THE 10K CHALLENGE

Taken some time out to reflect on this blog.........

2009-06-10T12:28:00.004+01:00

as i have not been happy with the overall make up of it for some time, and i also find the updating of it a chore at times............ it was different previously when i was punting/trading full time the blog acted as a decent extra buffer of discipline and i had plenty of time on my hands to update on a regular basis but thesedays with a full time job that takes up a considerable chunk of my time the last thing i want to do is log on to a lap top when i get home to update my daily p/l and record the days events..........

But the biggest downside to my blog this time is the non reporting or disclosure of my betting in respect of what i regard as the premier advisory service that is around namely ............ Mark Holder. I contacted all my services at the start of the year and mentioned to them that i was going to re start my blogging, at the time MH had recently gone private with no new members being taken on and no advertising in the sporting press, this decision has been vindicated as the results since "going underground" have been the best i have known in my 12 year subscription to the service, and they had been pretty decent anyway with a profit recorded every single year i have been a member.
Mark asked me not to mention the bets or service at all in my blog, there was no heavy handiness or threats just a polite request........... unlike had been the case with a another service in the early days of the £30k challenge !!! I was disappointed but i respected his request and his reasoning made sense so i have not reported his bets or comments from the daily messages. This has obviously distorted my figures as my profits from the service have been subtancial (in relative terms !!, im not typing this in my second home in Bermuda.......).
But lets take a recent race we played in;

Two selections;

I play to £100/pt the lay on HORSE B should have been £75 fortunately at the time, my balance on Betfair accomodated precisely a £65 lay so i felt that was near enough and did not bother deposting a small balance to take it up to the £75 mark.

HORSE A £42 ew @ 17/2 LOST -£84
£65 ew @ 13/2 LOST -£130
LAYED £32 @ 6.69 WON +£32

HORSE B £55 ew @ 17/2(BOG) WON +£561
£45 ew @ 17/2(BOG) WON +£459
LAYED £65 @ 6.88 LOST -£382.20

Overall profit on race £455.80

This was not reported by me, yes i could mask it under a fictitious bet elsewhere but whats the point ?? The only surprising thing is that its taken me this long to come to the conclusion that enough is enough and to concentrate on my punting,work and other leisure activities and curtail the blog.

So thanks for the enquiries especially over the last couple of days, and be lucky !!!

http://www.vsrcm.com/ http://www.optimumracing.co.uk/

On the day i decide to pull the curtain down on this.............. Optimum advise 2pts ew on Rosewin 3.00 Beverley a 5/1 winner hopefully the fightback has begun !!!

what was i saying about Essex ...........

2009-06-05T13:50:00.003+01:00

lol well n truly put the kibosh on them !!! got hammered last couple of nights especially at the hands of Hampshire last night. Differing fortunes at Sandown last night but at the end of the night came out with a profit, Optimum continue to struggle whilst the selective ew approach continues to reap dividends.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

7.15 Sandown BEAUTIFUL BREEZE £50 ew @ 10/1 lost -£100

VSR

8.25 Sandown SENSES £50 ew @ 7/2 WON +£210

Essex a one day side to stay on the right side off ......

2009-06-01T21:57:00.002+01:00

even without 4 of their top players, and i learnt this to my cost tonight. Essex are my side i watched them win at Hove last week and will be watching the return match at Chelmsford on Wednesday, but today i thought they were worth opposing especially at Evens against a Kent side that had won 3/4 matches with one n/r but the squad players aswell as Alastair Cook, Danish Kaniera and Grant Flower really played well tonight and easily accounted for Kent. I had an Even £50 myself and then Optimum Sport put them up so i pressed up .............. to my cost.
As with Saturday i reduced my losses as i thought it was worth supporting South Africa @ 4/6 against a ring rusty Pakistan in the 20/20 warm up match , and this they did with ease.

MONDAY

OPTIMUM SPORT

KENT £100 to beat Essex £100 @ Evens Lost -£100

SPORTS BETTING

KENT £50 to beat Essex @ Evens Lost -£50

SOUTH AFRICA to beat PAKISTAN £120 @ 4/6 WON +£80

Another disappointing day..........

2009-06-01T18:18:00.004+01:00

i have been accused recently of bias towards Optimum and there is no mistaking the account bets from the service has been very poor of late ......... again today out of the frame, but it is a very fine line when choosing the account bets and the ancilliary info today was very good, did i make money out of it ??? No i did not, on a day like today all i wanted to do was stay in the garden and potter about, thesedays im not one of those people that will stay glued to the laptop and tv i had more interest sadly some may say in making up my hanging baskets !! The winter is when i will stay in and trade but during the summer there is only one place i wanna be and thats outside. I came in to watch the 3.25 race and the goals from the Cup Final, thankfully the Chelsea winner clawed back the majority of my losses.

SATURDAY
OPTIMUM RACING

3.25 Gooodwood UNNEFER £50 ew @ 4/1 Unpld -£100

OPTIMUM SPORT

CHELSEA to beat Everton 90mins £100 @ 3/4 WON +£75

no oddschecker or laptop ............

2009-05-30T13:02:00.002+01:00

since wednesday had a few days away with the Mrs down in sunny Brighton....... well Thursday & Friday were, Wednesday at the races was more like a cold November and although no doubting the enjoyment was taken away from theday we still had fun, and theMrs wants to return on a better day weatherwise so no complaints here !!

Anyway back today and hopefully some good news on the betting front !!

Good runs continues............

2009-05-26T19:24:00.002+01:00

on the sport courtesy of OPTIMUM SPORT advising the clarets of Burnley in the Championship play off final, not a great lover of BH racing (as well as Sundays !!) so pleased ntg was advised so took advantage of the sun to watch Middlesex @ Lords, who were comprehensively stuffed by Surrey but a decent day out .

MONDAY

OPTIMUM SPORT

BURNLEY to be promoted £80 @ Evs WON +£80

BURNLEY to win in 90mins WON £40 @ 15/8 +£75

Not a great fan .........

2009-05-25T11:57:00.003+01:00

of getting involved on a Sunday but two winning bets and a profit of £275 makes up for any inconvenience !!! Racing is a 7 days/week business and i suppose i should embrace Sundays a bit more especially as i do work Sundays a fair amount of time, but when im not working im usually out visiting family and friends i dont like to interrupt my day by trying to get on, it was a continual moan of mine with Isiris having call backs on a Sunday afternoon certainly did not go down well as i often was on the receiving end of derogatory comments saying the only phone call i needed to make was to gamblers anonymous .............

SUNDAY

VSR

2.10 Uttox EDGEFOUR £50 ew @ 11/4 WON +£165

OPTIMUM SPORT

Aston Villa £80 @ 11/8 to bt Newcastle WON +£110

Small deficit over the last couple of days .........

2009-05-23T18:14:00.004+01:00

and todays loss was personally a tad frustrating as i remember thinking to myself that after seeing Father Time at Lingfield i would want to be on next time out over 12f, not too sure over 10f, i must admit this one does not look the easist ride and gave Queally little assistance in the last 4f, but i would have tried to keep closer taps on his market rival Palavicini ....... lol me trying to ride a race here !!!

I had a comment today asking whether i worked for Optimum Racing i replied to OhShergar and my reply and his comment can be viewed for all to see, my long association with Optimum Racing and Andrew during his time with Mark Holder gives me the confidence that this poor run by Optimum will be reversed only time will tell whether this confidence is misplaced ............ my belief of a profit for the service come end of year is still very possible ......... but i cant deny the results so far in 2009 have been very disappointing

FRIDAY

VSR

7.10 Strat KING EDMUND £50 ew @ 7/1 unpld -£100

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.20 Newmkt FATHER TIME £75 @ 2/1 2nd -£75

OPTIMUM SPORT

Gillingham v Shrewsbury £80 @ 11/10 HT DRAW WON +£88

No joy today.................

2009-05-22T11:38:00.002+01:00

no complaints either, the 2 Optimum bets ran with enough credit but Bin End was comfortably beaten into 2nd whlist El Bravo was not suited by the way the race panned out with the slow pace. A frustrating day as a couple of the mentions won on the day but the service is going through a sticky patch and not enjoying the rub of the green, hopefully as i expect fortunes change very soon ...........

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.25 Goodwood BIN END £50 @ 11/4 2nd -£50

6.20 Sandown EL BRAVO £50 ew @ 11/1 unpld -£100

HCE http://blog.highclassequine.com/ ............

2009-05-19T17:19:00.004+01:00

do yourself a favour when you read this and add the above link to your favourites ......... then sign up to the text/email bet alert feature, free at the moment no doubt it will become a commercial enterprise in due course........... shooting myself in the foot here but if it doesnt it should !! These blokes know their onions or 2 year olds as in this case and although only a few bets so far the early indications are very promising with a 5/1 winner today in the form of Reignier backed in from 12/1 and advised at 7/1 via a text.

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM SPORT

4.10 Yar DANCING JEST £37 ew @ 9/1 £38 ew @ 8/1 2nd +£52.40

HCE http://blog.highclassequine.com/

2.20 Muss REIGNIER £25 ew @ 6/1 WON +£180

Crystallize ......... a most welcome 9/1 winner courtesy of me !!!

2009-05-18T22:35:00.002+01:00

Thursday 30th April and on a quiet afternoon the 4.30 Folkestone was proving to be a lively betting heat, this 7f handicap a class6 affair was proving popular with the shrewdies, first King of Defense was all the rage being backed as if defeat was out of the question from 6/4 into 8/11 and then more of a slow burner was the Andy Haynes trained Crystallize supported EW from 20/1 into 15/2, both of these got turned over and i was sitting on decent positions that counted for nought in the end. Crystallize though entered my notebook as Seb Sanders accepted the situation quickly as his run was blocked 3 times within the last couple of furlongs. I waited for some confirmation of support from the early prices before placing my bet, so i missed the 10/1 on offer early doors but 9/1 will do very nicely !!! I was expecting the price to be within the 7/2 - 9/2 region when i looked at the race on the train this morning, so i was puzzled by the prices on offer, i did begin to question my eyes and the merit of the Folkestone run. It is strange but if the price was lower i would have probably had more on eg £100 ew @ 4/1 but with the 9/1 available i invested £60 ew .............

SUNDAY

OPTIMUM SPORT

Cambridge v Torquay £60 @ 3/4 Under 2.5 goals WON +£45

MONDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.00 Bath CROESO CUSAN £25 ew @ 12/1 Unpld -£50

PERSONAL TRADING

6.50 Wolv CRYSTALLIZE £60 ew @ 9/1 WON +£675

A profit on the day.........

2009-05-17T11:45:00.003+01:00

on a quiet one, with the premiership providing some good news and profitability on what has been a disappointing end to the week. Optimum were spot on in opposing Paco Boy but Pressing was not the answer, but i have confidence that normal service will be resumed, i have made decent profits over time with the service and the recent poor run has not dented my confidence that this will continue.

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.00 Newb PRESSING £50 ew @ 10/1 unpld -£100

OPTIMUM SPORT

STOKE to beat WIGAN £80 @ 5/4 WON +£100

FULHAM DNB v NEWCASTLE £60 @ 7/4 WON +£105

Ntg to report on thursday............

2009-05-16T14:49:00.002+01:00

and Friday was nothing to write home about ............ one of those days when you wished you had no mobile phone, land line or internet connection, everything went pearshaped .......... not a good day basically, wont dwell on too long !

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.40 York VERACITY £50 @5/1 3rd -£50

3.00 Newmkt INVINCIBLE HEART £50 @ 3/1 unpld -£50

9.05 Ham ROTHESAY DANCER £100 @ 9/4 3rd -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

VERACITY & INVINCIBLE HEART £25 ew Double lost -£50

OPTIMUM SPORT

MK DONS to beat SCUNTHORPE £110 @ 10/11 lost -£110

A day that brings you back down to earth...........

2009-05-14T11:33:00.002+01:00

life gambling wise with nothing going right, i should have taken the hint that assoon as i placed my EW double today my second leg was reduced to 7 runners, it did not matter a jot as sadly Players Please broke a blood vessel and finished tailed off and my first leg was unplaced anyway.
Optimum advised Muraweg in the last at York, and this was the one to take out of the race and keep on the right side off next time out, but today he received a puzzling ride from Richard Hills and he only began riding with any urgency once all chance of victory had disappeared.

WEDNESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.55 York MURAWEG £50 ew @ 8/1 5th -£100

VSR

2.00 Fontwell TIMONS PRESENT £52 ew @ 13/2 unpld -£104

OPTIMUM SPORT

Man Utd to win to nil £80 @ 11/10 lost -£80

PERSONAL TRADING

2.20 & 2.50 Exeter VICS WORLD - PLAYERS PLEASE £50ew double lost -£100

VSR SHINE ON THE P/L STAKES .............

2009-05-13T17:20:00.002+01:00

just updating my p/l, the 1st April was my last roundup which showed a profit so far this year of £5410.66. VSR have been the star performers with their low risk EW approach since the 1st April they have advised 13 bets and 10 of those bets have shown a positive return, only 2 were out of the frame and the other bet that showed a loss (£11.40) was placed, the highlight was the 8/1 winner at Aintree recently. I have changed my staking strategy i was previously staking £50/pt, most of their bets are 1/2pt EW but now im staking 5% of my VSR bank so my stakes are currently around the £50 ew level. The selections are received via a text message and the BOG bookmakers must be used in my opinion to gain full profit potential of the bets, as quite often they are opposing short favs that are heavily backed and its not unusual for the bets to drift, yesterdays bet Standpoint was a classic example advised @ 9/4 but winning @ 11/4.
Optimum has struggled so far this year, no doubting that but they have been devoid of any luck or good fortune and i remain 100% certain that come Dec this year they will be showing a decent profit. I am actually considering increasing my staking from £25/pt to £40/pt as when the tide tides i want to take full advantage. Early days from Optimum Sport but they have contributed to my total and my trading and backing from info received still reaps dividends.

P/L up to and including Tuesday 12th May

OPTIMUM RACING -£1278.88

OPTIMUM SPORT +£ 386

VSR +£2112.43

PERSONAL TRADING +£3106.87

SPORTS BETTING +£2443.66

THE10KCHALLENGE ..............+£6770.08

VSR & OPTIMUM SPORT chip in with decent profits.......

2009-05-13T11:43:00.003+01:00

just short of £300 today, it has been a good last week or so with all my services contributing, especially VSR who continue to profit from their low risk strategy of taking advantage of the EW value, we can all pinpoint the races but you still have to select the value, its not always the second fav, last friday they selected the fourth in @ 8/1, i have changed my staking strategy some time ago hence my altering stakes today was 1/2 pt EW of £49ew and my next bet due tio the increase in my bank will be £52 ew.
Optimum Sport was in the money last night which was a touch and rounded off a nice day, courtesy of Burnleys 2-0 victory, they were keen to oppose Reading who have been struggling of late and the advice reaped dividends.

Update of P/L Tomorrow.................

