And The Race Is On!

"I don't have any set format. I normally go by the name and / or a gut feeling that I have at the time. Sometimes the gut feeling can be due to a dodgy curry!...As most males will tell you that is simply not the case. It's a bit like a guy telling his wife that all women's shoes are the same"

The first Tuesday in November is a very special day in Australia. No, it's not a birthday of a famous celebrity or anything similar, but is the day that Australia downs tools to watch a horse race. Yes that's correct, folks - the global financial crisis is put on the back burner while Australian's bet vast sums of money on the outcome of a horse race!

To be truthful, I contributed to the vast sums waged by outlaying $32. Yes, I am the last of the big spenders. As for the race itself some punters study the form guide intensely. Others will look at the horse and it's colours and then decide to bet on that one. As for me, well, I don't have any set format. I normally go by the name and / or a gut feeling that I have at the time. Sometimes the gut feeling can be due to a dodgy curry!

So I studied the form guide on the night before and selected 4 horses. Part of my reasoning is that if there are 24 horses in the race and I back 4 of them then I have a 1 in 6 chance of winning or, for the accountants out there, 16.67%.

As I was making my way to (the ever shrinking) Mothership on the morning of the race I put my bets on. As I handed over my betting slips the cashier gave me some bad news.

"Number 16 has been scratched, what number do you want now?" said the unenthusiastic and extremely bored cashier.

I was now nonplussed. I had no other horse that I liked the look of. Quickly my mind came up with a replacement number.

"Erm, I'll take number 12 then please" I mumbled in reply.

The cashier screwed up her nose and said "okay then" in a tone that indicated that I had chosen a horse with three legs! This did not fill me with a lot of confidence. Anyway, I had three other horses to fall back on.

The morning in the Mothership seemed to fly by and it was soon time to make our way to watch the race. The company had put on some food and drinks and the race was being broadcast on two huge screens. I had also entered a sweep and had picked the favourite. Maybe I would be in the money after all?

The race started and it soon became apparent that the favourite was not going to win. Oh well, I thought, at least the food is nice. At this stage a co-worker (aka Jia) asked me if I wanted another drink. Naturally my reply was in the affirmative. I asked for another Corona beer.

Within seconds Jia was back with my drink. "What's this?" I asked astounded. Jia was taken aback and replied "it's a beer".

This was correct but it was a LIGHT beer. I pointed this out to Jia who informed me that all the beers looked the same.

As most males will tell you that is simply not the case. It's a bit like a guy telling his wife that all women's shoes are the same. Obviously, if this was said he could expect a tirade of abuse and a lecture on why women's shoes are all different.

I decided to drink the light beer as the race was still on. Anyway it is alcohol after all, I suppose.

The race finished and I realised that I hadn't won. For the record the winning horse was called 'Viewed' and it won by a short nose. Actually I wonder if horses have different sized noses like us humans?

I made my way back to my desk and pulled out my betting slips. It was then I noticed that horse 12 (Bauer) was the one that just failed to win the race (obviously it's nose was too small). I had the second placed horse! I won the princely sum of $13.80!

After work I made my way back to the outlet where I had placed my bets. I was looking forward to telling the cashier that number 12 came second! However, when I got there the outlet had shut for the day.

My bragging would have to wait for another time.

Comments

. said…
I know very little about Australian anything so I will be paying attention ... avidly!

Thanks for your lovely comment

Beth
Unknown said…
Forgive me for my long absence but it is nice to be back.

My best run in the Cup was in the early 80's - I entered the office sweep and placed a bet on the jockey wearing purple (my favorite color), and a horse called "The Phantom" because I was being passionate about "The Phantom of the Opera". Total investment $4. Yes I won the sweep and got a return on both of my bets - total winnings $42. I retired from betting on horses that day (always go out on top) - there was no way i could every fluke that again lol

Since then I have catered for functions most years, this one was a delicious day off (I didn't offer my catering services) in which I slept :-)

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