 'The Queen' on an open topped London double decker bus |  A small section of the crowd after races finished |  Duke of Edinburgh with granddaughters, Eugenie and Beatrice |  A race |  Picnic and dancing when most had gone home |
The Epsom Derby horse race is a fun festival, a holiday atmosphere. Rich and famous people wear tails and top hats, or gowns and creative hats. In other enclosures, race-goers wear fancy (or even normal) dress to the funfairs. Families and friends bring picnics, music, and even their own DJs. Jugs of Pimm’s - since 1840 the second most popular English drink after tea – sell like hot cakes! http://britishfood.about.com/od/drinkingtraditions/a/pimms.htm
The first recorded Epsom Downs horse race was in 1661. Since 1779, the Epsom Derby has become world-famous. Britain's Royal Family attends annually, attracting punters from around the globe.
We were lucky. £50 each for two Grandstand tickets - the stand next to the Queen! Others in our stand paid £3,000! Phew! At least we ‘won’ the best seats.
But how to win on horse race betting?
Psychics such as Sir George Trevelyan, the famous theosophist, are said to have won fortunes by prophetic visions of winners. I'm psychic so perhaps should have tried that, but didn't.
My mother always won money at Folkestone races. One year I asked how. I thought perhaps she was psychic. She said, “It’s easy. I just watch the horses before the start and choose the horse with the longest legs.” We didn’t use that method.
Another friend bet on horses that had a ‘poo’ before the race, thinking it would feel more comfortable and be lighter, so more likely to win. We didn’t use that method either.
My friendly tenant Ted, a betting man, won thousands on horse-racing. His tips were £10 on Catfish each way in the 3.15pm Specialist Bank “Dash”. And £10 on Camelot to win in the 4pm Derby.
We used Ted’s tipster tips.
Catfish came 4th in the 3.15pm, so we won. Well due to ‘technical things’, we lost £2. How can you win, and lose money???
Camelot won the 4pm. We won £8.
As a non-gambling man, we'd won £6. I was happy.
But my friend Amanda lost. She liked the name of a horse, and backed it heavily, not knowing it had a lady jockey who'd previously come last riding a favourite to win. "That's the last time," Amanda smiled, "I bet on a lady driver."
Memorably, a young man sobbed because he won hundreds of pounds on the last race, so could go home to his wife and new baby with money to spend.
Hmm - how many cried because they left with empty pockets for their wife and children?
The first recorded Epsom Downs horse race was in 1661. Since 1779, the Epsom Derby has become world-famous. Britain's Royal Family attends annually, attracting punters from around the globe.
We were lucky. £50 each for two Grandstand tickets - the stand next to the Queen! Others in our stand paid £3,000! Phew! At least we ‘won’ the best seats.
But how to win on horse race betting?
Psychics such as Sir George Trevelyan, the famous theosophist, are said to have won fortunes by prophetic visions of winners. I'm psychic so perhaps should have tried that, but didn't.
My mother always won money at Folkestone races. One year I asked how. I thought perhaps she was psychic. She said, “It’s easy. I just watch the horses before the start and choose the horse with the longest legs.” We didn’t use that method.
Another friend bet on horses that had a ‘poo’ before the race, thinking it would feel more comfortable and be lighter, so more likely to win. We didn’t use that method either.
My friendly tenant Ted, a betting man, won thousands on horse-racing. His tips were £10 on Catfish each way in the 3.15pm Specialist Bank “Dash”. And £10 on Camelot to win in the 4pm Derby.
We used Ted’s tipster tips.
Catfish came 4th in the 3.15pm, so we won. Well due to ‘technical things’, we lost £2. How can you win, and lose money???
Camelot won the 4pm. We won £8.
As a non-gambling man, we'd won £6. I was happy.
But my friend Amanda lost. She liked the name of a horse, and backed it heavily, not knowing it had a lady jockey who'd previously come last riding a favourite to win. "That's the last time," Amanda smiled, "I bet on a lady driver."
Memorably, a young man sobbed because he won hundreds of pounds on the last race, so could go home to his wife and new baby with money to spend.
Hmm - how many cried because they left with empty pockets for their wife and children?
RSS Feed