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.40 Brighton WRIGHTY ALMIGHTY £25 ew @ 7/1 r4 20p +£3

VSR

4.20 Warwick STANDPOINT £49 ew @ 11/4 WON +£161.70

OPTIMUM SPORT

Reading v Burnley
DRAW £50 @ 5/2 lost -£50
BURNLEY £50 @ 7/2 WON +£175

8/1 winner ...........

2009-05-13T11:27:00.003+01:00

from one bet on the day(equine variety), selected by my goodself !!! I admit it did feel a little better coming from myself a little added satisfaction to the win, although for 5 days a week i have the opportunity to watch all the racing i want, the vast majority of the action washes over me as i am occupied in work activities but i still watch a fair amount especially where we have a liability, well a few fridays ago i noted Innis Boffin running on off the pace to finish a never nearer 3rd, one to be added to my easyodds horsealert stable especially if upped in distance. Well reappeared today over 1m 1/2f and early support gave me the added confidence to have a little play and bingo a 8/1 winner !! And then Optimum Sport added to the days profit with a small profit on the evenings match between Newcastle & Middlesbrough.

MONDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

4.10 Wolves INNIS BOFFIN £30 ew @ 8/1 WON +£300

OPTIMUM SPORT

Newcastle v Middlesbrough
HT DRAW £80 @ 11/10 WON +£88
DNB Middlesbrough £40 @ 13/8 lost -£40

Got myself out of a little hole...........

2009-05-10T16:57:00.004+01:00

it was not a case of chasing my earlier losses and backing a shortie, i had the bet before the China Gold race. I had backed Dead or Alive on his previous run at Chepstow on a Friday evening and on that occassion had looked all over the winner 1/2 mile out, but found little when the push come to shove, i wanted to be on today over 2 1/2m...........and it looked likely that second place again beckoned before Richard Johnson got to work and the pair produced a fine leap at the last. So this wiped out the vast majority of my earlier losses, it would have been rather annoying to say the least to give back most of yesterdays gains and thankfully this win allayed those fears.

SUNDAY

VSR

2.00 Uttox CHINA GOLD £52 ew @ 7/2 unpld -£104

OPTIMUM SPORT

Man Utd v Man City Over 2.5 goals £100 @ 7/10 lost -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

4.40 Plumpton DEAD OR ALIVE £125 @ 6/4 r4 5p WON +£178.12

A rather decent day ...............

2009-05-09T19:17:00.003+01:00

with a profit of £464.50 well chuffed as overall it was a quiet day for my services, Optimum Sport supplied a nice 4pt winner on Burnley @ 7/5 in the Championship 1st Leg play off, but if i could have been anywhere today it would have been at the Oval where anyone lucky to be present witnessed an amazing climax to the 4 day championship where the game ended in a draw with Surrey 1 wicket short of victory whilst Middlesex fell 2 runs short of their 186 target.
My personal betting profits came courtesy of a few mentions from a well respected source from the West Country.

OPTIMUM SPORT

Surrey 4 pts @ Evens DNB v Middlesex DRAW p/l NIL

BURNLEY £80 @ 7/5 v Reading WON +£112

PERSONAL TRADING

1.20 Hay ELZAHANN £15 ew @ 6/1 WON +£112.50

1.55 Hay JO JO STAR £15 ew @ 16/1 WON +£300

1.55 Hay SECRET TUNE £15 ew @ 14/1 Unpld -£30

3.00 Hex RAS LAFFAN £15 ew @ 14/1 Unpld -£30

BINGO !!!! One bet One winner @ 8/1 ..........

2009-05-08T19:04:00.002+01:00

thanks to Mayor of Kilcock advised by VSR @ 8/1, actually it was2 bets 2 winners as Optimum Sport collected on the 6pt advice on England to win the 1st Test @ 5/4 who won today with a couple of days to spare, so a nice day all round ........... my best news was away from the world of gambling as Mrs D starts a job on Monday after a interview went well and the position was offered to her today, my ladss trip away in September could well be back on the agenda !!!

FRIDAY

VSR

6.00 Aintree MAYOR of KILCOCK £42 ew @ 8/1 WON + £403.20

OPTIMUM SPORT

England £120 @ 5/4 WON +£150

A welcome winner ...................

2009-05-07T18:20:00.003+01:00

in the form of Invincible Heart @ 5/1 for subscibers of Optimum, it has not been a easy time of late but i have previous experience of poor runs from my services and have full confidence that year on year they will produce decent profits. One bet one winner, i have been pretty quiet personally recently but that has been due to a lack of time and funds, i have a seperate betting bank but due to current personal circumstances i have had to dip into this, not ideal but 100% necessary, always try to keep your betting money seperate is my advice, i actually have a dedicated bank account for all my accounts and my monthly statements make interesting reading if its not Stan James its good old Paddy Power !! No bills or other payments it also helps when you come to seek any credit, financial loans or mortgages as some finance companies frown upon accounts that contain many gambling transactions............ quite a joke really when you think the mess these institutions have got themselves into backing the equity and property markets thinking they were backing a sure fire winner and that the rise in values would continue indefinately .............

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.35 Chester INVINCIBLE HEART £25 ew @ 5/1 WON +£150

A unwanted full house ..........

2009-05-06T18:23:00.005+01:00

with all bets falling by the wayside, not only did their lose but i was never in with a sniff of a return today, not ideal in my current financial state with Mrs D still one of many million unemployed, but at least some interviews are coming in. The only ray of sunshine was in the 1st Test as i have backed England who although rode their luck finished the day in a decent position, although a slight disappointment was the sparse crowd at Lords, hopefully this is not a sign of things to come with test cricket in this country. The Ashes will be sold out many times over but it will be a pity if the FULL HOUSE signs only go up for the battles against the old enemy.

WEDNESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.00 Bath CURTAINS £50 @ 5/2 unpld -£50

2.15 Chester HIDDEN BRIEF £75 @ 11/4 unpld -£75

VSR

5.25 Hunt AMWELL BRAVE £44 ew @ 9/1 unpld -£88

OPTIMUM SPORT

Chelsea v Barcalona Over 2.5 goals £60@ Evs lost -£60

Its a sad reflection on my day.............

2009-05-04T15:27:00.009+01:00

when the highlight was planting my potatoes !!! The Charlottes are now in now let nature work its magic ............. on the betting front a quiet uneventful day, a small loss but with me knee deep in compost and muck my priorities today was in the world of the late Percy Thrower !

MONDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.40 Warwick ACHROMATIC £25 ew @ 10/1 unpld -£50

VSR

2.50 Down Royal OSBORN £43 ew @ 10/1 3rd +£43

OPTIMUM SPORT

Histon v Torquay £20 Draw @ 12/5 LOST -£20

Torquay DNB £60 @ Evens LOST -£60

Overall a pleasing & winning day..........

2009-05-04T13:01:00.004+01:00

i was watching some cricket so i was unaware of what was going on in the world until i got home which was not too late as Middlesex put up a feeble performance against a buoyant Kent full of confidence after a brilliant win against Essex after following on in the County Championship at Chelmsford. I phoned up a mate to find out the result of the 5.00 Newmarket to see how The Minever Rose got on, out of the first three so i commented to my mate bet that was beaten a sh........ how did you know he replied !!! Just a hunch the way things have gone recently.
That reverse aside a decent day with identical sums won of £96 from successful advice from VSR (enjoying a brilliant run ) and Optimum Sport who advised Liverpool to win to nil against a very poor and sinking Newcastle side.

SUNDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

5.00 Newmkt THE MINIVER ROSE £50 ew @ 7/2 unpld -£100

VSR

4.00 Sligo MONTY BLUE £40 ew @ 2/1 WON +£96

OPTIMUM SPORT

Liverpool to win to nil v Newcastle £80 (4pts) @ 6/5 WON +£96

A decent day, with profit all around..........

2009-05-01T20:11:00.004+01:00

Optimum racing recorded a small profit today, although it looked like a 15/2 winner was about to be bagged but beaten two noses into 3rd during a blanket finish of four in the last race at Musselburgh.

I had earlier backed a 9/4 winner in the form of the unraced Noseda runner Secret Witness, a classic winning trainer was backing this with us and he does not leave his money behind too often so i followed him for small, and was rewarded as Secret Witness just held on from Hypnotist by a ever diminishing head.

First day using Optimum Sport who put up 3 in the greyhound derby to minimal stakes and then 5pts on Torquay @ 19/20 to beat Histon, a comfortable 2-0 victory gave me a decent day and a good start to the service.

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

5.50 Muss MAISON DEU £25 ew @ 15/2 3rd +£12.50

PERSONAL TRADING

2.45 Ling SECRET WITNESS £40 @ 9/4 WON +£90

OPTIMUM SPORT

Torquay to beat Histon £100 (5pts) @ 19/20 WON +£95

Mixed fortunes............

2009-04-30T15:05:00.006+01:00

over the last couple of days, pleased with my positions overall though, wednesdays highlight was Catch Bobs win @ 2/1 for VSR......... scraping the barrel abit when a 2/1 winner is the highlight of the day but with times hard and funds low all winners are greatly received !!

Thursday was more interesting especially in respect of the 4.30 Folkestone as soon as prices released all anyone wanted to know about was the Jarvis runner, King of Defense 5/4 did not last long............ nor did the 11/10, Evs or 10/11 !!! 8/11 was soon the price all the informed sources were asking around and the bottom of the price was found at 8/11 and then the same faces came on for the Andrew Haynes runner Crystallize ew @ 20/1, 16/1, 12/1 and 10/1. I got on both of these at 6/5 & 16/1 respectively and at the off i was happy as they were sent off at 8/11 & 15/2 during the race i was never happy with the fav but Crystallize was travelling sweetly but around 2f out he was denied a run and there after Seb Sanders was rather sympathetic (understatement) and he was allowedto come home in his own time.........definately one for the notebook.

In a previous posting i pleaded with John Gosden to run Charm School over a mile with some give in the ground, he obviously is not a follower of my blog as he ran Charm School over 7f on firm going at Yarmouth, i wanted to take this one on and through a bit of trading i laid £40 @ 5/4, different running tactics were employed as he was rather prominent rather than the usual come from behind ploy, but 2f out he lacked the pace to go with the leaders and was found wanting and stayed on one paced.

I would like to bring your attention to a new blog i have been following specializing in 2 year old races http://blog.highclassequine.com/ they also have a text/email service whereby their selections are passed on, these can be found on the blog but it saves you missing out on their info, 2 selections so far both involved in photos and both advised @ 11/2 one 2nd and the other was successful, Lady Lube Rye in the 2.00 Redcar.
Reading between the lines (i may be wrong) but i think they will be charging in the future, so get in quick for the free decent info !!!!

WEDNESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.20 Ascot LAA RAYB £50 win @ 9/4 unpld -£50

VSR

6.00 Kelso CATCH BOB £38 ew @ 2/1 WON +£91.20

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.40 Folk BILLY BEETROOT £25 ew @ 9/2 3rd -£2.50

PERSONAL TRADING

4.30 Folk KING OF DEFENCE £50 @ 6/5 3rd -£50

4.30 Folk CRYSTALLIZE £25 ew @ 16/1 unpld -£50

6.00 Yar CHARM SCHOOL lay £100 @3.83 back £60 @ 4.88

(lay £40 @ 2.255)

2.00 Red LADY LUBE RYE £25 ew @ 11/2 WON +£165

http://blog.highclassequine.com/

Its been a quiet few days.............

2009-04-28T20:27:00.002+01:00

in respect of my services and betting, although work has been keeping me on toes & very busy. Todays return to action should have resulted in a profit from Optimum Racing but once again the rub of the green went against them with Crimson Fern being denied a clear run about 1f out finishing like a train and being denied by the minimum margin. The flat campaign from Optimum started today which will hopefully see a return to profits, the 2008 flat season was most successful and a repeat performance will be appreciated by followers.
VSR have been very quiet, but they are very fair to subscibers in these situations by adding days onto their subscriptions, which is fair play to them.
There will be a new service featured from the 1st May with all subscribers to Optimum Racing being given a free trial of Optimum Sport, so lets see how they fare...........

OPTIMUM RACING

Tuesday

3.20 Bath FONDANT FANCY £25ew(1 pt ew) @ 10/1 unpld -£50

5.05 Bath CRIMSON FERN £25 win(1pt win) @ 7/1 2nd -£25
5.05 Bath SIRENS GIFT £25 win(1pt win) @ 7/1 3rd -£25

Hitting the woodwork............

2009-04-23T18:19:00.004+01:00

in the last couple of days, in respect of Optimum Racing especially galling on Thursday as the outsider of the party spoilt the party, but at least a small profit was secured. Unfortunatelythis was not the case on Friday where Dead or Alive who traded at 1.18 in running found one too good and the 6 points went down. It has been a quiet couple of days with work intervening on Thursday !!! and then taking some time out with the Mrs on Friday.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.40 Perth COACH LANE £25 ew @ 9/1 3rd +£20

2.40 Perth ORMELLO £25 ew @ 11/1 2nd +£30

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

7.25 Chepstow DEAD OR ALIVE £150 @ 6/4 2nd -£150

Again had the value ..............

2009-04-23T18:15:00.002+01:00

with 7/2 a 13/8 chance but ended the day with a tiny deficit. Only one bet for me from VSR 1/2 pt each way Casual Affair in the 5.05 Perth who finished 3rd. Not much else to add on a quiet day for me.

WEDNESDAY

VSR

5.05 Perth CASUAL AFFAIR £38 ew @ 7/2 3rd -£11.40

A loss today but pleased with my trading..........

2009-04-21T22:36:00.003+01:00

no complaints, Bubses Boy ran a stinker, surprisingly ridden promiently by Spencer this one was beaten some way out, the run is too bad to be true and this one i feel is better than this, maybe the connections are waiting for another day, the easiest way to get one beaten is from the front. I might be barking up the wrong tree and Bubses Boy may just be a mid 50 rated horse but this one was the one to takeout of the Folkestone race from his debut run and i will give him another chance. I traded well bagging 5/2 early doors as support came in for Shakin John who traded as low as 3/1 in early morning exchanges, a sp of 8/1. I then backed to lay mid afternoon giving me £100 @ 10/3 taking into account all my activity.
It was quite a lively morning with the biggest mover being Cold Turkey backed from 20/1 into 5/1 and then we had confirmation that today was the day, with the other Moore runner and supposed first string Kavaloti being scratched and Ryan Moore switching ousting the 7lb claimer Gemma Marshall. I traded a bit in the morning on the exchanges and quickly got involved around the 11/2 level when the N/R situation became public, laying back at 4/1, all this gave me a lovely position on the gamble, but although travelling well the selection was always playing catch up and i was happy enough to collect on the place bet.

TUESDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

4.40 Southwell BUBSES BOY £100 @ 5/2 lost -£100
BUBSES BOY £200 @ 2.92 back
BUBSES BOY £200 @ 2.50 lay

5.20 Kempton COLD TURKEY £30 @ 14.20 lost -£ 30
place COLD TURKEY £45 @ 2.82 WON +£78.21

calzaghe has not lost any punch ...............

