If there’s one thing I know about horse racing, it’s that I love it! The rest is a bit of a mystery… You soon learn to shut out the pain of having spent the previous evening studying form for a few hours, only to see your big bet of the day well beaten by a 33/1 shot a first-timer in your group picked because its name vaguely sounds like that of a great uncle they aren’t 100% sure is even still alive. But in a sense that’s part of the fun, it’s a great leveller and a day out anyone can enjoy. I’ve lost count of how many people i’ve managed to drag to a meeting who insisted previously the sport was boring, only to soon get caught up in it all rabidly cheering on a horse they’ve backed as though it was their own child!
I’ve always enjoyed going racing and there’s a particular buzz to be had from visiting a new course in the same way many find one in ticking off football grounds. They all have their own character and quirks and regardless of where it is, there are few better feelings watching sport than when your horse is traveling well and hits the front with a few to go.
For me it’s the same whether it’s a big meeting with attendances in the 10’s of 1000’s, or a floodlit winter meet with the diehards at Wolverhampton. You go into each hoping this is the one you walk away from with a wad big enough to knock a house down. You chew the end of a pen to bits wading through a card whether it’s a meet full of group races, or one littered with sellers and maidens offering up about as much reliable form to go on as there is for the cat herding World championships. Invariably dreams of big wads and yachts are replaced quite quickly with aims to win enough to cover the day/your bets, with those in turn looking increasingly fanciful as the afternoon wears on and you’re left waging your soul on the not so lucky last! But it’ll be different next time…
My aim is to visit every racecourse in Great Britain, which there are 59 of at the time of writing. I also hope to tick off a number of Northern Ireland/Rep of Ireland courses along the way.
At present I have visited York, Redcar, Thirsk, Wolverhampton, Beverley, Pontefract, Doncaster and Wetherby. In other words, there’s a long way to go in every sense of the word!
This blog is to keep a record of the quest to tick off the other 51 whilst writing a load of nonsense nobody will read and providing an opportunity to laugh at how bad I am at picking winners.
Bobbinson Crusoe 