The Horse racing thread

[Mac hinery]

Prefers to run without a jockey

[SDarbs]

So I see. Jockey looked impressed walking in again... Oh well there is always big zeb tomorrow!

[Bud Wiser]

Just bringing this thread back to the first fence in case anyone has tips for Cheltenham, things are beginning to hot up now.

Just as a matter of interest, as regards Manilou, he was never expected to win his last three races and I thought that was understood but would have been due to have landed one in two weeks time at about 20/1.  Manilou was rated at 121 by the IRB Handicapper which by all standards put him outside of the donkey class.  I can't understand how when a tip comes up for a horse and it wins at 14/1 (twice) that ye expect the same horse to win every time, or, as suggested the jockey to be on the podium at the end of every race.

In any event, Manilou is no more after breaking a bone in his leg after landing badly on Saturday so that is the end of that - and him.

[Homer]

Saddened to hear that Bud, I for one only backed him the few times you gave him the nod and one of those outings involved a nice return so overall I can't say the horse owes me anything.

RIP Manilou

[full back]

How a gambling addict lost £2.1m 
By Danny Savage
BBC News 


 
Mr Calvert placed up to 20 bets a day at £30,000 a punt


Graham Calvert 

A man is suing William Hill for more than £2m, money he lost gambling after asking the bookmaker not to let him bet again.

At just 28 years old, Graham Calvert has achieved a great deal. He built his reputation as a greyhound trainer and became one of the best in Britain.

It was a job which earned him up to £30,000 a month and he built up savings of nearly £700,000.

He was even chosen to train dogs for international competitions and his reputation should have ensured a prosperous future.

But it has all been ruined by his gambling habit which has cost him his career, family life and business.

Run an internet search for the words "Ryder Cup punter" and one of the first items which appears is a story about a gambler who in 2006 placed £347,000 on America to win the Ryder Cup.

At the time it was the biggest golf bet in history and, if successful, would have returned £753,000.

But the downside for the punter was that America lost and the big problem for Graham Calvert, from Wearside, is that he was the punter. That, though, was just a fraction of his losses.

Moments of clarity

He began gambling at the end of 2005 and it wasn't just the odd fiver on the horses.

He says he didn't get a buzz out of bets of tens or hundreds of pounds. He wanted to gamble thousands.

At one stage he placed up to 20 bets a day at £30,000 a punt. But, by his own admission, in what he describes as "rare moments of clarity", he realised it was all getting out of hand and so excluded himself from a number of bookmakers.

Some of them wouldn't let him bet again while others only allowed him maximum bets of a few hundred pounds. But Mr Calvert was a big time gambler so he went in search of other bookmakers to take on his bets.

So, in May 2006, he opened an account with William Hill - one of the best known bookies in the UK.

He says up until that point he had been reluctant to gamble with them because they owned the track where he raced his dogs.

After placing some big bets he closed that account after just a few days, although he chose to re-open it two weeks later.

About a week later, after more bets totalling nearly £300,000 pounds, he closed it again and this is when he was offered what's known as "self exclusion".

This, his lawyers say, is a facility provided by bookmakers to help gambling addicts break free of their addiction.

'Account closed'

The BBC has obtained a transcript of the conversation between Mr Calvert and a team leader at William Hill.

J: "Hi Mr Calvert , you're through to John, team leader here. I understand you want to close the account?"

GC: "Yes please, yeah."

J : "Can you tell me why that is please?"

GC: "'Cos it's just far too easy to gamble."

J: "Right, so do you want to be self-excluded at this point then? Which means you will not be able to open the account with us again within the next six months?"

GC: "That's right, aye."


Graham Calvert is claiming William Hill was negligent

J: "Right, well, what I'll do is I'll pass on all the relevant information."

GC: "Right."

J: "The account will now be closed, you will not be able to open it within the next six months."

After a discussion about returning the remaining funds in the account to Mr Calvert, he's told by J: "But the money will be returned to your account and the account will now be closed for the next six months.

"You will not be allowed to open it under any circumstances. You will not be allowed to bet over the phone with William Hill."

But two months later, Mr Calvert did start betting with William Hill again by opening a new account in his own name.

Sacks of cash

It was through this account that he placed the huge bet on the Ryder Cup.

His downward spiral continued and ended up going into William Hill branches with sacks full of cash, using up all his savings and borrowing more than £1m from business associates.

By the time he stopped gambling with William Hill he had made a net loss of just under £2.1m, the amount he is now claiming against them in a High Court case due to start next week.

Regardless of Mr Calvert's big time gambling past his legal team claim that William Hill were negligent in allowing him to continue to gamble after agreeing that he would be self-excluded and that they should be held responsible for the consequences.

But of course there are two sides to the story. William Hill are strongly contesting the claims.

They argue that any individual choosing to place a bet does so as a matter of their own voluntary choice.

The case is likely to take a long look at the issue of duty of care. Where does the responsibility of both the gambler and the bookmaker start and finish?

It will be for the court to establish exactly how and why Mr Calvert resumed betting and whether William Hill can be held legally liable for his behaviour.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7243656.stm




How can soemone blame the bookmaker?

[Mac hinery]

  I can't understand how when a tip comes up for a horse and it wins at 14/1 (twice) that ye expect the same horse to win every time, or, as suggested the jockey to be on the podium at the end of every race.

In any event, Manilou is no more after breaking a bone in his leg after landing badly on Saturday so that is the end of that - and him.

Damn sorry to hear that, I had no expectations Bud,  I just got used to looking for Manilou and as you and Homer pointed out owed me nothing after Kilbeggan I think last summer. 

[Aristotle Flynn]

You never win in the end.

[SouthArmaghBandit]

Sorry to hear about Manilou Bud. That horse owed us nothing after the couple of wins last season.

Anything for Cheltenham?

[Mickey Linden]

Im doing my festival bet this weekend. Going to do a £10 yankee. My 4 selections are
trimuph hurdle - francheok
gold cup - kauto star
world hurdle - inglis drever
champion hurdle - sublimity

What do yous think of the chances in succeeding with this bet?

[SDarbs]

If you've a spare fiver, you could do worse than Angels Share at Gowran this afternoon.

[The Watcher Pat]

Had a £ 1 yankee there

Backboard won 11/2
Tizbar won 5/4
witicha line man.......well beat


Waiting on Kauto Star for about £50

Nice to get a return anyway

[SouthArmaghBandit]

If you've a spare fiver, you could do worse than Angels Share at Gowran this afternoon.

How did it do?

[the Deel Rover]

If you've a spare fiver, you could do worse than Angels Share at Gowran this afternoon.

How did it do?

finished 14th SAB

[SDarbs]

If you've a spare fiver, you could do worse than Angels Share at Gowran this afternoon.

How did it do?

finished 14th SAB

Sorry lads, hopefully none of you had a spare fiver. 

[Homer]

Just imagine the betting in-running...

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=zunP-Aez4IQ