2009-04-20T09:21:00.002+01:00

sorry about that !!! But Calzaghe entered everyones notebook as Matt Chapman stated on ATR after the latest run at Folkestone when running wide on the final bend and then steadily stay on, upped in distance today i was looking to have a decent bet today. I was alerted to him running on my easyodds horse alert, this is a very useful tool and is free, if you dont use it give it a go. Its easy to sign up and a bit of fun to use, add any horse that has caught your eye and add a comment. Then on the morning of a horse alert horse running you get an email informing you of the time its running, all this can be found on www.easyodds.com , another website/blog to have a look at if you have a spare 10 minutes or so is http://www.cubone.co.uk/ i had a enjoyable time watching his youtube videos on tic tac and betting slang, watch them when you have some spare time, like me you may learn something and its all good fun.
Getting back to Calzaghe when i say a decent bet, its all relative and these days £100 ew is a decent bet for me and i was going to have £75 ew on, i had £25 ew @ 6/1 with Paddy Power early doors. But in the end thats all i had on, i was in a pub and phoned up to have my bet but was quoted a price of 8/1, having been 6/1 in the morning i perceived this to mean no market confidence behind Calzaghe, i was oblivious to the fact that 12/1 had been available before support came in !!!
My other bet came later in the afternoon where i noticed support for Players Please the connections know how to land a touch and although missing the fancy prices i was happy with the 7/2 & 4/1 obtained. A mistake 4 out put paid to his chances, but even a flawless round would not have been enough to overturn the impressive Classic Swain, but Players Please is now eligible for handicaps and if learning to settle may be worth following ........... when the money is down !!

SUNDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

2.10 Ling CALZAGHE £25 ew @ 8/1 WON +£250

4.50 Winc PLAYERS PLEASE £70 ew @ 4/1 £30 ew @ 7/2 3rd -£23

Mr Gosden, please run Charm School over 12f..........

2009-04-18T20:46:00.004+01:00

on going with a bit of give and we can be in business, i had a small bet today mainly due to the generous EW terms offered by Paddy Power of 1/4 odds 1-2-3-4-5 & BOG and the give in the ground at the Berkshire course. Slowly into stride, staying on under a tender ride then finishing a never nearer 7th this is a sure fire winner over 1m 2f........... i think !!!

Again not a great day, especially in respect of OPTIMUM who really have endured some awful fortune of late, and today we really had our noses rubbed in it, with the Twiston Davies first string and Optimum advised Tricky Trickster being a late withdrawal and then Nigel winning it with Hello Bud, we did our dough as NRNB was not applicable, and i was busy at work but and this is not aftertiming if i had realised that the trainer had another runner i would have had a £10/20 ew on his other runner, i would but i did not ........... no need to go harping on about what i might have backed !!!

I felt Middlesboro may have built on last weeks success and quite ironic that Schwarzer denied Boro the 3 points, i felt that Chelsea would have too much fire power for an under strength Arsenal defense this was correct but did not matter as the first leg went down.

OPTIMUM RACING

Scot Grand Nat TRICKY TRICKSTER £50 ew @ 10/1 lost -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

2.35 CHARM SCHOOL £37.50 ew @ 8/1 unpld -£75

SPORTS BETTING

Middlesboro 5/4 Chelsea 6/4 £100 double lost -£100

A day to forget.............

2009-04-18T20:28:00.003+01:00

with my only return £3.80 from the ever reliable VSR, although my £38 each way required 3 seperate bets ............. it makes you question whether its all worthwhile at times, but always remember crack on with bets the bookies dont want you to have........ apart from arbing which this is not these careful ew races are ones the bookies hate, it takes effort but i wanted BOG and in this case my £38 ew consisted of £5.54, £23.00 & £9.46 ew........ lucky im not an agent for Mr Veitch..........dont think i would be of much use !!!!

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

5.00 Chelt TRAMANTANO £100 @ 7/2 R4 10p unpld -£100

VSR

5.25 Sedge TREEKO £38 ew @ 11/2 2nd +£3.80

PERSONAL TRADING

2.20 Ayr DESCRIPTION £37.50 ew @ 11/4 unpld -£75

6.45 Chelt BLAZING BAILEY £50 @ 4.40 unpld -£50

Clement Freud............made me cry......

2009-04-17T21:20:00.002+01:00

i can still remember the day as a young kid of 8 years old,on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket, my Dad was standing up in Tatts and in between races i would collect autographs on my Racecard........ my hall of fame would read Lester, Willie Carson, Brian Taylor, Greville Starkey, Tony Murray, Ernie Johnson, Eddie Hide etc etc and they would gladly sign my racecard, then i spotted Clement Freud who i knew from my dads band on the run album and the advert with Henry the dog, so i strolled up to him and politely asked Clement to sign my racecard, he said to me in a rather stern manner ........." i dont sign autographs" at that time my whole little world crumbled around me as i felt so embarressed and felt the world and their uncles were laughing at me !!! i ran back to my dads balling my eyes out !! who quickly put me at ease by laughing !!! Dad told me Clement was a quirky gentleman and that it was not a personal attack on me, although i took some persuading an ice cream cleared my tears !! I never took this knock back personally and in later years i thoroughly enjoyed his articles especially on a Saturday in the post, a character that will be missed throughout the racing world and beyond.

THURSDAY

SPORTS BETTING

Hamburg DRAW NO BET £100 @ 2.92 lost -£100

Not much to say...........

2009-04-14T17:38:00.002+01:00

with none of my services playing although VSR was considering Springfield Raki that won the 3.00 Market Rasen but the 7 runners and price put them off, 9/4 at the time of the message this was a well supported 13/8 jolly.
I had a little dabble with one today in the 4.50 Yarmouth on Buddhist Monk, eye catching last time out when the saddle slipped in a hot handicap on his seasonal appearance, i thought this one had a definite chance, i was concerned with the distance, im of the opinion 1m 4/6f is the optimum trip but this weaker contest combined with the debut run meant that i wanted an interest. My other worry was on the EW terms as Rowan Rio was an early scratching leaving 8, and there was a ground proviso over Dark Prospect but the price started to go so i had £50 ew @ 5/1. Thankfully the dead 8 left the stalls, i was oblivious to the race as work took over, but we finished 3rd, so no damage done.

TUESDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

4.50 Yarmouth BUDDHIST MONK £50 ew @ 5/1 3rd Nil p/l

A quiet Easter...............

2009-04-13T14:33:00.006+01:00

which suited me, no racing on Good Friday was very much appreciated and i had the day off rather than sit at work twiddling my thumbs. So no action on Friday my inactivity carried on through Saturday and on Sunday a couple put up by VSR who literally led everywhere bar the post, which was a tad frustrating !

Monday started off well with a nice 7/2 winner in the form of FLOS LAS DIOMOND from the inform source of VSR, a cracking each way bet that went one better than yesterdays Dazzling Light. Then a bit of trading consolidated this profit, in the 3.25 Yarmouth Thousand Miles attacted the support of some respected faces so i followed in with £200 @ 3/1 and layed back my stake at an average of 3.37 with the gutsy success of Thousand Miles my profit came to £126.00, so a nice way to start the week on monday.

SUNDAY

VSR

3.10 Towcester BUSKER ROYAL £35 ew @ 9/4 2nd -£19.25

4.50 Musselburgh DAZZLING LIGHT £35 ew @ 10/3 2nd -£11.67

MONDAY

VSR

1.55 Chepstow FLOS LAS DIAMOND £34 ew @ 7/2 WON +£142.80

PERSONAL TRADING

3.25 Yarmouth THOUSAND MILES £200 @ 3/1 WON +£600

THOUSAND MILES Lay £200 @ 3.37 -£474

VSR GOOD RUN CONTINUES ...............

2009-04-10T14:00:00.004+01:00

since i have been using the service (jan) my profits stand at just over £1400 that equates to over 56 points profit, they play with the odds in their favour in uncompetitive events mostly, the results have been impressive with the highlight being Zaynar advised @ 25/1 for the Triumph. I have decided to change my staking from today with the service. Im taking the £1405.05 profit as my bank with VSR and now staking 5% of this bank per advice, rounded up to the nearest £ so the next bet of 1/2 pt ew would equal £36ew instead of my current £25 ew. And my bets will always be with a bookmaker offering BOG namely Paddy Power, Stan James, Better or Demmys even if that means taking a lesser price at the time of placing the bet.

VSR had a decent day on Thursday with one bet one winner in the form of the well backed CAOBA who won comfortably in the Wincanton 3.50.

The two selections from Optimum ran with credit as has been the case recently but just not getting the rub of the green, im down about 24 points so far but thats something that a successful run will soon reverse, being a long term member helps in these situations, as you have sustained brilliant winning runs previously and experienced winning more than this in a month. Its frustrating more than anything but playing with the odds in your favour will reap the expected rewards............. its only a matter of time. On Wednesday was pipped for 3rd by a head, becoming outpaced then running on again, whilst on Thursday Black Hills lost all chance when nearly being put through the rails rounding the bend before entering the straight.

A small loss from me on Wednesday which was slightly frustrating as my EW choice in the 2yo race was between the pair who ran behind Star Rover the debut winner was was carrying a 7lb penalty, namely Black Daddy & Red Avalanche both showed promise on their debuts but personally i felt that Black Daddy had more scope for improvement, error on my part as Black Daddy showed nothing and finished last, whilst Red Avalanche built on the debut run to finish 2nd @ 28/1.

WEDNESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.40 Hereford SUPER JUDGE £50 ew @ 13/2 LOST -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

2.00 Nottingham BLACK DADDY £25 ew @ 10/1 LOST -£50

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.00 Ludlow BLACK HILLS £50 ew @ 11/2 LOST -£100

VSR

3.50 Wincanton CAOBA £25 ew @ 5/2 WON +£75

A busy but successful day ...........

2009-04-07T16:54:00.005+01:00

culminating in a 2/1 double on the evenings Champions League matches on the 2.5 goal market, Man Utd Defense has been as wobbly as my gut recently and i was originally going to just back this at Evens, i would have had the Overs my fav, but my fiancee and her family are all gooners so i was going to have to watch this match tonight so i wanted an interest, 1/2 was skinny but it was the side i wanted to be with, but value it was not, oops sorry Dad !! Thankfully for me it all came right and was a nice ending to the day.

Optimum put up All for the Cause today in the 2.50 Sedgefield, it ran with credit finishing second to the impressive Ingratitude, it was put up as a win bet but the race had a few no hopers in it and i preferred the EW option, but it nearly came unstuck at the last when i thought that All for the cause was going to jump the running rail.

VSR had a decent day with Black Beauty being backed as defeat was out of the question, their selection Alfarid was drifting, once again highlighting the BOG offer.

My other bet was on Select in the 4.40 Pontefract, this was all the rage this morning, all the right faces were lumping on, Ladbrokes went from 5/4 to 4/5 in one very quick move, and within 15 minutes 2.32 became 1.94, i managed to acquire some 11/8 and felt happy with myself. Then come the shows from the track and as Big Mac would scream ........... we had flip flopping favourites as Select drifted from odds on to 2.90 on the exchanges, the SP of 13/8 was a little tight in my opinion, with the Johnston trained Kasaa Ed running poorly, virtually being tailed off this did not take much winning, and although Select did all she had to do in winning comfortably enough i dont think the form adds up to much.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.50 Sedge ALL FOR THE CAUSE £100 win @ 9/2 2nd -£100

VSR

3.20 Sedge NEWGATE £25 ew @ 7/2 2nd -£7.50

3.30 Fontwell ALFARID £25 ew @ 4/1 WON +£120

PERSONAL TRADING

2.50 Sedge ALL FOR THE CAUSE £100 place @ 1.90 2nd +90

4.40 Ponte SELECT £80 @ 11/8 WON +£110

SPORTS BETTING

Man Utd O 2.5 goals Evs Arsenal U 2.5 goals 1/2 £50 double WON +£100

I needed that ..........

2009-04-07T16:02:00.002+01:00

a winning day, nothing to shout home about but hopefully have stopped the rot. I have always had a strong preference for the winter game of NH but one aspect of the flat i take a particular interest in is the 2 year olds and today coincided with my first bet of the flat season. This was on Eight Hours in the 4.40 Wolverhampton who had his debut in the Brocklesby where he encountered a troublesome run, being denied a run on at least two ocassions and stayed on really well, i took the Hills price of 15/8 which became 6/4 due to a 20p r4, but with Eight Hours going off @ 11/10 i was happy enough, especially as leading throughout, my £100 @ 6/4 was landed.
Red Jazz made it a good start to the day in the first at Windsor, another 2 year old race but with no previous form to go by and my bet was based purely on the strength of market, with the right faces wanting to get on for decent money i played on the exchanges, trading a little giving me a position of £50 @ 11/5, again content with the selection going off @ 11/8. This one looked above average and won easily by 5 lengths.

TUESDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

2.20 Windsor RED JAZZ £50 @ 3.20 (average) WON +£105.27

4.40 Wolves EIGHT HOURS £100 @ 7/4 R4 20p WON +£150

i never learn...........

2009-04-05T20:35:00.003+01:00

as i woke up this morning just before noon with a hangover from hell, which has not been helped by current grip of Man Flu which has strengthened its grip on me. Got in at 4am this morning after a heavy night in Leicester Square thankfully though i retained enough sense to keep my powder dry and not get involved in the Casino we visited after the pub closed, im not a great fan of casinos punting wise, it goes against everything my father instilled at me from an early age in respect of betting, odds and having an edge........ there is an edge to have but that is either in the houses favour or in films like oceans eleven !!
Well i was not really in any state to risk any of my hard earnt, and thankfully it was a quiet day i got involved in a small way personally and this bet fared the same as most of my recent selections ........poorly !!!

SUNDAY

PERSOMAL TRADING

4.40 Southwell HEIR TO BE £25 ew @ 7/1 lost -£50

Poor run continues ...........

2009-04-04T18:25:00.004+01:00

it may of been so much different if Black Apalachi had completed the course, who was in the process of giving a fine front running performance before unseating at Beechers 2nd time round, quite apt for Optimum given their recent run of non completions due to fallers or unseating. My other couple of bets also bit the dust. My day started poorly with Ainama in the 1st at Aintree laying £50 @ 3.00 on stamina concerns but patiently ridden by the champ and looked likely to land the spoils, but was unable to sustain the challenge and stayed on one pace. Got a decent word for Back to Reality at Chepstow and invested £50 ew @ 9/1, a well connected customer came on for this just before the off, so my confidence strengthened........... only to watch the race and see the horse trail round the back of the field and was never in the race. So all in all not a brilliant day, but at least i had the night off and out on National night with colleagues to look forward to !!

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.15 Aintree BLACK APALACHI £50 win £25 place @ 25/1 -£75

PERSONAL TRADING

1.30 Aintree AINAMA Lay £50 @ 3.00 3rd -£100

2.25 Chepstow BACK TO REALITY £50 ew @ 9/1 unpld -£100

A quiet day all round...............

