2009 - a new challenge

I've decided 2009 will be a consolidation year. Failing that, it will be my last year fully "professional".

Actually I won't be wholly full-time in 2009 either, which is why I can take this approach. I will be doing a little bit of work here and there to oil my creaking finances. My four years so far could be described as great, good, bad and mediocre. Realism dictates three strikes and I'm out.

The new fund (the 1% fund) is actually a reversion to the tried and trusted methodology I used when I was "semi-professional" a few years back. I'm hoping the more conservative staking, and reduced need for monthly income will do the trick for me, both in terms of capital growth, and in terms of my peace of mind.

I will post up clear bets in the morning as usual. However, I will then pursue bets during the day - for example in-running, and trades - that won't be announced beforehand. The following day I will list all bets made, with comments. Hopefully that will provide both some decent tips and an interesting narrative. No doubt I will prove occasionally brilliant, usually average and often imbecilic, with the odd tilt thrown in for good measure.

The bets won't change much. I'll still be doing tissue-based racing bets, and ratings-based football bets. I'll also be able to detail ante-post bets, and long-term books and similar.


I am continuing with the "barking bets" separately as these have been the one bright light of 2008 and should continue to grow and provide a small income in 2009. If I could get that fund up to around £10k I'd be able to remain full-time in 2010 regardless of the success of the 1% fund. Hope springs eternal!

Monday 29th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £2930)
Stake down to £300.
Mussleburgh 1:15 can dutch front two at a stingy price.
Newbury 2:45 if prepared to take on Junior – dutch front two at 1.2






Apologies for stop start nature of blog over festive period. I'll be starting a new fund for 2008 so bear with me.

Sunday 28th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £2930)
Winners but a loser – and a miserable looking fund – needs work in new year.


£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

A couple of football bets for Sunday.

Foolishly perhaps, I'm going after Man City again – Allardyce to improve Blackburn - split 45 win at 13/8+ and 55 draw no bet at 4/5.

And Colchester appeal at odds against at home to a poor Orient side. 100 +0.25 handicap at 1.7.


Apologies for stop start nature of blog over festive period. I'll be starting a new fund for 2008 so bear with me.

Friday 26th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3080)
Sorry, haven't time to go into any details, but possible races today at Sedgefield, Towcester and Leopardstown.


£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

I'll stick with Briareus to sneak a place.

Man City look opposable this afternoon – they really are in a rotten state. Split bet 25 Hull win at 4s and 75 Hull +0.5 at 6/5



Snippet of the day
“And it all comes down to you
Maybe once, maybe twice.”

Wednesday 24th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3080)
Nothing.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Here's a KingGeorge tissue:

Kauto Star 6/4
Voy Per Ustedes 7/1
Air Force One 9/1
Imperial Commander 10/1
Our Vic 10/1
Tamarinbleu 20/1
Snoopy Loopy 25/1
Briareus 25/1
Albertas Run 25/1
Exotic Dancer 25/1

I have to say I can find more reasons not to back these horses than I can find favourable reasons. Kauto Star – well I can afford to let him win at 5/4 off the back of a few moderate runs; Voy Per Ustedes doesn't do it for me; nor do last year's novices; Twiston-Davies and Pipe are hardly firing; Imperial Commander looks a Cheltenham horse; Our Vic and Exotic Dancer have had their chances in this. The only horse I keep looking at is an old favourite – Briareus. OK, so he has a couple of stone to find, and hasn't exactly ever looked like a 3 miler. That seems in the price. On the other hand he loves the track, and remains open to a lot of improvement. It's a flyer for sure, but I'll go for an each way Xmas punt.

Football and Rochdale look too long against continuously overrated Shrewsbury. I don't appear to be alone in this as the odds are shortening. I'll split 1% 40 win at 5/4 and 60 draw no bet at 4/6.




Snippet of the day
“Got on a lucky one, came in at 10/1”

(Christy Moore sings “came in at 18/1” when he covers this song – I hope he asked for the fractions.)

Tuesday 23rd December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3080)
Damn – I hate losing the first bet of the week. And chances to get it back this week may be thin on the ground.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Well done Everton. No bets today, I may put up some Boxing Day thoughts tomorrow, otherwise I'll be back Boxing Day itself. I have the full complement of in-laws around. Hope you all have more fun!



