You may think that running the book, sorting out the logistics, knowing where to stand, knowing which pitch to buy, knowing whether to attend or not, interpreting the weather or actually winning some cash is the most difficult part of bookmaking. It's not. By far the most difficult part is shouting something that is fresh and interesting. In truth, it very rarely is though. You occasionally get a bit of interaction which is then the bookmaker equivalent of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" or, if you're of a musical bent, "Freeform Jazz" as you improvise a gag but 95% of the time you are shouting to the ether.
When it's busy this is fairly easy, crowd control the order of the day as the actual punters are often trapped behind the sightseers but Monday was surprisingly quiet so you're yelling at, well, not much. Acceptable but dull are "win or each way", "in you come", or even "any bets?". Totally unacceptable (to me at least) are the turgid "they're all priced" or "give it a name". The best, I think, is "special offer for <insert name of football team, music group, stag do on t shirt/hat being worn by potential punter>". I occasionally even get a smile and often a bet. All suggestions for future gratefully received. I also like the magic hand- next door didn't. I explained the magic hand had to pay open and welcoming and not down facing and clawing. He wasn't convinced. I demonstrated and got a £2.50 each way. The small wins when you're quiet.
What was also gratifying was the number of punters who came up to ask me how Llandudno was. Somebody read Saturday's blog then!
1) As alluded to above, business wasn't great so the definition "jackpot" didn't really exist as, the way we bet, you can only win what you take even with a skinner. In the first we stood Arbennig and Pittsburg for the max. Pittsburg mainly due to a group from the States all betting it. I smiled and enthusiastically said "Go Steelers" which was met with a small wince. "Go Penguins?" I offered with a little less gusto. That just confused them. Maybe it's the accent. Or maybe they were Packers fans. Either way the bogeys were beaten (despite Pittsburg hitting about 10s on when it went past) but Tonto's Spirit got back up and we had a reasonable start despite it is often well bet here.
2) No such joy in the 2nd as Landofsmiles was a max and the only winner. Rancid places put us behind in the book and expenses to get as well.
3) The most inevitable max of the day was Jelski. It was never in it. The take was pretty ordinary as was the profit on Marshalled but we were back in green (still red if you take into account expenses)
4) Cofficianado for the max and I assume the racing gods were aware of my 6:15am alarm call for an early-ish start compounded by a 2 hour pitch in and a 2 1/2 hour trek from North Wales. Steve noted we were getting an early look at the world Premierisation (still not a word) until I pointed out that a 10am start would equal a 3am alarm. No beans for the bogeys and we had another modest winner with the jolly Gifted Angel.
5) 3 bogeys here, Coal Fire (3rd fav) for the max and the 4th and 5th in the list for good measure. Top 2 slugged it out and the better one, Secret Secret, won despite looking well beaten early on. "Better" being a relative term on a 600 quid take.
6) See above. Give it a re-read. The bit where I say we can't win more than we take cos we don't artificially back the rags back. So on a £450 (win book) take we can't win more than, well, £450. Even a couple of small each ways on a massive priced winner smashes that profit into oblivion. Tiny win halved by a place market battering you'd expect when the top 3 fail to place. I know what you're going to say but I'm still counting all of those saved fivers we haven't bet back in the last 5 years since the last similarly priced one won. Ta.
7) The Name Dodging Stakes. We had them all here including 3 Disney princesses- a Susie a Cinderella (spelt differently for copyright purposes) a Soph (though whether the long form was a Sophie or a Sophia was unclear) a Belle and we'd have also had a Molly if it hadn't scratched. Susie and Soph and Belle were the laid names/princesses and we managed a nice win on the other one that they didn't want. I couldn't manage a glass slipper gag.
In the context of the take we were happy with the overall win. In the context of a Monday bank holiday and lively Saturday betting day we were disappointed overall though I may have picked poorly in fairness as we tried an area we'd not been to in 7 or 8 years. I've popped a reminder in my diary to give it another go in 2029.
Going to give Musselburgh a go tonight and, depending on the business, I may even pop back tomorrow as well. So you may even get a bumper double header thing from me on Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Until then...
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