National Fever

[Ken4155]

Once again it's that time of the year when those nervous once-a-year punters descend upon the bookies with that rabbit-in-the-headlights look in their eyes, asking regular punters how to write their betting slips. And, once again, i find myself up to my eyeballs in stats and facts and figures and maybes and maybe-nots. Although i have not yet decided which unfortunate beast will carry my main hopes (though i am leaning toward Goonyella @ 20/1 - especially if Liverpool gets any heavy rain between now and tea-time tomorrow) but i will pass on one little piece of info that may (or may not) prove profitable. And that is, amazingly, jockey Paul Maloney has been placed on each and every one of his last 7 Grand National rides - 4th, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 2nd, 4th, 4th. Tomorrow he rides Buywise, a 50/1 outsider which ticks a few of the trends boxes for this race. I don't expect it to win but there are a few firms paying 6 places so it must be worth a small(ish) punt that Maloney can continue his remarkable run. Be lucky.

[Prudie]

I know it's a national treasure but spare a thought or two for which unfortunate beasts will die tomorrow.

[Ken4155]

Personally i hope i don't have to, Prudie, and that all horses and riders return safely to the unsaddling enclosure.

[Cloverjo]

I used to work in a betting shop, and we'd have loads of people coming in who didn't have a clue what they were doing. They were surprised to be told that a pound each way cost £2.

I don't like it when owners and trainers say "We just want the horse back safely." If that's their primary concern, don't send him out to race.

[PankySmooch]

Gone for Aachen, Holywell and Unioniste all e/w

[Ken4155]

The protractor, compass, slide rule and spirit level have been put away and i have my 5 selections;
Main bet = Goonyella @ 20/1 - would have preferred some rain, but hey-ho
Jockey Form = Buywise @ 50/1 - Maloney sure knows how to ride this course
Against stats = Saint Are @ 18/1 - last year's runner-up
Lucky pin - Soll @ 66/1 - could sneak into a place, 1-2-3-4-5
Well in = The Last Samurai - improved since weights were allocated

The first 4 are all e.w. bets but the last is a free £5 bet with Stan James who are offering top prices from 10 a.m. so it will depend on what price i get whether i go for the win or e.w.
Best of luck all

[woofgang]

....and once again I look at the stats of horses killed while racing and the stats about what happens to horses who don’t make it as racers or whose career is over and I wonder how it can be called sport.

[Ken4155]

^^
There's always one.

[woofgang]

more than one this year, Prudie and Cloverjo have also commented.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-grand-nationals-deadliest-fences-aintree-racecourse_uk_5703cb93e4b0884065f1519a?2cse91hiapq281tt9

[Ken4155]

^^
Then one of you should have started your own thread, maybe?

[woofgang]

Why?

[Cloverjo]

Ok, fair enough. The OP was about betting on horses, not their safety.

[PankySmooch]

I wouldn't bother responding Ken, these people know nothing about racing or the welfare of horses, where are they on a Monday afternoon during a meeting at Newton Abbot when there's a fatality?

[mallyh]

I am one of the rabbits in the headlights lol but I have a scientific way of selecting a horse ......finger poised in the air and where ever it falls is my horse x

[Ken4155]

And where has it fallen today, mallyh?

[Cloverjo]

I used to pick horses based on a nice name. I don't bother any more. There was a weird spell in New York once when I'd pick a horse for each race and all of them won. I only bet tiny amounts, so didn't make loads of money, but while it lasted I felt invincible. I can kind of understand how people become addicted.

[Prudie]

If you know anything about racing and horses then you would know a thread about the National would attract such comments, they are not a batty minority who hold them. There would be a considerable swing in opinion if every single horse that gets injured didn't get put down.

[mallyh]

katenko and sir des champs ......mine are still running from last year I think lol x

[Ken4155]

woofganag @ 10;08, "Why?" Not going to get into a running argument with you woofgang, but i will say i respect your point of view. And if you - or anyone else - had opened a thread on the subject of racehorse fatalities, etc, you would have probably had a sensible discussion. Some people seem to think that all punters are concerned about is their wallets but no one likes to see these tragedies happen.

[Togo]

Shutthefrontdoor, Silviniaco Conti, Gallant Oscar. All e/w and a little tri cast.

'She who must be obeyed' goes Holywell.

I bet the ones who scweem and scweem never think about what's in their tins of cat food.

[Bathsheba]

http://newsthump.com/2016/04/08/excitement-builds-for-annual-horsey-festival-of-death/

Just sayin'.......