Snippet of the day
“You fought 'er off with a water pistol. I bloody love you.”

Monday 22nd December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3420)
Hereford 3:10- Front two playable with cautious eye on a couple of lurkers.


£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

It's easy to see why backers are all over Chelsea tonight. Everton without any forwards, and poor at home – whilst Chelsea have a perfect record away from home. They haven't played anyone half decent yet though. To be honest I think they should be closer to Evens for this, and granted it's with a little trepidation, but I'll oppose them. 1% bets allow us to play more underdogs than hitherto and I'm fairly confident the prices are sightly wrong here. Split the bet 20/80 - Everton 20 win at 5/1 and 80 +0.5 at over 5/4.





Snippet of the day
“Eat your heart out Emily Pankhurst. This isn't tying yourself to the iron railings. This is taking down the tungsten curtain.”

(Sid turning it up to 11 last night!)

Sunday 21st December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3420)
A good day.

You can tell how low my confidence has fallen over the last 18 months though. Strictly Come Dancing was in pretty much the same position last night as when Darren Gough won. Boy, did I get stuck in that night. One of my bets ever bets. Whereas last night, instead of topping up at what looked like Christmas-come-early prices, I watched the show through my hands.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Good football; shame about Miss Mitch, who ran a cracker; and I'm still kicking the furniture at letting Niche Market go off unbacked.

Football prices look right today.




Snippet of the day
“It's not the cough that carries you off,
it's the coffin they carry you off in.”

Saturday 20th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3240 – scd bet unaccounted)
Two possible races today.
1:50 Newcastle – dutch front three at around 1.2
2:00 Haydock – dutch front two at around 1.15
I may skip the latter – Doctor David is a mulish character and may play up on course, and Kalahari King is my only ante post Fetsival bet so far, so don't want to be doubly scuppered. Certainly bet late if at all.

Then pray Tom falls over the line in SCD.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

I forgot to add yesterday that Southend are gash. Still, wait till you see today's advice John.


Wolves are fairly priced to beat Doncaster – bookies still pricing the latter on their attractive play rather than their end product. I'm splitting my 1% bet 65 Draw No Bet and 35 win.

Bournemouth have the captain out injured, and a benchful suspended. Dumped out of the cup by non league opposition midweek they now play the up and coming side in the division. No wonder they're drifting. On the other hand Bury look to be in a completely false position – an easy fixture list helping. I can't help myself – forgive me. 1% split: 30 win and 70 draw no bet.

Ascot. The Graduation Chase looks a match. However, Gwanako has to recover from an Aintree horror, and doubts still linger about the stable. My Petra looks much more solid, though the distance may be an obstacle. Miss Mitch is the lurker. She looked to be about to have a great future over fences before injuring herself at a water jump and losing her way last season. This looks exactly the sort of race to get her back on track – I've gone ew at 14/1, (7 runners I know, but you can see one of the faves blowing out and the rest aren't up to anything), and had a small ew double her and Alsaada in the Ladbroke, for the sport. 1% in total.




Snippet of the day
“You go from second hand to almost new.”

Friday 19th December

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3240 – scd bet unaccounted)
Looks like being our quietest ever week.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Phil Taylor has been the brightest part of this fund over the last year – certainly my Sports Personality of the Year. He's now down to 4/7 for the biggest tournament of all – I think he may finally have found his price. I'll leave it to you whether to keep playing up your winnings or not. I'll play a modest 1% but that'll do me. There were signs last time out that he isn't nailing the doubles as he was mid-season. He still has that air of Tiger Woods invincibility about him though, that makes the rest of the players beat themselves.

Football – the ratings are useful at showing team's progress or otherwise. They tell me that Southend are the same side as they were at the start of the season, and so are Hartlepool. Southend's way record has been the problem and explain tonight's prices. I'll play 1% on Southend – split 20 win at 9/4; 35 draw no bet at 5/4; and 45 +0.5 on the Asians at 1.75. Overall that returns 2.2 for a win and 1.1 for a draw.

Ascot. Tricky looking card. Certainly no barking bets. I've been playing some of the chase handicaps “barking bet lite” style as an experiment this months – hopefully will launch as part of this fund in new year.



Snippet of the day
“The odds are good but the goods are odd.”

