I'd like to me sparkling and witty but I'm exhausted after a long, and let's be honest, difficult day for us along with most of the rest of the bookmaking fraternity, so I'll have to settle for "flat and rather dull". I'm even more disappointed about my blogging inadequacy tonight as a lovely chap came over to tell us how much he enjoyed our blogs, before telling us he is a journalist. High praise indeed and much appreciated. My cousin is also a journalist and I'm still waiting for fulsome, or indeed, any sort of similar praise from him.
For those following our Twitter feeds (both of you) you will no doubt be wondering the "betting without" race tally it currently stands at 2. Probably another 2 or 3 tomorrow. Disappointing to say the least.
Before we start, I was listening to a football podcast on the way down yesterday. It was an hour or so about the finances of football clubs. They'd been to a weekend "football business seminar" thing in London. Look, it was a 7 hour drive and I had to listen to something. Anyway, they were talking about a chief exec or head of marketing or similar about how their club grew revenues. The first thing she said was "if you just stick it on the ticket price you're in trouble". They'd grown their average customer spend from £2 per head to £18 per head by massively improving the offering. Craft beers, significantly improved food offering (artisan pies, high end sandwiches etc), pre and post match events related to the match to increase the time their customers spent at the venue. More staff, so fewer queues, no scrums at the toilets. And, of course, a much improved competitive sporting offering.
Racing aspires to this and I just sincerely hope they had a representative there as the current plan seems to be stick the price up year after year, pour your own pints and anyone that saw the "chicken burger" for 9 quid doing the rounds on Twitter a few weeks ago from a track that will remain nameless will know that there is often not much artisan or craft about a lot of offerings. This is not aimed at Cheltenham necessarily but at racing in general. It has taken football an awfully long time to change the dodgy pie, a Skol and a 20 minute queue for the toilet image but they're managing it. I hope there is the will to do the same in racing. Add in a mechanism that allows the best horses to avoid racing against each other and you have the series of processions we witnessed today (apart from the 1st) which are in stark contrast to the spectacle on offer between Liverpool and Manchester City on Sunday. Sour grapes? Maybe, but I have been saying much the same even when we win!
1) Tullyhill for the max plus Mystical Power and Mastergif for half and we got off to a dream start with a great win on Slade Steel who outstayed Mystical Power after the last.
2) Top 3 in the market were top 3 in real life and we couldn't avoid laying Gaelic Warrior for the max and, in what was to become a theme, it was 1.01 over the last. The next race was on the board with a furlong to go and the only crumb of comfort was we stood plenty at the bottom of the market in the place market which softened the blow. But only slightly.
3) Stood the top 4 in the market. The worst of them won easily despite a mistake at the last, the places were nearly as rancid as the win and we were digging a hole. And filling it with water.
4) We put up the "without" market alongside the usual race market having experienced taking coppers on a similar race make up the previous year. We took more on the "without" market, as expected, and what we won on State Man was lost along with a bit more with the obvious "without" winner Irish Point. The hosepipe was still running and someone had lined the bottom of the hole.
5) Another race, another odds on shot, another motionless rider, the only difference being we'd laid Lossiemouth for the max, though at least we played a 0-0 draw in the without market, the water was up to the chest and the manhole cover was being slid into place. In the dark, without a clue. And if you get that lyric without Googling it come and see me tomorrow and you can have a free 50p bet on any odds on shot you like.
6) Top 4 in the market in again. The worst one won again. The hole was getting bigger, the water was flowing faster and somebody had installed a roller coaster we couldn't get off. And the drops were getting bigger and more vomit inducing.
7) We stood the top 2 again. The smashed up jolly (it was fav on course despite what the SP may show) Corbetts Cross won pulling a cart and a thoroughly depressing day was brought to a close in much the same fashion as races 2-6.
Though if you think we got it all wrong today you'd be mistaken. Remembering last year's 75 minute slogfest to get out of the northern car park exit we headed for the alternative and were only stuck for 25. Looking at Twitter where #cheltenhamcarpark seems to be trending we at least got something right.
More of the same tomorrow, unfortunately, as another 3 odds on shots mean more creative markets will be on show. Unlike the Murphys, I probably am bitter, but surely there must be a better way than this for the pinnacle of racing in the UK?
Until then...
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