2009-04-03T16:35:00.005+01:00

both professionally and personally, although a cracking card it was dead in our shops and on the phones, so had the chance to watch some marvellous racing from Aintree. Would have loved to be there and in Liverpool tonight as Ladies day/night is a right giggle, but with me being laid low with a serious bout of "Man Flu" i would not be in the mood for a night on the tiles.

A couple of bets today both with the "value" but that did not translate into monetary return, i fancied Aintree specialist Tidal Bay to give the fav a decent race in the Melling Chase and at 11/2 and a 1/4 odds i was happy pre race but after being baulked mid race he never looked happy. My second bet was on the back of some alert arbers who came steaming in for Carte D'oro @ 16/1 within minutes this was a 7/1 chance, but this ran like a rag where you named your price and never threatened ............

FRIDAY

VSR

2.00 Aintree SOMERSBY £25 ew @ 9/2 3rd -£2.50

PERSONAL TRADING

3.10 Aintree TIDAL BAY £25 ew @ 11/2 LOST -£50

3.20 Bath CARTE D'ORO £25 ew @ 16/1 LOST -£50

Its uncanny ..............

2009-04-02T17:44:00.004+01:00

the lack of good fortune experienced by OPTIMUM RACING over the first part of the year, another first fence casualty today in the form of Chapoturgeon. My day was offset by the winning bet from VSR with the appropriately named Walkon at Aintree that should have been a double maximum !!! But a small loss on the day and not to get a run is frustrating but my confidence is undimmed, fortunes will turn around in respect of OPTIMUM, taking into account all what has happened this year to be only a few points down is quite an achievement, look at the long term not the short term is my advice. I have experienced much worse situations than this and p/l has turned around and i expect this to be just a short term blip, success is defined by a fine line, with the service giving a good word for Madison du Belais and a negative for Denman, whilst in the 4.20 the field was narrowed down to Oh Crick, Tramantano and Leslingtaylor and they finished 1-3-4.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.55 Aintree CHAPOTURGEON £150 @ 2/1 fell 1st -£150

VSR

2.35 Aintree WALKON £25 ew @ 11/4 WON +£85.94

A new day, lets not go overboard ...............

2009-04-01T18:49:00.004+01:00

on my recent poor p/l figures, taking a hit gambling wise is a hard but necessary lesson to learn. Before you can learn to win at gambling, you need to know how to lose............ was a wise bit of advice given to me many years ago, if you are going to worry, shout n curse over a loss then betting is not for you, if you can take a loss or losing run as part n parcel of gambling (it is) then you have a chance. Of course you get a little despondent but if you have confidence in your ability or that of your advisors then then half the battle is won, keep your head down concentrate on your strengths and ride the storm.

Well i was feeling a bit despondent yesterday, so i took a look at my p/l figures year to date and they show me that im over half way to my target of £10k ...............

OPTIMUM RACING -£ 191.88 (7.67pts)

VSR +£1134.11 (45.36pts)

PERSONAL TRADING +£1924.77

SPORTS BETTING +£2543.66

THE10KCHALLENGE..................................+£5410.66

So the overall figures still look good, OPTIMUM RACING with the string of unfortunate non completions have had a sticky early part of the year, but once everything clicks im positive normal service will be resumed !!

what was i saying about regrouping ..............

2009-03-31T19:42:00.002+01:00

that was the idea rather than doing my bollocks as was the case today............ Blogs are brilliant when everything is going swimmingly but with me losing nearly £1200 in the last 10 days, and me taking the honest route they can prove to be a pain in the arse !!! Not easy telling the world what a prat you have been and showing the signs of indiscipline that i try so hard to tell people to avoid, making mistakes are bad enough but then having to put them in print for all to see is hard to swallow. Part of the reason to start blogging was to give me an extra reason to remain disciplined, but looking back at today it was more of a case of being on the wrong horse and barking up the wrong tree.
Early afternoon all was rosey just the one bet £50 @ 3/1 on Bubses Boy 5.35 Folkestone, 5/2 was the best price and the bet was on the back of sustained support from respected faces in Newmarket and i was happy, then i got a call screaming the house down over The Hague in the 3.50 Southwell and i was told to expect support, i started to build a position in anticipation of support ................. how wrong can you be, the sp of 4/6 only tells one story as the exchange price was 11/8 i had well n truly caught a cold !!!! i was screwed and not a lot i could do, my source had recently given me Servoca on Friday 5/4 backed into 4/7 but this one was a right lemon. My exchange position is a tad embarrassing to air .............. but i have come this far, basically i had £325 @ 2/9 !!! Well i knew my goose was cooked pretty early on and i went for a stroll to try and clear my head, the gory detailsare shown below .............

Horse Racing > Sthl 31st Mar : 1m Mdn Stks
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 Selections
Selection
Odds
Stake(£)
Bid type
Placed
Profit/loss(£)
The Hague
*
1.86
900.00
Back

-900.00
The Hague
*
2.22
575.00
Lay

575.00
*Average odds: On Off
Back subtotal:
-900.00
Lay subtotal:
575.00
Market subtotal:
-325.00
Commission :
0.00
Net Market Total:
-325.00

I tried to salwage a little back on the day by having a further £50 @ 11/4 on Bubses Boy and although running much better than The Hague never threatened, to seal a £425 loss on the day.
I cant afford to lose these sort of sums thesedays and some serious thinking and work needs to be done over the next few days, my trip to Cheltenham looks as likely as Spurs winning the league unless fortunes quickly turnaround.

TUESDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

3.50 Southwell THE HAGUE £325 @ 1.22307 lost -£325

5.35 Folkestone BUBSES BOY £50 @ 3/1 & 11/4 3rd -£100

Time to regroup ..............

2009-03-30T17:50:00.002+01:00

over Saturday & Sunday, with a lack of business welcome to me as the last 5 days have been a struggle to say the least, rather than puff my chest out and get brave i have always preferred the cautious approach of stabilising the ship and then rejoin the battle, feeling refreshed and with a clear head.
Only a couple of bets courtesy of VSR, Youzmain did not enjoy the clearest of runs, being stopped in his tracks at least twice and that scuppered any chance of a return, and with the Sunday bet Sea Stormn was only ever looking likely to collect the place money, it was a small deficit on the weekend.

The Bet Plan over the last week has been in good form with a return to decent form, my initial £500 bank now stands at £765.44, it did peak at £820.45 before sliding down a snake to £583 but we found a ladder and we now stand at a most respectable £765 !!

SATURDAY

4.40 Nad Al Sheba YOUZMAIN £25 ew @ 4/1 unpld -£50

SUNDAY

2.10 Kelso SEA STORM £25 ew @ 8/1 2nd +£15

a slip of the finger, or a taste of things to come .......

2009-03-27T18:08:00.004Z

in respect of William Hills Each Way terms for the 5.05 Fontwell today, bookmakers oncourse often offer derogatory each way 1/6 odds 1-2-3 or 1/5 odds 1-2-3-4 each way terms and a recent racing/bookmaking commission led by Lord Donoghue i believe looked into each way terms offered by bookmakers off course, the news was slightly worrying although not unsuspected that 16 runner handicaps at 1/4 odds 1-2-3-4 offer the punter a bit of value........ So the punter has a mathematical edge in one type of bet, funnily enough the commission did not look into the book percentage offered by bookies on BAGS racing, numbers betting, virtual racing etc etc !!! funny that ........ Bookmakers are doing ok at present trading wise, yes there is a recession in the UK but from what im seeing the FOBT machines are holding up well as is more conventional betting, the majority of punters today mirror the "i want it now" culture, the kids of today love their KFC, Macdonalds, Kebabs and the rest and many punters in bookmakers love their Millersfield, Brushwood, Steepledowns they can get an instant betting fix evering couple of minutes or so, i regularly see bets of £200 or more on virtual racing it really defies belief.
Where some of the UK Bookmakers are struggling are the levels of debt that they have to service and cost cutting is prevalent throughout the industry as every penny has to be accounted for and savings are crucial, Sundays are the latest cut back with double time or even time and a half going the same way of the much missed Dodo !!

So a slight tweak of the Each Way terms may be next issue on their agenda, today William Hill offered Each Way terms of 1/5 odds 1-2-3-4 on the 5.05 Fontwell, these went unchanged until approximately 3.30pm, they may claim it was an innocent typo, but my suspicious cynical mind think they would just test the water to see the reaction, well thankfully the Betfair forum was full of it, a lot of bollocks is spouted on their and im a very occassional participent on the forum but today it proved its worth.

Im having a shocker of a week, and i cocked everything up but it was not as simple as that, but i do only have myself to blame, at times work has to take precedent over my personal punting !!! and today i paid the price of trying to combine the two. The first incident was just an example of opportunity cost we took a lump on Sevoca 7.20 Wolves @ 11/10 , 5/4 was available with corals but i could not access the site, the next price i could get was 10/11 but no way was i going to take that 2.02/2.04 on betfair for peanuts, i joined the offer at 2.04 after half an hour of sorting out spreadsheets and general crap i had a look at betfair and i was unmatched and 1.86/88 was the price. I just watched the price contract all day and the 7l victory did not go down well from a company or personal point of view ...............

Optimum played in the 4.05 Ascot with a decent bet on Mizen Raven and i broke one of my personal betting rules of backing and laying in the same race, some may feel if you have a strong view then its a reasonable stance to take but over the years i dont think it has worked for me, or is that i just remember the bad days more ? Well the lay Fire and Rain was struggling and had just traded at 30 and the well travelling Mizen Raven was 2.32/2.40 on the exchanges, i wanted to cover myself.............but my pod partner at work had taken a fag break and i got a shop enquiry and all i could do was watch with horror as Fire and Rain rallied, i could see the inevitable happening some way out but there was nothing i could do as work took over. I was fuming but my annoyance and anger subsided some what after the equivalent of the weight of a bag of sweets caused carnage on the exchanges after Radar Love was disqualified following an objection from the clerk of the scales, again proving there is no such thing as FREE MONEY ............

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.05 Ascot MIZEN RAVEN £125 @ 10/3 2nd -£125

VSR

2.20 Ascot DOVERS HILL £25 ew @ 7/1 2nd +£18.75

PERSONAL TRADING

4.05 Ascot FIRE and RUN Lay £80 @ 3.50 WON -£200

Wish the quiet spell continued !!!

2009-03-24T18:19:00.004Z

but i will take todays loss on the chin and move onwards n upwards. No complaints from me although i compounded the loss on No Supper by having an extra £100 ew @ 3/1 BOG (11/2), the horse travels so well (usually) in his races i was happy with the trade and drift, but he was never travelling and at no stage did my lay trades look like getting filled.

So a deficit of £350 on the day and week, and i will be beavering away trying to get my head in front of the week, have promised the Mrs a weekend away.............. to Cheltenham of course in the middle of April and i need my punting to pay for it, so not a good start !!

I enjoy reading the betting window page in the RP (today p19) especially the job in focus article but the odds compilers/traders views on arbers although understandable to an extent does wind me up a tad............... they are happy using the exchanges to price up their markets and use it as an early warning system and personally i feel they they must expect business when trading/arbing opportunities arise, so they think that "arbing is a tedious way to make money and takes the fun out of gambling"........... so if they walked down the street and noticed a score on the floor they would walk straight past it ???? I DONT THINK SO !! Gambling to me is about making money, today that means supplementing my income and trading/arbing is all part of the game. Take exchanges out of the game (not going to happen) and overnight arbing will be history..................

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

5.10 Southwell NO SUPPER £75 ew @ 11/2 LOST -£150

PERSONAL TRADING

5.10 Southwell NO SUPPER £100 ew @ 11/2 LOST -£200

Quiet couple of days ...............

2009-03-24T12:52:00.004Z

on both Sunday & Monday, actually on the Sunday i missed a losing EW double from VSR which saved me a bullseye, i was pottering about in the garden and missed the text message. My only punting was done courtesy of The Bet Plan that put up 3 shorties that all comfortably collected, which got them back on the winning trail.

Monday was a non event for me, betting wise, so i wont waste your or my time with any baloney !!

Nearly a perfect day............

2009-03-22T09:14:00.003Z

although Arsenal won, at least i profited from it, although it was a close run thing in the Rugby, what a brilliant occasion in Cardiff, and as i get older i could see Rugby challenging Football as my second favourite sport, there is no trouble on the terraces, both sets of fans enjoy a pint together before the match and there is little cynical play, spitting and diving !!
On a punting front i was a little frustrated in the morning, it was relatively quiet but the sharks were out in force for two horses Be Brief 3.45 Haydock 11/2 - 5/1 but a NR and Ratchcor 4.30 Bangor @ 14/1 but i could not avail myself of anything better than 10/1, next time i looked it was a under pressure 8/1 shot !! Even this would have been value as Rathcor who finished 3rd returned a 4/1 fav.
Another horse we were fending off was Legislate in the last at Lingfield, a dodgy ew race with a odds on fav in the form of Jesse James, Legislate was the subject of decent EW interest and i took the decision to offer minimal EW support for Legislate, instead offering full win and half a place................talk about poacher turned gamekeeper !!! A well connected customer made me fully aware that this was a decent EW bet and as he drifted on the shows i managed to get £186 ew on £100 ew @ 7/2 and £86 ew @ 4/1. I was happy with this bet especially as late support came in, but i placed a hopeful trade to lay £200 @ 2.20 in running, this was matched as Legislate battled on gamely inside the last to fend off Jesse James and give me a most welcome little touch.

SATURDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

5.25 Lingfield LEGISLATE £100 ew @ 7/2 £86 ew @ 4/1 WON +£832.80
LAY £200 @ 2.20 I/R - £240 (overall profit +£592.80)

SPORTS BETTING

Arsenal to bt Newcastle 8/11 Ireland to bt Wales 11/8 £75 double WON +£232.67

Got out of jail, with the last throw of the dice today.....

2009-03-21T16:14:00.003Z

thanks to the well primed and supported Mujma in the last at Lingfield, backed from an early price of 16/1 to an sp of 11/2. Shrewdies came on early doors and all the right faces in Newmarket were getting on, so i followed them in with a score ew @ 12/1. This win made up for some earlier reverses, the first of which was backing the weak in the market Fiftyonefiftyone in a match bet with Fistral beach and then the OPTIMUM advised Oh Braga in the 3.50 Newbury, again the market did not inspire confidence as the selection drifted from 6/4 to 5/2, before a sp of 9/4 was returned. Well after the first couple of fences i would not have taken 33/1 as he made early blunders and ballooned the 3rd as if he was at Olympia jumping the puissance !! But then his jumping improved and got into a nice rhythem and in my book was travelling just as well as the eventual winner ............... when he knuckled on landing and fell, although he jumped the fence well, so i needed a fightback and thankfully Mujma provided it.

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.15 Newbury OH BRAGA £150 @ 2/1 unpld -£150

PERSONAL TRADING

2.40 Newbury Back 5151 v FISTRAL BEACH £100 match bet @ 2.18 lost -£100

5.50 Lingfield MUJMA £20 ew @ 12/1 WON +£288

We got there in the end..............