Thursday 18th November

Barking Bets (Banked £1375/Current bank £3240 – scd bet unaccounted)
A frustrating week this week.



£500 Challenge Bet (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

I'm going to close this fund, and open another one, so that I can actually put some bets up here!

I have some work for over Xmas/early January. This will ease the worries of producing an income from an aggressively-staked fund on a losing streak. So, I think I'll scale back and return to the 1% staking approach that served me well for years and get some capital growth going. I'm tinkering currently and will launch the new fund January 1st.



Snippet of the day
“Your time is coming, don't be late”

Wednesday 17th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3240 – scd bet unaccounted)

After last night's setback – nothing doing today.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”

“Women who wait and wait and wait and wait

And wait. Before they know it they're thirty-eight.

It's them not the cradle that's rocking

And time isn't ticking it's tocking”

Tuesday 16th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3540 – scd bet unaccounted)

1:20 Folkestone – dutch front two around 1.15
Greyhounds – Wimbledon 7:40 dutch traps 1 and 2

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“She was interesting, smart and attractive and for about 5 minutes I had her convinced I was also”

Monday 15th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3540 – scd bet unaccounted)

Taken our kicking in the cricket – pretty poor and terrible way to start a series. India will feel invincible now.

No obvious bet today.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“There's a lone soldier on the cross
Smoke pouring out of a box-car door.”

Sunday 14th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3840 – scd bet and cricket unaccounted)

Sehwag making the cricket bet look a bit dodgy right now! Get him out and we should be able to relax, otherwise we'll have the dubious consolation of having lost to one of the great test innings.

And as for Strictly Come Dancing. I actually complained to Ofcom last night (what on earth am I turning onto?), given that voting for Tom had been rendered a waste of money, once the judges had given the girls joint-top. This show has treated the voting public with enormous contempt this year. (There has been little or no comment on the fact the judges did exactly the same thing last year – and that it really does stink of collusion – but that's a digression for conspiracy theorists to get their teeth into).

Anyway, their response to what must have been a lot of complaints looks like it may create more problems for them, so god know how that bet will turn out now.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Portsmouth complete the weekend football – which has been almost entirely focused on teams that are weak home team favoruites in matches where the draw is a big runner. I'd have them at Evens at worst to be honest, and will continue to split my bet, this time 40% home win and 60% draw no bet.

“Snippet of the day”
“Lily had already washed all of the dye out of her hair.”

Saturday 13th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3770 – scd bet unaccounted)
12:00 Doncaster possible and laying India in the cricket could have some merit if England can remain only 3 down at close of play.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

What a shame about Cheltenham – that looked a great card.

Leaves us with football.

The ratings did well last night with Lincoln. They throw up three possibles today, all similar.

Stoke should be shorter to beat Fulham, (I'm afraid), Plymouth to beat QPR, and Rotherham to beat Aldershot (despite recent form). The draw is a big player in each match though, which explains why the bookies want to take them on. I'll play 1% on each, split a third on the win at around 6/4 in each case, and two thirds on draw no bet at around 4/5 in each case.

“Snippet of the day”
"He felt the heat of the night
Hit him like a freight train”

Friday 12th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3770 – scd bet unaccounted)

Cheltenham not the place for these. A frustratingly quiet week so far, on the other hand a profitable one.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Lincoln should be odds-on on my ratings to beat Accrington this evening. Not two teams I can pretend to know much about though. I'll continue my 1% approach and taking caution to extraordinary lengths this meditatory month split that 40% win at Evens and 60% draw no bet at 4/9.

Cheltenham – all manner of old favourites running today. It's meetings like this where I need to be disciplined and not relapse into the style of betting that got me here in the first place, but which is now unprofitable (for me). I'll do a get rich quick treble – otherwise no bet.

Apologies to those who look in on just these occasions (Saturday Gambler for one), but I'd only let you down.

“Snippet of the day”
“When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there for ever and ever, or you spend your adolesence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can't wait to get out, and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there for ever and ever.”

Thursday 11th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3770 – scd bet unaccounted)

Off to London again, just for the day this time. No bets today.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“Champagne for my real friends. Real pain for my sham friends.”

(I went to a play last night at Wrekin College – by Lope De Vega 1603. Surprisingly good fun and reminded me of my lucky escape from being an English/Drama teacher. Wrekin's drama teacher getting carried away Summer Heights High style with this updated line methinks.)

