

Update..."Barra" is a none runner........presumably the trainer didn't want it traveling from Ireland knowing it might not make the handicap cut.

[Stephen]

I haven't a clue what your talking about

[Manoverboard]

That makes two of you …. just saying

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'm a non runner too. Do I get any money for that?

[Onelife]

Stephen/Mob

You will probably be none the wiser but here goes....National hunt races generally have no more than 30 runners in a race. There are different types of races dependent on the horses ability. Graded races (best horses) generally carry the same weight where handicap races carry different weights, best horse getting top weight, worst horse bottom weight... as judged by the 'handicapper' (person who assesses the horses ability)

You tend to get many horses declared for Cheltenham most of which won't get into the race because of their allocated weight (top weight being 12 stone, bottom weight 10 stone)
Trainers tend to keep their horse declared if they fall just outside the top 30 in the hope that other horses will drop out....In this case the next best handicapped horse will take their place.

So in the case of "Barra" 11 horses would have had to drop out for it to get into the race (not unusual in handicaps) however, in this case the horse would have had travel over from Ireland therfore l can only presume it was to much of a gamble for owner/trainer considering the cost implications.

I placed £25 win £5 place on ""Barra" today but only because my bookie was going nrnb.... had l placed the bet yesterday (antipost) then l would have blown my money. My £25 win on "Mohaayed" still stands.

Thinking about it l think you two should stick with your knitting

[Happydays]

I will need to join them, sounds like double Dutch to me

[Stephen]

Stephen/Mob

You will probably be none the wiser but here goes....National hunt races generally have no more than 30 runners in a race. There are different types of races dependent on the horses ability. Graded races (best horses) generally carry the same weight where handicap races carry different weights, best horse getting top weight, worst horse bottom weight... as judged by the 'handicapper' (person who assesses the horses ability)

You tend to get many horses declared for Cheltenham most of which won't get into the race because of their allocated weight (top weight being 12 stone, bottom weight 10 stone)
Trainers tend to keep their horse declared if they fall just outside the top 30 in the hope that other horses will drop out....In this case the next best handicapped horse will take their place.

So in the case of "Barra" 11 horses would have had to drop out for it to get into the race (not unusual in handicaps) however, in this case the horse would have had travel over from Ireland therfore l can only presume it was to much of a gamble for owner/trainer considering the cost implications.

I placed £25 win £5 place on ""Barra" today but only because my bookie was going nrnb.... had l placed the bet yesterday (antipost) then l would have blown my money. My £25 win on "Mohaayed" still stands.

Thinking about it l think you two should stick with your knitting

I'll sleep easier knowing that

[Onelife]

Stephen/Mob

You will probably be none the wiser but here goes....National hunt races generally have no more than 30 runners in a race. There are different types of races dependent on the horses ability. Graded races (best horses) generally carry the same weight where handicap races carry different weights, best horse getting top weight, worst horse bottom weight... as judged by the 'handicapper' (person who assesses the horses ability)

You tend to get many horses declared for Cheltenham most of which won't get into the race because of their allocated weight (top weight being 12 stone, bottom weight 10 stone)
Trainers tend to keep their horse declared if they fall just outside the top 30 in the hope that other horses will drop out....In this case the next best handicapped horse will take their place.

So in the case of "Barra" 11 horses would have had to drop out for it to get into the race (not unusual in handicaps) however, in this case the horse would have had travel over from Ireland therfore l can only presume it was to much of a gamble for owner/trainer considering the cost implications.

I placed £25 win £5 place on ""Barra" today but only because my bookie was going nrnb.... had l placed the bet yesterday (antipost) then l would have blown my money. My £25 win on "Mohaayed" still stands.

Thinking about it l think you two should stick with your knitting

I'll sleep easier knowing that

I sometimes wonder which time zone you're in Stephen

[Manoverboard]

Thanks OL ….

[towny44]

I think it's much easier to stick with the Lottery, at least when you lose you can blame lady luck, with Keefy's horses he only has himself to blame when he loses.

[Onelife]

Hi John,

To a level stake you have a far better chance of winning on the gee gees than you have doing the lottery...just saying.

The golden rule of betting is to gamble for fun, not to win money which it has to be said is where many punters fall short.... most punters don't have the restraint to enjoy the sport.

Whilst l enjoy picking up my winnings this is not where my enjoyment comes from, for me it is the studying of form ( two hours most days) and whilst there are no guarantees that this will find you the winners it does cut down the chance of picking losers. Basically l get great satisfaction out of finding winners that by enlarge escape the less knowledgeable....mug punters.