2009-03-19T08:38:00.006Z

with a nice profit on the day, did not get a run with the first bet from VSR after the rein on Enfant du Lune gaveway and broke, and then i traded on No Supper, post race i had a limit of evens, 2.00 on the exchanges to back the horse and this was matched shortly before the off, during the race i had another bet of £100 @ 2.10. My intention was to to lay £100 @ 1.21 & 1.57 respectively, but during the race as No Supper was travelling so well i cancelled the 1.57 trade..... DOH !! So a loss of £100 on the race, workwise the week has been quiet as can be expected after Cheltenham, but around 5.25 the phones started buzzing a few judges were on the Sandown bumper eyecatcher Volador and then a major plunge with us on the Colour of Money, backed by the connections of the Tabor team, i managed to get a bullseye ew on @ 6/1 to give me a profitable day.

WEDNESDAY

VSR

3.10 War Enfant du Lune £25 ew @ 5/2 UNPLD -£50

PERSONAL TRADING

5.10 War NO SUPPER Back £200 @ 2.05 Lay £100 @ 1.21 2nd -£100

5.50 Ling COLOUR OF MONEY £50 ew @ 6/1 WON +£375

OPTIMUM BOUNCE BACK WITH 9/2 WINNER !!!!

2009-03-17T18:54:00.002Z

Courtesy of the Tim Vaughan trained Cava Bien, who again advertised the claims of BEST ODDS GUARANTEED, these days Stan James, Paddy Power, Better and Demmys account for 90% of my business because of this concession and bookies that offer this would always be my first port of call, today 11/4 translated into 9/2, if i knew of the drift, i would have had a little press up as they was no negative reason for the drift. The source of the bet Optimum are well connected to the Tim Vaughan yard, infact they sponsor the yard and have quite a few stabled their, so the information is reliable and most impotantly highly profitable and so it proved today !!

This was my only action of the day as i had a funeral to attend at Noon, so with the message being given at 10.15 i was able to place my bet, the winning SP was a very nice bonus.

MONDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.50 Taunton CAVA BIEN £100 @ 9/2 WON +£450

Cmon youSpurs !!!!!!!

2009-03-16T16:26:00.003Z

especially as todays bet was the end leg of a £25 trixie, when Carew pulled one back left i experienced a slight anxious few minutes but otherwise i was sitting pretty most of the afternoon. Villa have been struggling recently and the green shoots of recovery have mirrored the green shoots in my garden, so i was happy to play up some of my recent sports winning, Chelsea was my banker and the old firm game i reckoned would always prove to be a tight affair.

SUNDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.30 Carlise FRITH £50 ew @ 6/1 4th -£100

VSR

2.20 Fontwell BALANAHINCH £25 ew @ 3/1 2nd -£10

SPORTS BETTING

£25 TRIXIE Chelsea @ 2/5 Tottenham @ 5/2 DRAW Celtic v Rangers @ 21/10

ALL WON +£882.00

after the lords mayor show feeling ...............

2009-03-16T16:06:00.002Z

for me today, although i imagine harry and his scoop6 followers will disagree !!! Congratulations to them and i have a word of thanks to them after their Channel Four interview, as i was watching with Mrs Diggler and she heard one of them had won a share after placing a £2 line, well now the Mrs is determined to have a go each week with a single £2 line, so now i have a valid excuse to go down the bookies every Saturday.............. lets not tell her you can do it online !!!
A quiet day to report and i was well pleased with this approach as i had a lazy morning after getting up late and then promised to take the Mrs shopping, nothing extravagrant only Sainsburys so i was out when the various messages were being broadcast, the only action today was from VSR who followed on from yesterdays success with a 2nd plus a 3/1 winner.

SATURDAY

VSR

1.50 Weth SACRILEGE £25 ew @ 5/2 2nd -£12.50

4.10 Uttox OGEE £25 ew @ 3/1 WON +£90

BINGO!!! 25/1 WINNER FOR VSR...............

2009-03-14T16:11:00.003Z

in the form of Triumph hurdle winner Zaynar, advised before his hurdles debut at Newbury when he accounted for the highly touted Hebridien, 1/2 pt ew @ 25/1 and today he brought home the bacon !!!

I had a great day today, going down to Cheltenham to cheer on Little Shilling, unfortunately there was no fairytale but nothing taken can be taken away from the horse or connections as he has racked up a six timer and now is a huge 53lb higher than when recording the first of those wins, unfortunately his regular rider Richard Killoran was claimed by Nicky Henderson he was fully entitled to do this but i personally thought this was a little mean, i doubt Mr Henderson will lose much sleep over my complaint though !!

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.20 Chelt AIR FORCE ONE £25 ew @ 40/1 unpld -£50

VSR

1.30 Chelt ZAYNAR £25 ew @ 25/1 WON +£781.25

what a day for the bookies !!!!!

2009-03-12T20:56:00.002Z

with the demise of the 2 hotpots in the form of voy poy ustedes and kasbah bliss, lost count of the doubles we took on these today, neither looked comfortable although its a credit to the horse how close voy poy got considering the way he jumped. But from what i have witnessed this week both at the independent chain i work at and my trips into shops during the week, business has declined on previous years........... the machines are holding up though !!!

Tomorrow is Gold Cup day, for me though is all about one horse ...........Little Shilling who runs in the Martin Pipe Conditional hurdle, perhaps we could have done with a little rain and another half mile but hopefully Shilling can get round and sneak a place, Good Luck to connections.

A couple of bets today and both ran with credit, obviously Punchestowns went close but Slash and Burn gave Optimum a decent run for their money @ 33/1 until a mistake about 5 out put paid to his chances.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

1.30 Chelt SLASH AND BURN £25 ew @ 33/1 unpld -£50

VSR

3.20 Chelt PUNCHESTOWNS £25 ew @ 10/3 2nd -£4.19

Small loss on the day........

2009-03-10T18:10:00.006Z

with little damage done, my only winner courtesy of VSR coming from Sedgefield. Cheltenham brought little joy, i wanted to lay both Cousin Vinny and Binocular on a point of value, Cousin Vinny a class horse but had a young jockey on top, fell/unseated last outing and was subject to a downbeat report after travelling over whilst Binocular for me was just too short on last season evidence when second, in fact i was impressed with Binoculars run today in defeat and was both surprised and impressed by the way he stayed on up the hill. Crack Away Jack for Isiris followers was a case of near but so far, i was not part of the Autum gamble at all rates from 33/1 and to missout on a payout was abitter pill to take. In our Raceroom i was called all names under sun from 1 mile out after telling all that could be bothered to listen (just Rosemary the tea lady !!) that Wichita Lineman would stay on to lead and take the prize, again i did nothing mainly due to the boss sitting next to me watching me like a hawk asi managed the liabilities.

The William Hill Trophy win for ...............oh yes there was a horse involved but you would hardly be aware of that on C4 !!!, Yes AP is the top of his game, but today the horse in my opinion was not given enough credit, a great ride by the master but Glen Campbells horse certainly earnt his polos today !!!

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

Arkle Chase CALGARY BAY £50 win £25 place @ 10/l LOST -£75

William Hill Trophy POSSOL £25 ew @ 11/1 LOST -£50

VSR

1.45 Sedge SMARTIES PARTY £25 ew @ 9/4 WON +£67.50

4.40 Chelt Chomba Womba £25 ew @ 7/1 LOST -£50

SUPPER TONIGHT, ROLL ON THE SHILLING !!!

2009-03-08T15:19:00.006Z

after todays win for No Supper owned by Optimum Racing,perfect starter for the connections bid to win at the festival next week with Little Shilling. No Supper was always travelling well under Richard Killoran and jumped for fun, not only did Optimum own and advise a strong bet on No Supper, Andrew the brains behind the Optimum operation analysed the market spot on, advising members not to touch any prices below 7/2, and if you could not get the 7/2 which was under pressure, wait for the shows, after the selection went out the 7/2 soon disappeared with prices ranging generally from 5/2 -11/4, although the exchange price was pretty static trading mostly in the 4.1/4.2 region, the exchanges obviously mirrored the slight drift with 4.8/4.9 available to money near the off.
The service measured on account bets alone has endured a tough time recently, not really in respect of p/l which has remained static, but 2 selections recently have failed to make it over the first fence. I backed the horse with Stan James @ 10/3 but was rewarded at 7/2 due to BOG, so todays win will hopefuly see an turnaround in fortune and the p/l returns match previous seasons.

VSR nearly followed up yesterdays 5/1 winner, but McCoys brilliance in a finish scuppered the win.

SUNDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.05 Warwick NO SUPPER £75 ew @ 7/2 WON ...... pulling a cart !! +£328.13

VSR

2.45 Market Rasen QUENTIN COLLONGES £25 ew @ 10/3 2nd -£8.33

4.45 Market Rasen MY MOMENT £25 ew @ 7/2 r4 55p 3rd -£17.13

THE10KCHALLENGE P/L (after today) ...........................

OPTIMUM RACING +£108.12 (+4.32pts)

VSR +£338.30 (+13.53pts)

PERSONAL TRADING +£1693.97

SPORTS BETTING +£1428.99

THE10KCHALLENGE.................................................+£3,569.38

Also a mention for TheBetPlan that i have been trialling recently my £500 bank has increased to £804.50 since i began.

Got the Cheltenham dough today..........

2009-03-07T19:38:00.002Z

with a £100 treble on this afternoons football, i had £50 of free bets in my account and added £50 of my money and backed Crystal Palace 6/4, Barnet 10/11 & Man Utd 5/6 i was going to lay off the stake when the first two won, but courtesy of the VSR win for Sergeant Harper i was up on the day and decided to let my bet roll.
But the win came at a good time with Cheltenham next week and a faulty ballcock flooding the bathroom at home and requiring a plumber this afternoon, so not much left especially as i paid for Mrs D to have her hair done today ............ Im not a great fan of going to Cheltenham festival week but i have next Friday off and have decided to go along and cheer Little Shilling on in the Martin Pipe conditional hurdle ......... Good luck to connections.
A relatively quiet day with only action courtesy of the successful selection from VSR and Sergeant Harper, advised at 5/1 - 11/2 before being supported into 3/1.

SATURDAY

VSR

2.25 Chep SERGEANT HARPER £25 ew @ 5/1 WON +£150

SPORTS BETTING

£100 Treble Crystal Palace 6/4, Barnet 10/11 & Man Utd 5/6 ALL WON +£774.94

Gambling and racing..............

2009-03-07T19:19:00.002Z

was the last thing on my mind, thursday afternoon as i walked into my local only to find that one of my drinking buddies had died of a massive heart attack earlier that morning, we had celebrated his 50th only a fortnight earlier and a more genuine a friendly chap you would be hard to find. I had a Cheltenham preview night to attend and i was thinking of just going home and having a quiet one, but the Mrs was out and i did not want to spoil her evening and i didnt want to be on my own, so i decided to go ahead, had a good evening under the circumstances but my mind was elsewhere.....................

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.10 Carlise ET MAINTENANT £125 @ 5/2 2nd -£125

a change of fortune required.............

2009-03-05T14:00:00.002Z

for followers of Optimum racing, with the well supported Le Briar Soul blundering and unseating Christian Williams at the first, second time this has happened to us recently and the over the course of this NH season we have had to endure these instances far too often, so a loss of 4 points on the bet, treading water at present with Optimum and this is when the punting gods are not smiling on us, the service as stated many times before is measured by the main account, but the extra added info has been topdrawer, but im confident it will all click into place soon............ next week would be handy !!!

I managed to recoup a large percentage of my losses on the day, from the betting activity of commission agents, although i was a bit premature with my laying of Garleton at just below 3/1, and with my first play i was relieved to sneak into 4th with Whatcanyasay and although on a small scale i was really happy with my position going into the race on this one. Some of these agents are proving a bit warm and im not sure how much longer we will be entertaining their business, which will be a shame personally !!!

WEDNESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.00 Fontwell LE BRIAR SOUL £50 ew @ 11/2 unpld u/r -£100

VSR

2.20 Catterick SUN KING £25 ew @ 5/1 unpld -£50
2.30 Fontwell FASSAROE £25 ew @ 15/8 3rd -£15.62

PERSONAL TRADING

2.50 Catterick WHATCANYASAY £40 ew @ 10/1 4th placed +£60
2.50 Catterick LAY £40 @ 11.00 win mkt lay £20 @ 2.80 place mkt +£2.80 overall

4.20 Catterick GARLETON £100 @ 7/2 WON +£350
4.20 Catterick GARLETON Lay £100 @ 3.90 WON -£290

Blank days on monday & tuesday..........

2009-03-03T18:17:00.002Z

with the racing making limited appeal for my services, Tuesday would have been without any action but one of our shops reported interest in Clive Brittains Intibah, amounts not significant but the faces backing the horse were, got tied up in some bet settling and consequently missed the 6/1 available with Lads, so availed myself of the 5/1, not complaining as Intibah was sent off a well supported 5/2 shot always travelling a victory never looked in doubt .................. UNTIL Ours came out of the pack to eat into Intibahs lead, thankfully the line came in time to give me a nice win on the day.

PERSONAL BETTING

4.40 Southwell INTIBAH £50 ew @ 5/1 WON +£300

minimal sunday action ................

2009-03-02T20:52:00.004Z

which im always happy with, but with Spurs in the Carling Cup final i was especially pleased not having to concern myself with betting, last year being a season ticket holder i was at Wembley to witness the 1-0 victory versus Chelsea, but with times hard and work commitments i did not renew this season, to be honest i have not missed it much, but lets face it it has not been a memorable season on the field so far, has it !!!!
So Sunday afternoon was spent in the local, cheering them on, we didnt get the end result but at least we put in a decent performance and competed throughout the 120 minutes.

One bet, one winner from VSR in the form of Leopardstown scorer Shirley Casper @ 9/4.

SUNDAY

VSR

2.55 Leop SHIRLEY CASPER £25 ew @ 9/4 WON +£67.50

Fridays win for Quince.........

2009-03-01T11:25:00.005Z

in the Wolves 7.20 made it a full house from the Bet Plan, a reverse today but bank has increased from a monkey to £774.01. Had a manic Saturday really busy at work and my personal betting had to take a backseat, but the 2.00 Kelso was where my focus was directed with OPTIMUM putting up Open de Lisle 4pts @ 11/4, but then the beauty of my job came into play from a trading perspective with this race, as commission agents of all sorts came out of the wood word to back Cantgeton at all rates from 4/1 to 3/1, it was as if everyone and anyone wanted to be on at any rate above 3/1, i dont know if it was the owners money all i would say is that they wanted to get involved in a aggressive style.

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.00 Kelso OPEN DE LISLE £100 @ 11/4 3rd -£100

VSR

2.25 Doncaster BORDER REIVER £25 ew @ 6/1 unpld -£50

PERSONAL TRADING

2.00 Kelso CANTGETON £100 @ 4/1 WON +£400
2.00 Kelso CANTGETON lay £100 @ 4.00 WON -£300

a case of seconditus today............