Wednesday 10th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3715)

Due a kicking.

Leicester 12:50 – dutch front two as close to 1.2 – Henderson usually has a few winners in December that have been off for ages – weakness in market always a worry though.

Strictly Come Dancing. Tom wins this if he gets to the final as there's plenty of evidence that Rachel and Lisa just aren't as popular with the public, despite the judges' over the top gushing. I'll guess he'll be 1.2ish if he makes the final. However, he could end up in the dance-off this week and be scuppered Gethin-gate style. So 3^rd or 1^st. We can back him to win now at 1.7+ and to be eliminated this week at 4/1. Dutched around 1.25ish. Looks good. You could probably better this playing the forecast markets but it's too hard to get any reasaonable sum of money on.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

The ratings seem to have recovered from their horrendous run. Our Champions League group bets fell by the wayside last night though. No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“Needless to say,
I don't agree.
And let's bring the talk
Back to me, me, me.

Tuesday 9th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3590)

Sedgefield has a couple of potential races.
1:20 – but too short the front two to really be viable.
2:20 – front two and could possibly add a late springer.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

The John Durkan chase: People seem to be finding holes in the front three and sniffing around for “value” elsewhere. There's plenty of holes in the form of the outsiders though and it doesn't look very competitive to me. One of the big three at least should run their race. It's not a barking bet, given the depth in the field, but I'm prepared to risk 1% dutching the front three at best prices.

Football.
Three matches come out as bets on ratings. Wolves and Preston look fairly straightforward, but at unexciting prices. Sheffield United are more interesting away to Nottingham Forest. Around half stake on win and half on 'draw no bet' looks the way to go here.

“Snippet of the day”
“Believe we're gliding down life's highway
when in fact we're slip slidin' away”

Monday 8th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1375/Current bank £3550)
Rusedski had match point yesterday – always disliked him! I was able to hedge a little in-running and paid £100 dividend. New stake £360.

Musselburgh 1:50 potential today, front four, but a pretty horrible looking race.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£835- 2 bets inplay – accounted)

Good old Ronnie. No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“ Do memories plague their ears like flies.”

Sunday 7th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3512 – tennis bet accounted as loser)

Racing's been great this week. I have very little faith in Rusedski beating Pioline however – have already counted it as a loser. If he could pull it off we'll have a perfect 10 for the week, and a nice dividend. I'm off walking, so no bets today.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Reality TV gave us a right kicking last night, which at least I was prepared for. Further proof, were any needed that these shows are best treated as long-term trading events.Something I gave up a couple of years back when I realised I was wasting my life perusing celebrity-obsessed forums; monitoring obscure on-line polls, and worst of all watching the damned programmes.

Ronnie made the final, Selby looks to be in the best form though – fingers crossed for this evening.

Stenson at least has a stroll in the park today for anyone who played that one.

Football today. (Yesterday's two matches gave my ratings a boost). My ratings suggest Everton should be 5/4. However, given their lack of strikers and hopeless home record, I'd have pushed them out to 6/4 as well.

Portsmouth look more likely at 7/4 and better. I would have put this up as a bet in more normal times, and have dabbled (1% of fund as opposed to the usual 4%) a quarter of stake on the win and three quarters on +0.25, which, taken overall, doubles your money for a win and gets your entire stake back for a draw. The reduced stake may be the new way forward with this fund. (A reversion to an old approach in reality). I think I'm going to sit tight, and continue experimenting and meditating through to the Xmas and decide what to do come the new year.

“Snippet of the day”
“ A fairytale finish down at Dean Court”
I agree with John. Darren Anderton always seemed like a decent bloke, and always looked completely at home in an England shirt.

Saturday 6th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3647 – tennis bet unaccounted)

Tip-toeing along this week. Could do without blowing it.

12:25 Chepstow playable, dutching front two at close to 1.2
1:00 Chepstow possible if you're happy to oppose Pancake (probably)
2:00 Sandown – another one of those possibly trappy novice chases but front two playable if happy they are a cut above (probably)

Pioline/Sampras play-off to see who plays Rusedski in final. Pioline has never beaten Sampras. I'll let it ride.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Let's imagine I was betting in this fund.

The football ratings throw up two teams (one of which will make at least one person laugh!).

