Quote: jake how @ March 1, 2008, 2:05 PMWhat he made a bet that I would be banned by now ?
Odds of 2/1 too! 
Who bets on horses? £20 free Cheltenham bet... Page 2
Hmm. Trouble is, if I make a bet on this Exotic Dancer, he/she will no doubt be sent to the glue factory within 72 hours.
You really think it's a safe bet, Markus Maximus?
Quote: Mark @ March 1, 2008, 2:07 PMOdds of 2/1 too!
You thought that you would have banned me by now I bet ?
Quote: Aaron @ March 1, 2008, 2:07 PMYou really think it's a safe bet, Markus Maximus?
No! ha ha. No bet is a safe one otherwise gambling wouldn't exist. It's fairly likely, but for more of a certainty I'd suggest an each way (win and place that is) on Denman or Kauto Star. You won't win much though as they're the heavy favourites.
Just found this on Coral's site Leevil...
The £20 free bet offer is available for new customers who deposit and bet £20 on a sporting event. Customers depositing and staking less than £20 will receive the equivalent free bet value. For example: a customer that deposits an initial amount of £5 will be credited with a £5 free bet once their original £5 has been bet with on a sporting event.
Hmmmmmm. So which are you going for? You're an insider!
Quote: Aaron @ March 1, 2008, 2:27 PMHmmmmmm. So which are you going for? You're an insider!
Frankly your guess is as good as mine!
The last free bet I made was for John Higgins to win some snooker tournament at 15-1. Won £150 
I have no idea what I'm doing, but it's fun!
Quote: Mark @ March 1, 2008, 2:10 PMThe £20 free bet offer is available for new customers who deposit and bet £20 on a sporting event. Customers depositing and staking less than £20 will receive the equivalent free bet value. For example: a customer that deposits an initial amount of £5 will be credited with a £5 free bet once their original £5 has been bet with on a sporting event.
Does that have to be one single bet of £10 or loads of little ones? Can you point me in the direction of a FAQ or something on horse racing and betting because I'm really not sure how to do it, I'm just betting 20p on each horse and 50p on the one with the best odds.
I won 50 bucks on a horse once and I never pushed my luck.
Curt wins.
My old boss used to own and ride a horse called Cool Dawn and 10 years ago it was entered into the Cheltenham Gold Cup with odds of 25/1 if I remember correctly.
She told us not to back it but of course we all did and were as surprised as anyone when it came in first! 
Quote: Tuumble @ March 6, 2008, 11:33 AMMy old boss used to own and ride a horse called Cool Dawn and 10 years ago it was entered into the Cheltenham Gold Cup with odds of 25/1 if I remember correctly.
She told us not to back it but of course we all did and were as surprised as anyone when it came in first!
Wow - that's a good story!
Quote: Leevil @ March 5, 2008, 2:41 PMCan you point me in the direction of a FAQ or something on horse racing and betting because I'm really not sure how to do it, I'm just betting 20p on each horse and 50p on the one with the best odds.
If you're winning stick to that! BUT long-term that won't be profitable as bookies obviously cover their backs with their odds - eventually you'd lose.
There's no right or wrong way to bet - if there was a system bookies wouldn't exist.
Your basic bets are "win" - it's obviously got to come first. Or "Each Way" which means you're putting half your stake on it to win and half on it to come second (or, provided there are 8 runners, third). It's a way of covering your back but shouldn't be done on a hot favourite as it's not a profitable way to bet long-term.
Obviously the lower the odds the more likely it is to win according to everyone else. Sometimes the crowd get it wrong and that's when something like a nice juicy 25/1 comes in and makes some people money.
If you want to start getting technical you can begin to study form to see if you can pick out a winner the crowd has missed - this gets quite complicated though as there's obviously many variables. I can't do it.
Thanks for that Mark.
*scratches elbow, adjusts cap, picks nose*
I hope I didn't offend you there?
Who remembers the story about Foinavon winning the National with odds of 100/1 in 1967?
Another boss of mine told me that his grandfather had this horse as part of a 4 horse accumulator and won about £4000 which was a tidy sum back then. Apparently you can see him on the footage next to the horse on the way to the winners enclosure.
For those who don't know, an accumulator is where you pick the winners of (in this case) 4 races and the winnings from the first race are your stake for race two and so on. However, if you picked 3 winners and in the other race it came second you'd win nothing - it has to be all winners.
The guy who won a million last week did a 7 horse accumulator I think with an initial stake of 50p!
Quote: Tuumble @ March 6, 2008, 3:18 PMwon about £4000 which was a tidy sum back then.
Sounds like a pretty tidy sum now.
Quote: Mark @ March 1, 2008, 2:10 PMIt's fairly likely, but for more of a certainty I'd suggest an each way (win and place that is) on Denman or Kauto Star. You won't win much though as they're the heavy favourites.
Sorry to disagree with Mark, but there is really no point whatsoever in backing either Kauto Star or Denman each way. Never bet each way unless the odds are at least 4/1 (absolute minimum - more likely 5/1 or better). You'd be better off backing both Kauto Star and Denman to win. Your outlay would be the same (2 bets) and your return is likely to be better.
I'm not betting on the race cos it's just one to savour for me, but if forced my money would go on Kauto as reigning champ - but I wouldn't be surprised if Denman won, especially if it rains a lot. I'd be *amazed* if Exotic Dancer won, and moderately surprised if it was even placed. But racing's like comedy - all about opinions.