2009-02-27T17:22:00.004Z

from the two services followed, but The Bet Plan at the time of typing is 3/3 on the day with one to run at Wolves tonight, im not a great advocate of a service that has multiple selections, a constant gripe of my time with Isiris and multiple insiders, but Harry the brains behind the selections has explained the strategy and his past results are impressive, so far 2 weeks into using the service my initial bank has risen from £500 to £764.37, and my stakes using 5% of my bank has correspondingly increased from £25/bet to £38.22/bet from tomorrow. All bets are win only and the software if left running on a pc places the bets on betfair via the auto bet controller, although i prefer to place my bets when received via a BOG bookmaker.

Both selections from OPTIMUM & VSR ran with great credit and with Cheltenham on the horizon my confidence for a successful festival is growing especially with our Cheltenham Ante Post portfolio looking good.

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM

3.15 Newbury SOUTH BANK £25 ew @ 12/1 2nd +£35

VSR

2.00 THE PANAMA KID £25 ew @ 5/1 2nd nil p/l

comment posted on the30kchallenge today

Excellent -will you be following tipsters and if so which ones? Is it correct that Incrisis is no more? I haven't seen an ad for Noddy recently (though I don't read the Post as often as I used to do).

hi there mr/mrs anom, i follow OPTIMUM RACING, VSR and am currently trialling a service called The Bet Plan, the links for these services can be found on my links section, if you require any thoughts on these services and which may suit your needs the best, please email me at raceto30k@hotmail.com

Mark now runs a private service, no advertising required and at present no new members are being accepted, and this looks likely to be the stance for some time. The service has gone from strength to strength since the service turned private late last year.

Isiris shut up shop end of 2008, but KB is hoping to resurrect the service this summer if enough members show an interest, they will, so theservice will resume jul/august time.

£10 ew trixie .................

2009-02-27T08:57:00.003Z

thats what i wanted to get on, the selections were ................ 2.30 Taunton Summery Justice, 3.30 Taunton Cast Cada & 4.30 Taunton Postmaster, my first port of call as always was Stan James the only bookie around that will lay me half a decent bet, but upon logging on all i was getting was "No more retries, please contact customer services", now this always poses a problem as my accounts are in the name of Mrs Diggler and as hard as i try im no Mrs Doubtfire and my female voice is more Arthur Mullard than Lorraine Chase, so i have to rely on the email to sort problems out. My next port of call was Paddy Power as they offer BOG but they would only let me back them in singles !!! so Laddies was next and i was allowed 75 PENCE EW DOUBLES & A 50 PENCE EACH WAY TREBLE !!! At work we were one man down and i was lucky to get out of the room for a pee, a walk to the bookies was out of the question, yes i could have got a mate to place for me but i decided to curse the industry that employs me and sulk !!! Thank fuck Postmaster did not not win thats all i can say !!!

The Stan James problem was resolved later that afternoon, Stan James UK, Stan James GIBRALTER & Bet Direct have completed their merger and Stan James Gibralter now is the daddy, as i had accounts with all three but different usernames/passwords they had reset my account and sent me an email to a rarely used email address informing me of this, i only mention this just in case any of you experience problems

Now on the punting front today was good, when i could get on that is ! OPTIMUM put up Shake the barley in the Taunton 4.00 @ 10/3, my inability to get on with SJ was not a factor here as Laddies let me have a max stake of £75 on this at the price, which was handy as thats all i wanted. VSR put up Cast Cada in the 3.30 Taunton, well this was a bet i was happy with, a decent judge from the west country was not keen on the fav Gullible Gordon and aftertiming Diggler here now thinks i should have had some on for my personal account, but i nabbed the 7/2, with Cast Cada proving successful @ 2/1.

Decent words received for winners Summery Justice, Alvino and Samsons Son could have made this a day to remember but no good harking on about what COULD have happened, i had a nice winning day and my SJ account is all up n running now, perhaps i could do with another alias preferably male but most of my avenues in this respect has been used up, although i do have outlets from mates i prefer to be hands on and in total control ! The exchanges have their uses but the races i like to play are the uncompetitive races that lend themselves to EW punting and the exchanges are no help here, as they offer odds that are nearer the mark than the place terms with traditional bookies.

I am having a look at a service called the Bet Plan http://thebetplan.com/ , run by the most approachable and helpful Harry, early stages so far, no fireworks but my £500 bank has shown an increase to £613.72, my stakes are 5% of my bank, which is the upper end of his recommendation (3-5%) but the service does include a useful trading application

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM

4.00 Taunton SHAKE THE BARLEY £75 win (3pts) @ 10/3 WON +£250

VSR

3.30 Taunton CAST CADA £25 ew (1/2 pt) @ 7/2 WON +£109.38

It was a struggle...............

2009-02-24T19:43:00.003Z

but the end result was a 2pt profit on the day, it looked unlikely for most of the race. The race was the 2m 7 1/2f hcap chase from Leicester, where the Optimum selection finished a staying on 3rd, never front rank ridden patiently and a few sloppy jumpy did not help, but pleased to report a small profit on a otherwise quiet day.

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.50 Leices YA I KNOW £50 ew @ 8/1 3rd +£50

welcome back !!!!

2009-02-21T20:03:00.003Z

Well first action from Optimum for a week and we get to the first with an u/r...........not the ideal return but at least the day got better after Black Apalachi took the feature event at Fairyhouse, we wernt on today but we are for the Grand National at 25/1, who is now trading at a best price of 14/1, supporters will be hoping for a wet aintree. I had forgotten to add a deficit of £100 from the 3rd test from Antigua, i had numerous opportunities to trade out as i layed £125 @ 1.8 but i stuck to my guns, i missed the climax of the match as i was celebrating a mates 50th late on Thursday night, but i was frustrated by the new captains conservative approach on Wednesday with Jimmy Anderson fart arseing about for an hour and then wanting 500 as a target for the West Indies when 450 would have been sufficent even if Freddie was injured, and thats another thing sending Fred into bat when struggling at number9......... not Strausses finest test, and it just highlights the conservative nature of the captain. KP is not everyones cup of tea, and i did not agree with his ultimatum approach in respect of his relationship with Moores but if KP was in charge for the 2nd Antiguan test im quite confident we would be looking at 1-1 now.
Getting back to today, VSR added to my misery with an unplaced selection, so my p/l has taken a hit over the last few days.

SATURDAY

SPORTS BETTING from thursday night.

3rd Test WI v ENG lay £125 @ 1.8 DRAW lost -£100

OPTIMUM RACING

1.50 Newc SILVER SEDGE £50 ew @ 13/2 lost -£100

VSR

1.40 Chep CYPRESS GROVE £25 ew @ 4/1 lost -£50

a quiet week..............

2009-02-21T14:53:00.003Z

with nothing to report, i got a couple of emails if i was on holiday with Andrew from Optimum racing !!! Obviously nothing from Optimum and VSR dipped their toe in the water for the first time this week on Friday, been lively at work so ive had more than enough to keep me occupied. VSR put up Burton Point at Sandown, and he never looking likely to collect on the win part but it was still a decent performance giving weight to the first two and a step up in distance looks sure to suit, and could be one to follow.

FRIDAY

VSR

2.45 Sandown BURTON POINT £25 ew @ 9/2 3rd -£2.50

A quiet weekend .....................

2009-02-15T20:20:00.004Z

nothing on Friday, and Saturday was extremely quiet especially when you take into account that their 8 meetings today, just the one horse racing bet from VSR that was placed at 9/4 and Sunday saw just the one bet an unsuccessful ew play. My sports betting showed a profit of £90 that meant my p/l stayed marginally in profit for the weekend.

Im not going to elaborate on too much more, because not too much else to report and secondly im knackered !! Sunday in a raceroom due to the shortened trading hours always seems to be hectic and today carried on in this theme, non stop and im looking forward to my day off on Thursday already!!!

SATURDAY

VSR

4.50 Wincanton IN VINO £25 ew @ 9/4 3rd -£13.75

SPORTS BETTING

England +10.5 on hcap v Ireland £150 @ Evs WON +£150

SUNDAY

VSR

2.10 Hereford BLACK JACARI £25 ew @ 11/4 lost -£50

SPORTS BETTING

Everton v Aston Villa £60 @ 5/2 DRAW lost -£60

What a judge i am .............

2009-02-12T18:21:00.004Z

NOT !!! On the way to work reading the post i noticed that Kayf Aramis was out in the 4.30 Chepstow, now this one had a tiring race 6 days earlier at Fontwell i remember the race well, just three runners in tiring ground, Kayf Aramis although jumping poorly throughout looked home n hosed after jumping the last and must have traded at near the basement price of 1.01 before Kayf Aramis legs turned to jelly and the Fontwell hill took its toll, as his stablemate Latainier swamped Kayf Aramis just before the line. His poor jumping coupled with the hard race 6 days earlier made this a big lay for today............... what a difference 6 days can make !!! never touched a twig(apart from second last !) as Kayf Aramis jumped really well and travelled kindly throughout to win cosily by 6l, luckily for me i refrained from laying as VSR put up the rather one paced (racing term for slow !!) Any Currency so i made a small loss on the race.

I managed to recoup this loss on the back of the Optimum message, although i did start off with a small loss on Presenting Copper but my days p/l was in credit after Andrew was keen to oppose the front 2 in the market Notabotheronme and Pretty Star as he felt the bookies could get a eresult, he was correct in his view as Victory Gunner took the prize.

THURSDAY

VSR

4.30 Chepstow CURRENCY £75 @ 2/1 lost -£75

PERSONAL TRADING

3.20 Chepstow PRESENTING COPPER back £60 @ 3.65 lay £35 @ 3.50 lost -£25

3.55 Chepstow NOTABOTHERONME lay £60 @ 3.65 2nd +£58.20
3.55 Chepstow PRETTY STAR lay £50 @ 3.95 unpld +£49.50

Exciting times at Diggler towers ..................

2009-02-11T13:06:00.002Z

not going to divulge to much at this stage, but im about to enter the world of betting bots and automated systems, nothing ventured nothing gained !!! It may all go tits up but i,ll only have myself to blame, during my time here ive made countless mistakes............. the 3 marraiges being the most costly !!! but my life has been full of fun, excitement and yes a few tears but i have set aside £500 for this project, i have told the brains behind this venture that i dont expect a return but i hope he can make me eat humble pie !!! Details and regular updates to follow.

A quiet day so i thought id update my p/l, a slight decrease in my running total which now stands at £1966.27

OPTIMUM -£130

VSR +£343.75

PERSONAL +£1088.47

SPORTS +£664.05

THE10KCHALLENGE................................ +£1966.27

Independent bookies..............

2009-02-10T15:26:00.003Z

It is a constant struggle to get on let alone beat the enemy, in our case its the bookies !!!! Being behind enemy lines has been a real opener im now in the world of monitored customers, cctv images, known associates, runners and customer bet reduction factors and then we have the daily battle versus the mr conways and mr envers of the betting world with the various slow counters and ambiguous bets................. its never a dull day !!!

Anyway i going off on a tangent here, got a few emails regarding my nice trixie win at the weekend courtesy of a free bet balance and the 3 selections from Optimum, and the emails wanted advice/info on the bookies i use, well im very much restricted thesedays all betting done in the names of associates but i personally use 5 bookmakers for approx 75% of my business and these are ;

STAN JAMES - http://www.stanjamesuk.com/ OR http://www.stanjames.com/

Quite simply the best around, will lay a bet, best odds guaranteed, professional and plenty of markets. My preferred choice of bookmaker.

DEMMYBET - http://www.betdemmy.com/index.shtml

One of the old school, dont expect 24hr coverage but BOG, politeness, accuracy and plenty of special offers.

VICKERS - http://www.asportybet.co.uk/main.htm

Not BOG but a reliable and professional service.

BETTER - http://bettercorporate.com/ click on £100 offer

Known for its retail operation with a high quality shop fit, recently reopened call centre BOG and free bet offer, not 24 hr coverage but pleasant and will lay a bet.

JENNINGS - https://www.jenningsbet.com/jenningsbet

A family bookmaker that has been in operation for many years, over last year or so has experienced a rapid expansion through their retail and website operations, BOG on a large proportion of races. Get more on if you use the call centre rather than the internet.

Hope that helps, dont bugger me up by taking all the early prices !!

Greed and loss of discipline = No Supper for me ........

2009-02-10T14:19:00.002Z

Quite frankly a day to forget, work was manic not sure if it was the McCoy factor but phones never stopped ringing and the sharks were out in force trying to get on a hooky snooker match Barry Hawkins v Joe Perry backing the draw at all rates from 6/4 down to 4/9 when we pulled the plug on the event !!!! Didnt see the match but the comments on the betfair forum were quite amusing although we were doing our dough, thats the second dodgy match in the last month or so and the authorities need to crack down on this or else snooker will lose all credibility and the smaller events/matches will not get priced up.

Now onto my day of personal punting where a little greed and loss of discipline raised its ugly head, i took a beating for this and i promise to be a good boy for the next couple of months at least !! Now Optimum put up No Supper, who runs in the Optimum colours in the 2.00 Plumpton, a very confident 6 point selection. I had £150 @ 13/8 with the Tote, i could have taken 6/4 BOG with Stan James but never in a month of Sundays did i expect it to finish longer than these prices............ As we aproached the race 11/10-6/5-5/4 were the prices generally on offer from the bookies, but on course it drifted out to 2/1 before returning an sp of 7/4, well i knew the horse was fwf.......... fit well fancied so i dipped my toe in again having £100 @ 3.00 on the exchanges, then when i saw 9/4 on the exchanges i thought id take advantage of their genourosity !!! a sort of green mist descended and £100 @ 3.30 was placed and talking of mists ............. for good measure i had a £50 saver on Mist Again @ 7.2 after a word from a respected judge ;-( yes it all went pear shaped and overall a loss £400 on the race.

MONDAY

OPTIMUM

2.00 Plumptn NO SUPPER £150 @ 13/8 unpld -£150

VSR

1.30 Plumpton POUR CHANGER £25 ew @ 5/2 unpld -£50

PERSONAL TRADING

2.00 Plumpton NO SUPPER £200 @ 3.15 unpld -£200
2.00 Plumpton MIST AGAIN £50 @ 7.2 unpld -£50

The frustrations of being a tipster !!!

2009-02-08T15:27:00.004Z

firstly apoligies for calling the services i use tipsters !! but the frustrations of being a horse racing adviser seemed a little long winded............ please bear with me on this, but as a teenager working on the southern racetracks i came into regular contact with 3 types of tipsters the first i remember was coming off the train at Sandown and a bloke tried to sell me a tips sheet for the card, the second was at Newbury we usually took the train but on this occasion we drove and as we were getting out the car a chap tried to sell his marked racecard the third i remember and most vividly remembered was at Sandown again and i was on the "floor" working for my father and hedging with one of the other books, placed the bet strolling back to our pitch just before the off when an elderly gentleman came up to me and quite abruptly told me to get on a horse i was slighty taken aback and rather defensively told him to fcuk off in no uncertain terms !!! During the day i saw this bloke continually play the same game, and a couple of mugs followed this blokes advice. On the following Monday night we were at Windsor and again this bloke was playing the same game and one of his victims succumbed and backed his advice with us............... the horse won and as im paying out who suddenly appears wanting a cut !!!!
Anyway i digress, OPTIMUM will show a loss on the account of 4 points, these services proof their selections to the Racing Post and that provides the foundations of their results that are advertised either in the Post on their personal websites. But the nuts n bolts of the message are invaluable and yesterdays message from Optimum highlights this. The 12.15 message went into detail on 3 races, and i put down the phone with 3 bets in the shape of PANCAKE 1.10 Kempton, SAMMY SPIDERMAN 2.35 Ayr and TARTAK 3.25 Kempton ............ ALL THREE WON @ 5/2 - 5/6 & 7/2 i had £34 in my free bet account from an independent and had a £8.50 trixie at 11/4-SP-SP that yielded a return of £500.97 after the stake was taken back.
Its a fine line that these services live by and i dont envy them in respect of which they put up on the account, i prefer the selective approach and on the account as stated Optimum today lost 4 points but due to the message i copped over £400 on the day !!