Birmingham to beat Watford on ratings should be as short as 1.5 The problem is Birmingham just keep conceding goals, and it's easy to see why they're priced longer – particuarly if you suspect Watford are probably underrated. Not for me.

Bournemouth (!) should be odds-on to beat Chester on my ratings. I'm guessing this must just be because my ratings can't catch up with their freefall – maybe today's the day they steady the ship. Frankly, if they can't....Good luck, but I'll skip.

Racing. I foresee the following headline: Thomas rides four timer at Chepstow as McCoy falls at Sandown! Though, to be honest the four-timer actually looks more likely. Master Minded and Tidal Bay look the right prices to me. It's notable that Corals are firmly in Tidal Bay's camp though. The horse that seems to have been slightly overlooked is Twist Magic who likes this course – in stark contrast to undulating tracks – I'd put him in at 9/1.

On-going bets – Ronnie O'Sullivan gets to the business end of the Permier League. Let's hope he plays better than he has thus far; Stenson now only 3 shots clear; Diana vulnerable in X Factor and not looking a favourite; and we need a good night from Austin Healey – Tom beginning to worry me.

“Snippet of the day”
Dog-school:
“Ok, hands up anyone who hasn't eaten their homework”

Friday 5th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3562 – tennis bet unaccounted)

Small win yesterday. A decent card at Sandown today. The 2:00 looks playable – we can get the front three in the book if we get the right prices. The 1:00 Exeter would also look like a qualifier but it's a handicap and I've excluded them from consideration for the most part.

Pioline is looking threatening in the old crocks tennis. We may need to take a little insurance tomorrow when he has his showdown with Sampras.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today. Stenson is 1.75 to win in Sun City and that looks very fair to me. You know me and golf though.

“Snippet of the day”
Kastoori, Shree Krishna; Jaffna House; Mirch Marsala; Lahore Karahi. I miss you guys.

Thursday 4th December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3522 – tennis bet unaccounted)

I played the Catterick hurdle in the end – winner apart, were they ever poor horses!

Abandonment of Market Rasen limits chances today. Perhaps the Novice Chase at Wincanton to squeeze a limited win out of front two.

Tennis bet lobbing along – Rusedski should reach final now and hard to imagine Sampras won't join him.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“An only life can take so long to climb
Clear of its wrong beginnings.”

Wednesday 3rd December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3432 – tennis bet unaccounted)

A good start to the week. I played the two Hereford races – and suffered a scary second circuit in the Novice Chase once the favourite had been pulled up. Even better, the gut instinct that made me avoid the Greyhound final proved perspicacious.

Catterick has two possibles, We're not likely to get a playable price on the front three in the 1:50. We could play the front four in the 2:20, but they are far from solid, as befits the course. Sit and ponder.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“standing
alone with nothing to say for myself except my name.”

Tuesday 2nd December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3247)

The Tennis Masters is interesting. The problem is gauging just how much of a sporting event it actually is. Once all the prat-falls are done with though, it's hard to see how Sampras (and possibly Rusedski) can't be way ahead of a bunch of people my age or older! You can dutch them both at 1.3ish.

The greyhound final tonight looked a play, but there does look a possibility of an inside dog getting a free run and I'll skip.

Hereford 1:10 and 3:10 are possibles, but I'll wait and watch for now. The faves in the 1:10 aren't exactly bombproof, and there's some lurkers in the 3:10.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Snippet of the day”
“I wouldn't worry about it none. Them old dreams are only in your head.”

Monday 1st December

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3247)

Doesn't look to be anything today. A day off.

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today. Shutting up shop for a while, unless a damned fine bet wanders by.

The overall returns on this fund are still 104%. But the fund is down from a high of £1235 and I need to take stock. I'll be concentrating on the barking bets for the time being. I'll still put up thoughts on here each day though.

“Snippet of the day”
“What's the name of the river running through Bristol?”

(oops)

Sunday 30th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£814- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Let's hope a well deserved and happy retirement beckons for Inglis Drever.

My ratings do suggest some of the prices are wrong today, but I won't be playing. Chelsea should arguably be shorter, as could Man Utd, whereas Spurs are ridiculously short at Evens. Still, Arsenal have a history of raising their game in these matches, and Chelsea look one dimensional to me with Anelka, particularly away from home, despite his goals; Man City are playing with verve and gusto at home, whilst Man Utd have been strangely sterile away; and Everton, as we know from last week, are gash at the moment. Not hard to see how the prices came to land where they are.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3247)
I took a little of the All Blacks inrunning. If any of you layed Droylesdon I hope you've changed your underwear and phoned a charity!