[barney]

I enjoy a day at the races but never gamble on the geegees outside of that.
I feel that the odds are way too stacked in favour of the bookies.
I’ll have a grand national bet for fun if I remember.
Cheltenham looks amazing.
We have friends going .

[Onelife]

Hi Barney.....betting blind is never going to return a profit.....The bookies love those who do.....its their bread n butter.

Whilst l agree to some extent about the odds being stacked in favour of the bookies, recent years have shown this margin to have shrunk somewhat. The online gambling has made the top 20 or so top bookies ultra competitive which in turn favours the punter with better odds and betting offers.

You are correct in saying the odds are stacked in the bookies favour in one aspect....All bookies both on and off course have computerised systems whereby every bet is logged then automatically adjusted to ensure their losses are kept to a minimum. As an example.....If a punter has £50 on the fav the odds of the other horses are adusted to make them more attractive to punters...Some shorten most go out... if the fav gets stuffed they generally do well....If the fav wins their losses will be kept to a minimum because they have given better odds on the ones that get beat.....win....win generally.

As you say the atmosphere around the race track is a real buzz.....l'm off to Ludlow races on the 17th.

P.s l don't generally back anti-post but l have had a tenner on "Traffic fluide" for the National......l got odds of 50/1....its now 25/1 I places......All it needs to do now is win.

[Onelife]

We're off!!!!

Just for your viewing interest (or not) these are my selections for the first day at Cheltenham.

I've done a 50p lucky 31 on the 5 horses and l've had £20 win on "Discorama"

Total stake £35.50.

1.30 Asterisk Forlonge

2.10 Fakir D' Oudairis

2.30 Discorama

3.30 Epatante

5.30 Carefully Selected

[Manoverboard]

So that's half for you and half for the wife then ?

[Stephen]

So that's half for you and half for the wife then ?

What's hers is mine and what's mine's me own......as they say

[Onelife]

listen up....when i put my bet on this morning i had just one bet which has just won at 10/1...I took best odds so got 12/1

Stake £5...return £60

Who needs shares

[Jan Rosser]

My 97 year old mother will have a do not disturb on the front door for the rest of the week She is a big horse racing fan and has been looking forward to the festival - she would have been very disappointed if it had been cancelled

[towny44]

If it's raining down there as much as up here, then the going will be very heavy indeed.

[allatc]

250,000 people expected in Cheltenham over the period of the festival.

Odds on Coronavirus explosion ?

[Onelife]

My 97 year old mother will have a do not disturb on the front door for the rest of the week She is a big horse racing fan and has been looking forward to the festival - she would have been very disappointed if it had been cancelled

Hi Jan...l remember you telling us about your mother's interest in the gee gees.....l'm pleased to hear she's still going well

p.s l've heard people can go 4 days without food when Cheltenham is on

[Onelife]

If it's raining down there as much as up here, then the going will be very heavy indeed.

We've had a lot of rain here over the past two days so it sure will throw up a few interesting results due to the going......l'm thinking the horse l've backed today "Discorama" should handle the conditions but it's going to be tough going for all of them.

[Onelife]

We're off!!!!

Just for your viewing interest (or not) these are my selections for the first day at Cheltenham.

I've done a 50p lucky 31 on the 5 horses and l've had £20 win on "Discorama"

Total stake £35.50.

1.30 Asterisk Forlonge.......4th

2.10 Fakir D' Oudairis.....2nd

2.30 Discorama.........3rd

3.30 Epatante......1st

5.30 Carefully Selected......down the field.


Total stake £35.50.

Total loss £29.00

Great racing today with a scintillating ride by Rachel Blackmore on "Honeysuckle"

As they say tomorrow is another day but tomorrow will be more of a watching day for me. I will however be having £20 win on "Canardier" in the 2.50.

Some of the more observant might notice that my Grand National hope (Traffic Fluide) is running in the same race. While it is capable of winning the trainer has said he needs to get a run into him before the Nationsl so is probably using this race as a prep race?

With 30 runners it's a kind of pays your money takes you're chance kind of race.... so not over confident on this one.

[Onelife]

A case of so near so far today

"Canardier". .....fell at the last when challenging

Total stake £20

Total loss £20

Onwards and upwards

Tomorrow selections....

1.30.. Mr Fisher £5 win
2.10...The Storyteller £10 win
4.10.. Le Bague au roi £10 win
5.30... Milan native £ 5win

50p win lucky 15... £7.50

Total stake £37.50