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

4.00 Kempton DOUBLE DIZZY £50 ew @ 7/1 lost -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

Pancake 1.10 Kemp 11/4, Sammy Spiderman 5/6 2.35 Ayr, Tartak 7/2 3.25 Kempt £8.50 trixie
ALL 3 WON +£500.97

a small profit on the day.............

2009-02-07T13:12:00.002Z

no account bets but played in a couple of races on infomation received. Got a call early doors telling me that all the right faces where backing Devotee in the UAE 1000 guineas every price was getting knocked over, i managed to get £100 @ 11/10 within an hour i layed £50 @ 1.70 giving me £50 @ 6/4, the horse was backed as if defeat was out of question............. what a shock her backers had, as her action went as soon as she was asked to pick up, hopefully its nothing too serious.
My only other bet was on the back of Optimums message, although no account bet, Andrew was keen on Limerick Boy in the hunters chase from Bangor. My bet although successful had me questioning my staking plan as i invested £60 @ 2.72, just short of 2.5pts on my staking plan with Optimum, so although not an account bet i had more on Limerick Boy than i may have had on an actual account bet !! which for me didnt make sense, i do try to be disciplined in my betting and staking, my concerns in respect of staking faded as the selection was successful with Limerick Boy winning comfortably at 6/5.

FRIDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

4.25 Bangor LIMERICK BOY £60 @ 2.72 WON +£100.10
6.15 Nad al Sheba DEVOTEE £100 @ 11/10 Lay £50 @ 1.70 lost -£51.50

So much right but a loss on the account........

2009-02-05T17:57:00.002Z

A return today at Taunton for NH enthusiasts, and OPTIMUM played in the 3.50 siding with Pistol Dubois 3pts win @ 7/2. Andrew was keen to oppose Adare Prince the 5/2 fav and was the correct stance as McCoys mount was pulled up, a good word for Enroblim Trip who finished 3rd @ 14/1 but Pistol Dubois made an early exit unseatig at the 5th, so a small loss on the account. Nothing else to report on a quiet day.

THURSDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.50 Taunton PISTOL DUBOIS £75 win @ 7/2 lost -£75

a unproductive week so far.............

2009-02-05T17:33:00.002Z

and in all honesty quite tiring, with the weather causing travel chaos i have been leaving for work around 6.15am and getting home around 9pm but i now have a few days off to recharge the batteries, nothing doing monday or tuesday but i returned to action with one trade on wednesday and i ended up with the value but sod all else !!!
The chain of bookmakers i work for has every race priced up by 8.30am but we keep half of the races back until 11.00/11.30 these are the maidens, novice hurdles & chases plus the sellers, so basically leaving just the handicaps and most of the conditions races priced up and available to our customers until we release the other prices. Well today (wednesday) i took a call from a highly respected judge with whom i get on well with, he was enquiring on the price of Lacrosse in the Lingfield 1.00 we had him marked down as a unreleased 5/4 shot, i explained no price and i was informed that he needs to get a sizeable sum down. I looked on the exchanges and at early doors 2.32/2.34 was on offer. I invested £300 @ 2.32, there was a 8/1 withdrawal but next time i looked Lacrosse was odds on i then layed £200 at an average of 1.77 leaving me with £100 at a fraction under 2/1 for the 8/15 fav............. but thats as good as it got !!! Lacrosse was one paced and disappointed his backers finishing a never threatening 3rd.

WEDNESDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

1.00 Ling LACROSSE £300 @ 2.16 lay £200 @ 1.77 3rd LOST -£100

VSR continue their consistent run..............

2009-02-02T15:15:00.006Z

with another placed effort today, although a small loser on the account they do play in ew uncompetitive events and over time this style of betting will prove profitable, they are nearly 8pts up since the 1st Jan at my prices and the service is user friendly with a text on the morning detailing the bet & best odds.

SUNDAY

VSR

1.30 Muss DIVERS £25 ew @ 11/4 2nd -£11.25

p/l figures

OPTIMUM +£195 (7.8pts)
VSR +£393.75 (7.87pts)
PERSONAL +£888.90
SPORTS +£664.05

THE10KCHALLENGE.............................. +£2,141.70

NOT my greatest day punting .............

2009-01-31T16:07:00.003Z

unlike the Scoop6 winning syndicate !! well done to all concerned in the monster scoop good luck next saturday. 5 bets in total with only the first from VSR being productive, i will update my figures tomorrow but i have previously found January a difficult month, so a decent profit in 2009 is a welcome change and puts my £10k challenge on firm foundations. The weather has played havoc and it looks like we are going to endure further disruption over the upcoming week.
But now March and Cheltenham are firmly in our sights and my services have a couple of Ante Post advices in the form of Calgary Bay in the Arkle @ 10/1 from Optimum and Zaynar @ 25/1 !!!! in the Triumph from VSR both offering wonderful trading opportunities, i have to work throughout Cheltenham i was hoping to go along in my Little Shilling colours and offer my support, but thats a no go ive been informed, but there are worst ways of spending the week............ with me working in a vibrant expanding raceroom.
Have a good evening !!!

Saturday

OPTIMUM RACING

3.30 Don MARTHAS KINSMAN £25 ew @ 8/1 LOST -£50

VSR

1.30 San AMORE MIO £25 ew @ 5/2 WON +£75
1.45 Weth LUCCOMBE BAY £25 ew @ 3/1 3rd -£10

PERSONAL TRADING

4.00 Weth ITS BERTIE £50 @ 3.00 UNPLD -£50
2.35 San ARALDUR £50 @ 9/4 UNPLD -£50

Blasted weather.............

2009-01-31T14:17:00.002Z

was looking forward to a decent card at Chepstow but when i arrived in work the first thing i noticed on the ticker at SkySports was that the metting had been abandoned, it looked likely that Optimum would be putting one up and Chepstow would probably be the metting, this was confirmed on the message.VSR put one up at Catterick and the rest of my days betting centred on the claimer at Lingfield where i got myself in a bit of a pickle backing 3 in the race, but i suppose all i should worry about is my p/l and that was positive so i should not be too concerned. It all start early doors with a good word for Cognac Boy trained by my favourite trainer from Limpley Stoke !!! i had a small investment at 7/1, then a respected Newmarket figure had a decent ew bet on Spinight and finally we took a barrage of bets on Woolston Ferry @ 11/10, i have a good relationship with some of our shrewd customers, and one in particular is quite happy to divulge information and views, he stated that he was putting on a highly respected & knowledgable chap and told me to get on only if to trade as he said he expected Woolston Ferry to start odds on............... it won @ 4/6.

FRIDAY

VSR

1.00 Catt SUN KING £25 EW @ 3/1 3rd -£10

PERSONAL TRADING

2.45 Ling COGNAC BOY £25 ew @ 7/1 LOST -£50
2.45 Ling SPNIGHT £25ew @ 6/ 3rd +£ 5
1.45 Ling WOOLSTON FERRY £100 @ 11/10 WON +£110

A nice day.................

2009-01-29T16:53:00.003Z

quiet but end up with a £170 profit courtesy mainly of VSR and What a buzz advised @ 11/2 but i could only avail myself of 5/1 but with an sp of 4/1 im not complaining ! Had a long day 08.00 till 21.30 these bookmakers work you hard !! so i had a little interest on the evenings sky game backing the hammers @ 5/6 which paid for my take away chinese with plenty to spare ............

WEDNESDAY

VSR

2.25 Lim MONTY BLUE £50 ew @ 9/2 3rd -£5
3.05 Newc WHAT A BUZZ £25 ew @ 5/1 WON +£150

SPORTS BETTING

West Ham to bt Hull £30 @ 5/6 WON +£25

Once again..................

2009-01-27T17:02:00.002Z

the value of BOG was illustrated today, in the great scheme of things it counted for little as we collected on the place money but the drift on Apocalazzo was severe from 4/1 out to 7/1, advised by Optimum at 9/2, if successful it would feel like a kick in the goolies if you were paid out @ 9/2 !! I will stop harping on about my preference for bookies offering BOG but it really is a concession to take advantage of, the betting markets are strange beasts at the best of times and difficult to read. With Optimum having a good handle on the Tim Vaughan yard subscribers knew that Apocalazzo was both fit and fancied but the horse still drifted, probably due to ground concerns as the 2 victories under rules was on going described as good/firm, but Andrew knew from the horses pt 2 pt days that Apocalazzo would handle the going. This knowledge very nearly paid off, the service remains in good form as todays near miss confirms.

TUESDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

3.20 Folkes APOCALAZZO £50 ew (2pts) ew @ 7/1 2nd +£20

Comhla Ri Coig..............

2009-01-26T19:17:00.002Z

should have won at Ayr a month earlier, as the name is scottish gaelic for Merry Christmas !!! but i will settle for yestersdays win @ 9/4, it was advised by VSR at 5/2 but i backed it with BOG @ 9/4. I should have stopped then but in a sports bar having a few bevvies when my mate wanted an interest in the Merseyside FA Cup derby, he offered me either Liverpool or Everton/Draw for an even £100, as Liverpool were odds on and Everton were wthout Arteta it was a no brainer for me ............. and i was subsequently fleeced of my £100 !!!

SUNDAY

VSR

2.35 Ayr COMHLA RI COIG £25 ew(1/2 pt ew) @ 9/4 WON +£67.50

SPORTS BETTING

FA Cup 4th Rnd LIVERPOOL £100 @ Evens LOST -£100

Compensation...........

2009-01-24T20:18:00.003Z

after All for the cause yesterday in the form of Naccarat an easy 6l winner today advised by OPTIMUM @ 3/1, the 11/4 returned fav was always travelling kindly for AP and was value for more than the winning margin but after yesterday i was not gonna count my money until jumping the last............ perhaps after Topless i should just wait until the weighed in ! But most pleasing after yesterdays bet, Optimum are in good form at present and the future looks promising.

I was really looking forward today i had everything mapped out Hartlepool v West Ham, C4 racing, a couple of pints down the local and then back home to watch Spurs away at Old Trafford......... happy days !! then a spanner in the works, tomorrow sees the annual Greyhound awards an event we have been to for the last few years, but due to the Mrs losing her job and cash being tight we declined the invitation, especially as a bottle of JD costs £85 (mrs tipple) and a bottle of beer £4.50, cab home & tickets makes this a mortgage job, well this morning we get the number 12 shirt with a lift home........... i did not take much persuading but the spanner came in the form of the mrs now needing to get her hair done with an appintment at 2.45............ i told her that if Naccarat won i would pay........... so loads of brownie pointsand more for me tonight !!
I now had to look after our 3 year old grandson who for some reason had no interest in the joys of Big Mac and C4 Racing as for Spurs i think i have scarred him for life as he burst into tears after i went potty when we went 1-0 up ............ i only hope he doesnt repeat any of the language i used after we went 2-1 down !!

SATURDAY

OPTIMUM RACING

2.15 Don NACCARAT £100(4pts) @ 3/1 WON +£300

VSR

1.15 Uttox BATHWICK QUEST £25 ew @ 4/1 2nd -£5
2.50 Don JUNIOR £25 ew @ 5/1 2nd nil p/l

Held up, headway halfway, tracked leaders when fell 7th

2009-01-23T16:35:00.002Z

does not tell the full story or do justice to how well All for the Cause Optimums selection in the 3.40 Doncaster was travelling, with still 5 to jump the horse was cantering all over his rivals and trading at evens inrunning. Approx 30mins before the race the vibes were not good with the withdrawal of Watch my back, a runner that Andrew was keen to oppose and reducing the EW terms to 1/4 1-2-3 but this meant nothing in the end. My punting day did not get any better with the 4.00 Lingfield, Haljaferia entered my notebook after a most promising run over 1m at Lingfield 13 days ago and the extra 2f i thought would be right up his street, i invested £200 @ 11/8 and layed £100 @ 1.96 giving me £100 at just over 7/4 for a 5/6 returned fav. Haljaferia although only beaten 1/2l failed to build on the previous run finishing 3rd beaten by Signella who had previously shown little on her debut run................ roll on tomorrow, Cheltenham & the Scoop 6 !!!

Friday

OPTIMUM RACING

3.40 Doncaster All for the Cause £50 ew @ 11/2 unpld -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

4.00 Ling Haljafeira £200 @ 11/8 3rd -£200
4.00 Ling Haljafeia Lay £100 @ 1.96 WON +£97

IF YOU ARE NOT A GOOD JUDGE ............

2009-01-22T18:31:00.002Z

be a good judge of judges is a phrase that i have heard a lot recently, and i think it sums me up perfectly, i dont think that it totally apt in my case because when i put my head down i can work a race out pretty well, but my lifestyle just does not lend itself to having my head burrowed down into a form book and working out sectionals, so no worries for Andrew & Mark !! But i do think im a decent judge of a horse racing judge it all started back in the 1980's with Marten Julian, i had a decent run with Bob Rothman although it all ended in tears with him, but the early days were good very good. And in the last decade it has been almost exclusively Mark Holder, Optimum & Isiris......... what i like about the first two apart from the year on year profits, is the value of the mesage on days when no bet is advised and today was a great example of that with the message from OPTIMUM no account bet, but 3 races discussed produced 2 winners @ 5/1 and 4/1, the 1st discussed was the 1.00 Warwick with a preference for Moustique de L'isle @ 20/1 with a negative for Topless, i missed the 20/1 so decided to watch and lay Topless for a place @ 2.36, a wise course of action with Moustique de L,isle sulking and having an off day and Topless although travelled well found little at the business end of the race. If there was to be one bet of the day Andrew suggested Amble Forge ew @ 5/1 with the dead 8 in action i waited till near the race and invested £25 ew @ 5/1 a nice winner on a otherwise quiet day. Ballyboley was the preference at the prices in the 3.40 with stamina concerns over the 11/8 Oscar Jack, these were borne out as Balleyboley ran out a decent victor and the fav struggling to cope with the distance in testing going, i didnt play on the race as i was happy with the days p/l and had pulled stumps for the day after the Amble Forge race.

THURSDAY

PERSONAL TRADING

1.00 Warwick TOPLESS Lay £25 @ 2.36 place UNPLD +£24.25

2.10 Warwick AMBLE FORGE £25 ew @ 5/1 WON +£150

The value of BOG ...................