Carlisle did look to have a couple of opportunities but, like Newcastle yesterday, has left us bereft of obvious bets.

“Snippet of the day”
“Did you exchange,
a walk-on part in the war,
for a lead role in a cage.”

Saturday 29th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£834- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

I'll stick with the small bets we already have on Albertas Run and Verasi.

And of course have a bet on Inglis Drever to win this for us yet again. He's 6/4 in my book, not that prices really come into it.

The only football ratings bet is Wolves to beat Birmingham. Alex Deacon wrote an interesting piece in RFO this week, where his ratings suggest Wolves should be long odds on for the Championship. Unsurprisingly my own ratings for the team have skyrocketed similarly. Of course this is exactly the time the wheels fall off – televised derby going for 9^th consecutive win. Even so, I'll play, keeping the draw on our side. Most my league accas included Birmingham, so I can always write it off as a hedge.

Inglis Drever £15 win at 7/4
Wolves £5 win at 11/8
Wolves - Draw No Bet £10 at 1.67

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3222)
There looked to be a load of bets at Newcastle – shame.

The All Blacks would qualify for anyone who fancies 1.07. Also Droylesdon and Alfreton look short and layable at similar prices. I'm not sure I'll bother with any of them though.

“Snippet of the day”
“One day it's fine, the next it's black.”

(A couple of great documentaries on The Clash last night, much to my wife's annoyance!)

Friday November 28th

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£834- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Seems like we're still saving money! No bet today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3167)
Didn't play the one horse races – should have done. On the other hand I did briefly consider layingMetalist against Galatasaray!

Musselburgh 1:45 and Lingfield 1:20 both look playable dutching front three in each as close to 1.2 as you can get.

“Snippet of the day”
I watched Pippo Inzaghi last night. He had the ball only 4 times all match. Hit the post twice, bar once and equalised in the 93^rd minute. This lazy, mediocre, amateur ex-goalhanger salutes you.

Thursday 27th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£834- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Briery Fox looks place material again at Newbury.

I won't put it up as a bet (continuing my abstinence) though I will probably dabble at reduced stake.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3102)
Played the Kempton Novice chase once I remembered that Behreyan couldn't jump. A dodgy few minutes once the favourite fell but ended happily.

Newbury 12:25 – dutch front three at 1.2

12:45 Uttox and 2:15 Taunton are one horse races. I'm not keen on those particularly – dutching works better, but they remain possibles. You'd want to see signs of form from Nicholls' horses prior to the 2:15.

“Snippet of the day”
“A-P-O-C-A-L-Y-P-S-E Apocalypse”

Wednesday 26th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£839- 5 bets inplay – accounted)

I haven't checked but it feels like the last 20 matches picked up as bets by the ratings have failed. The only good part of that is we've only played in two of them and got out on the draw on one of them. Worrying though.

You're welcome to my Hennessey tissue:

Big Buck's 7/1 (has to be a doubt about trainer's form)
Albertas Run 8/1 (you have to forgive fto – v similar to Exotic Dancer prior to Paddy Power)
Air Force One 11/1 (no idea why this is so short compared to Albertas Run)
Character Building 11/1 (no obvious reason why he should do better than last year)
Island Flyer 11/1 (great weight; great run last time out; class for the Hennessey?)
Oedipe 12/1 (Geraghty goes to Newcastle – hardly a tip – not Henderson's race overall)
Verasi 12/1 (as you know I'm a fan, backed for Sun Alliance, need to forgive that.)
Dear Villez 14/1

I expected Snoopy Loopy to be non runner. Would be a fair training feat.
I've given my contenders c66% of book; currently trading at c80% of book.

Let's do a couple of small bets.
Verasi £2 win at 25/1
Albertas Run £2 win at 12/1
and why not a 50p ew double Verasi and Papal Bull for Japan Cup!

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3037)
Played the Lingfield race, and probably could have played a few more, but that's hindsight for you.
No obvious bets today, but I'll watch Kempton and Wetherby with a ready finger.