2009-01-22T11:10:00.002Z

was illustrated today with the VSR winner Calcutta Cup although my current stance on the weakness of selections backed prevented me from having more on. I had two horses to back EW for small stakes on advice received they were Sea Storm 1.00 & Calcutta Cup 2.30 both at Musselburgh, i decided to start off with a £25ew double on the two. Then the text from VSR came through and they were putting the same two up @ 1/2 pt ew, so they were my bets £150 outlay. The first selection was weak in the market and this was replicated in a poor run, so £100 down, i was going to top up the initial bet on Calcutta Cup to £50 ew but the weakness was a concern so i resisted..............

Calcutta Cup has been one of a few drifters to win recently 4/1 out to 11/1 Charlottes Grey, 4/1 out to 10/1 Alexander Family and today not as big but 7/2 out to 11/2 todays bet to me it illustrates the value of backing with a bookie offering BOG and i made it a policy some time ago to try and use these whenever possible even if it meant taking slightly inferior odds at the time of the bet.

Wednesday

PERSONAL TRADING

1.00 Sea Storm 5/1 2.30 Calcutta Cup £25 ew double Lost -£50

VSR

1.00 Sea Storm £25 ew @ 5/1 Lost -£50
2.30 Calcutta Cup £25 ew @11/2 +£165

Thank you Jeremy Chapman & Zach Johnson............

2009-01-20T18:14:00.002Z

on the win in the Sony Open, i have not got a scooby in respect of golf betting, but a clued up sports punter lumped on Zach Johnson last Wednesday for the Sony Open, Thursday morning i noticed Jeremy Chapman the respected Golf expert of the Post was keen on Zachs chances so with a bullseye left in my betmate account i had a pony ew. I was oblivious to his progress until Sunday night when i remembered the bet................ what a pleasant and most welcome surprise, i had every intention of staying up to watch the action but i was out for the count by 10pm.

Woke up Monday morning to see that my betmate account was in a much healthier state ........

SPORTS BETTING

Sony Open Zach Johnson £25 ew @ 29 & 7.6 WON +£839.05

P/L @ Monday 19th Jan

OPTIMUM RACING +£ 25
VSR +£ 27.50
PERSONAL TRADING +£902.65
SPORTS BETTING +£739.05

THE 10KCHALLENGE ......................... +£1694.20

I will endevour to update on a daily basis but due to the weekend taking extra toll this has not been possible, normal service will be resumed from tomorrow (wednesday), all the best DD.

I cannot put the blame...............

2009-01-18T20:39:00.004Z

on a dodgy buffet for my state today, not a pleasent sight for the mrs this morning with me moaning n groaning with my head stuck down the loo, I WILL NEVER LEARN !!! The wedding party wrapped up at approx 4.30am with me on the karoake belting my own rather unique version of relax by frankie goes to hollywood................ Yes i love a party and really let myself go on occassions, but my age is taking its toll and im looking forward to tomorrow as i know i will feel a little human not the zombie i have resembled today. Yesterday was a very quiet day betting wise with just the one bet from VSR in the form of impressive Ascot scorer Karabak @ 5/2 which helped to pay for about one round of drinks at the extortionate prices i was being charged yesterday.

SATURDAY

VSR

3.55 Ascot Karabak £25 ew @ 5/2 WON +£75

BETTING TAKES A BACK SEAT.........

2009-01-18T20:20:00.003Z

for the next few days as off to a family wedding this weekend, my personal outlets for betting when im not on a pc are non existent, this is down to my betting patterns and the past success of the advisory services i use. With this being the case my betting over the weekend will be kept to an absolute minimum, i have friends who are more than happy to help me out as i do them but i try to keep my action down to account bets. I was travelling during the time both races on friday were taking place so i have very little to say on todays bets from Optimum but reading the comments on racingpost.com it appears we were a little unfortunate not to collect of the place part of both EW bets today

FRIDAY

OPTIMUM

3.10 Chepstow Notabotheronme £50 ew @ 6/1 2nd +£25
3.45 Chepstow Lancer Scott £50 ew @ 5/1 U/R -£100

a personal triumph................

2009-01-15T18:00:00.004Z

p/l wise today, where everything i backed from warm sources paid dividends including a nice double from a cash stricken Great Leighs, i havn,t made it to the Essex venue and i really hope the closure is temporary but the tracks facilities for customers improve on its reopening, as this has been the main source of complaint for a £20 admission fee from friends who have been.

A personal profit on the day of £736.40, it kicked off with a small bet in the 11.28 Sheffield on Trap2 backed from 3/1 into 7/4, we took a lumpy bet at 3/1, i missed the 3/1 but had £20 @ 5/2 the blue jacket pinged out the boxes and looked to have the race in safe keeping until it looked like the petrol was running on empty and the 6 stayed on well to join the 2 on the line, the 2 prevailed in the photo to start the day with a £50 profit. Got a call from our Newmarket shop to inform us that Willie Mussons associates were backing Folio @ 4/1 in the 9.20 Gt Leighs, and shrewdies all over the place were backing Clear Sailing @ 7/2 ew in the uncompetitive 8.50 seller . I had £40 ew @ 4/1 ew on Folio, i missed the 7/2 Clear Sailing and instead had a £20 ew double on Folio and Clear Sailing @ 7/2 & 3/1 gtd. I was out Thursday night and in a slightly worse for wear state had a very welcome return home when i logged onto my Stan James account, being out thursday night saved me a few quid as i would have layed Folio who landed the 2nd leg of my double.

My other bet on the day was the most comfortable winner that i backed on Thursday in the form of My Indy in the 6.05 Nad AL Sheba again a well informed source had backed this with us at a under pressure 5/1, i followed him in with £20 ew @ 5/1.

OPTIMUM RACING

2.20 Taunton BASEBALL TED £100 (4pts) win @ 7/4 2nd -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

11.28 Sheffield Trap 2 £20 @ 5/2 WON +£50
6.05 Nad Al Sheba My Indy £20 ew @ 5/1 WON +£120
9.20 Gt Leighs Folio £40 ew @ 4/1 WON +£192
8.50 Gt Leighs Clear Sailing 3/1 9.20 Folio 7/2 £20 ew double WON +£374.40

A LOSING & FRUSTRATING DAY ..................

2009-01-14T17:33:00.004Z

and for the purpose of reporting as the bet was advised by VSR they take the loss on my account as would be the case if the selection had won and the profit down to them. If they had not advised the bet though i would have backed Cockney Trucker on my personal account as i thought it was a cracking EW bet but when we came to the business end of the race Cockney Trucker found little and i was disappointed with the run.

So that was the loss, now for the frustration.......... coming from Southend i was looking forward to the FA Cup replay against Chelsea, unable to go due to work but i was looking to catch most of the match on ITV, all day there was banter in the room with a few Chelsea lads and my play was on the HT/FT market with DRAW/CHELSEA. Logged on to the exchange only to find out the match suspended, looked up at SkySportsNews and the tickertape was stating the match Postponed, well that was that nothing to watch. Got home and Southend were 1 up !!! my mobile beeped and one of the messages to come thru was informing me the match was now on, but as i was on the tube, the message did not get to me........... So the rest is history, Chelsea equalised in the 45th minute and went on to complete a comfortable victory

VSR

1.55 Newbury COCKNEY TRUCKER £50 ew @ 7/2 lost -£100

ROYAL HILARITY LANDS AN OPTIMUM GAMBLE ........

2009-01-13T18:13:00.003Z

Advised at 5/1 with Ladbrokes and a few others, the price contracted to 4/1 and this was available up until the first show where sustained support meant that the selection was sent off the 9/4 fav, i must admit that i was totally unaware of the change in colours and with phones going off all over the place the audio could hardly be heard, so i was following Justabout in the gloom only because of the yellow sleeves............ a glimpse at the i/r two out was a welcome surprise, and the selection from OPTIMUM stayed on well to win by 15lengths. The market thesedays seem to an increasingly important indicator to a horses well being and chance, Dave Nevision in his most recent book "A Gamblers Diary" sites positive market sentiment as one of the most important factors when having a bet today, and the reverse equally important when deciding to swerve a possible bet on a drifting selection, the selection from VSR was PSI in the 2.20 Folk who failed to build on his promising debut and drifted from an opening show of 7/2 out to 13/2 ............... but Charlotte Grey in the 3.00 Southwell drifted like the proverbial barge 5/2 out to 11/1 !!! and blew the drifters never win theory right out of the water, i only hope the early morning backers were on best odds guaranteed !!!
So a nice day to get the £10kchallenge back on track !!

OPTIMUM RACING

2.50 Folkestone ROYAL HILARITY £50 ew (2pts ew) @ 5/1 WON +£300

VSR

2.20 Folkestone PSI £25 ew @ 13/2 lost -£50

nearly back to square one.................

2009-01-12T16:59:00.002Z

after a second successive losing day but no complaints, beaten fair n square no complaints. Hats off to Jim Best and the connections of Rocky Ryan for their touch today, hoodwinked the bookies early doors by the jocking up of AP on Jades Double giving the indication that was the trainers preference, then pulled McCoys intended mount and his rag out of the race and AP was then put up on Rocky Ryan supported from 9/1 into 7/2 by the time the withdrawals were announced. AP is the man you want in your corner when the money is down and the 15/8 fav was given a peach of a ride and Rocky responded in game fashion to land the spoils.
Fair play to VSR who undertandably have been quiet of late and responded without any prompting to extend account subscriptions.
Optimum advised Pretty Star (ew) in the last at Fakenham uneasy in the market but ran well enough just denied third approaching the last as Creinch stayed on the better.
My only other play on the day was in the first at Fakenham, was getting a few enquiries in the morning for Havenstone but the price was shorter than was available elsewhere so ntg was done, but the vibes from the sources enquiring was encouraging. Got a positive message and then on the shows from a respected runner i accepted a lumpy bet at 2/1, i followed him in with £150 at the price and layed £75 @ 2.46 giving me a bet of £75 @ 5/2 but the outcome was like my day ............. disappointing, as the selection ran one paced into a 3rd place.

OPTIMUM RACING

3.50 Fak PRETTY STAR £50 ew (2pts ew) @ 13/2 LOST -£100

PERSONAL TRADING

1.20 Fak HAVENSTONE £150 @ 2/1 LOST -£150
1.20 Fak HAVENSTONE Lay £75 @ 2.46 won +£72.75
loss £77.25

Loss on day £177.25

1st loss of the year...............

2009-01-11T16:53:00.003Z

no complaints from me, but the loss could have been negligble if the selection (Hajaferia 1.45 Ling) from VSR had a clearer passage in the last furlong and a half. Nice to see the return of the jumpers at Ayr but no account business for me.

PERSONAL TRADING

I took advantage of 11/8 Aston Villa & Liverpool both to win had £100 at the price, was obviously happy going into the Liverpool match in effect having 11/8 a 4/9 shot but after the initial skirmishes Liverpool never looked collecting my double. My only other bet was Signalman in the first at Ayr with £50 @ 2.76, i had the price but nothing else as the 11/10 fav plugged on for 4th.

VSR

1.45 Lingfield HALJAFERIA £25 ew @ 9/2 3rd -£2.50

p/l figures @ 11th Jan

VSR +£102.50 (+4.1pts)
PERSONAL TRADING +£243.50
SPORTS -£100

THE 10K CHALLENGE......................... +£246

OPTIMUM RACING.................

2009-01-09T15:52:00.002Z

was my only source of action today, although it caught me by surprise as i was down the gym at the time, with Kelso off i was not expecting a bet, but Andrew advised a Cheltenham Ante Post bet. So if any members of the service did not call today, give it a ring !!
I wont post the bet here as there are probably subscribers who are yet to get on and it would ot be fair on them.
Toying with the idea of going for a day at the festival but i think i wil give it a miss as the size of crowds spoil my enjoyment , i prefer the meetings in november, december and january where there is a decent atmosphere and you can freely move around.
I have never paid so much attention to the weather forecasts as i have the last 10 days or so, and it looks like from Sunday afternoon onwards we should see a welcome change in the climate, roll on next week then !!

La Estrella 2.25 GT Leighs 16/1 a 2/7 shot .....................

2009-01-08T15:12:00.003Z

was my only bet today ............... The Don Cantillon trained horse was attracting support this morning, a few warm sources were jumping on the bandwaggon and the 6/4 was under pressure on the exchanges. Took a bit of a flyer for me i had £400 @ 6/4 looking to lay back at around 5/4 nearer the off. Then .................. BINGO !!! Kings Head was taken out, the 6/5 jollies withdrawal caused a 45p R4 so in effect my £400 @ 6/4 was now £400 @ 5/6 (0.825) , the reduction on the exchanges was severe 6/4 (2.50) down to 2/5 (1.40) and 2/5 was now the exchange price. I layed £400 @ 1.35 so my only exposure was commission of £12 and potential profit of £190. La Estrella won in the Essex fog to register a nice little earner on the day of £190.

PERSONAL TRADING

2.25 Gt Leighs La Estrella £400 @ 6/4 R4 45p WON +£330
2.25 Gt Leighs La Estrella lay £400 @ 1.35 won -£ 140

profit +£190

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BETDAQ THE REVOLUTION !!!

2009-01-08T09:34:00.004Z

Little going on at present for obvious reasons, times like this that im relieved that gambling is no longer my sole source of income !!

Just would like to take this opportunity to post a couple of comments recent published under the Quality not Quantity posts ........................

Dariusz said...
Hi there, I suppose you must be pissed off with Betfair, their charges and customer service and the general lack of competition in betting exchanges. I developed a website: www.betdaqrevolution.com we have a couple of members already even though the site is on for a couple of hours.Check it out and please do sign in. It would be awesome if you could write something about the website on your blog and try to motivate people to sign in and take part in our experiment. Tell it to people you know as well. I know the website will not do a miracle but anyway it will raise awareness of Betdaq and that something is happening there. Plus it will show to Betfair that there is some resistance and this may make them think twice before any new scams. You can leave your blog name in the Name section of the “create an account” and I will post a link to your blog next to your name on the list. If you have any comments, suggestions, want to contribute an article please write to: contact@betdaqrevolution.com
07 January 2009 12:41
DIRKDIGGLER said...
Happy to oblige Dariusz, monopolies are never good (unless you have the monopoly!) and lets face it thats what Betfair has. Competition is the only way we can drive down commission charges, i have accounts with both Betmate (www.betmate.co.uk) and WBX (www.wbx.com), Betmate is infact Betdaq but with a lower commission rate !! The problem with the rivals is liquidity and tightness in price, you could drive a bus through some of the spreads !!! BUT if we sit on our backsides and just continue to blindly put all our business the way of betfair , the balance of power will only swing one way in favour of betfair and againt the exchange user !! So the short of it Dariusz is that i strongly support you website and stance on this matter GOOD LUCK DD !!!! www.betdaqrevolution.com
08 January 2009 09:31

Its in all our interests to support this campaign (if you use an exchange that is !)

All the best
DD.

3% Commission @ www.betmate.co.uk