“Snippet of the day”
“She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge
She studied sculpture at St Martin's College.”

(Or, in my case, Goldsmiths)

Tuesday 25th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£839- 5 bets inplay – accounted)

That was a hurtful one last night. Having waited all week for a real good bet to appear, it goes and loses. The ratings took a hell of a hammering this weekend. I'll do some reviewing this afternoon.

Unsurprisingly, no bet using them tonight.

The teams thrown up as possibles are all easily overlooked. Southend meet another team that score freely so that could be anything; Bournemouth look in freefall and Morecambe nearly always score; and Luton have conceded in every home game so far.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £2972)
I played two of those races and one of them bit me – serves me right.
Lingfield 1:00 is a possible today – need to check the market on a couple of lurkers.

“Snippet of the day”
“Tears of rage roll down your face
But still you say it's fun.”

Monday 24th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£864- 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Phil Taylor marches on. Thank heavens for that.

I actually have a main bet today. My ratings suggest that Everton and Wigan are pretty much the same sides they were a year ago. Last year Everton took 28/36 points against the bottom 6. Wigan certainly look to be that again this year, especially if form that has seen them score only 3 goals at home continues. Everton's slow start seems to have left them underrated here.

Everton £3.50 win at 15/8
Draw No Bet £7.50 at Evens
Lay Wigan £14 at 1.5+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3252)
There's a discussion about Harry Findlay's methodology (or lack of it) over at the racing forum. Worth checking out, if not for Ginger giving me lessons on sucking eggs, then for carvillshill's assertion that he'd bet all he has that this fund will go bust. If he's right I'm well and truly fucked.

The horses have actually done well in this fund so far. 206 wins from 240 bets and 104.8% returns.

So I guess it's lucky I'm open-minded and flexible enough to seek out new approaches and stubborn enough to paddle my own canoe!

Ayr and Ludlow do have races that may be worth considering –
Ayr 1:10 but probably too tight around 90% the front two
Ayr 1:40 The front three, but there's some lurkers not least Lungo's.
Ludlow 12.50 – but Egerton's muddies the water.
I'll be surprised to play.

“Snippet of the day”
“We were no match for their untamed wit
But some of the lads say they'll be back next week.”

Sunday 23rd November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Still no bet today. I'll hunker down with the racing and football anyway. Heather Dalton loves Aintree and I've had a small double on her two runners. I may do likewise the two McCain runners over the National fences.

Spurs look too short (should be closer to evens in my opinion), but hard to be dogmatic with a change of manager so I'll skip.

Phil Taylor is not playing at his best but hopefully he can get the job done Tiger-style tonight.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3182)
1:30 Plumpton a possible – with a wary eye on Jim Best's runner

“Snippet of the day”
“A good day aint got no rain,
A bad day's where I lie in bed and think of things that might have been.”

Saturday 22nd November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Still no bet today. The racing looks informative enough and possibly some barking bets.

Football – My ratings point to Burnley, Southend and Rotherham. However, I'm not going to go against Doncaster here again, and Oldham and Bradford are too strong to be dogmatic about my prices.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3597)
I was looking great but Australia are about to lose the rugby league final at 1.12!

Possibles today:
Scoop6 to be won at 1.3
Burnley draw no bet at 1.2

And the three big races if you're sure of no upsets.
Binocular at 1.15+
Kauto Star and Exotic Dancer dutched if you can get 1.10+
Crackaway Jack/Chomba Womba and Elusive Dream dutched if you can get 1.15+

“Snippet of the day”
“Eliminate, absolutely, positively, all extraneous words.”

Thursday 20th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today. (Friendlies eh? Hope you steered well clear. Capello has a nice way of getting a side balanced though – been lacking that for long enough).

I'm off to London again, so no post tomorrow.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3332)
A good day. I managed to back the right three races. My rule of thumb of trying not to field against single figure odds horses helped me avoid Chapoturgeon's flop. Today:

1:20 Hereford Dutch front two and Bosamcliff if looks ready.
Wincanton 1:30 – I'll skip but could be opportunity.
Greyhounds – 9:45 Notts Trap 6 at 1.5+

“Snippet of the day”
“Guilty feet have got no rhythm”

Wednesday 19th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today. England are conceivably a lay at the prices if betting in International friendlies is for you.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3187)
Four races have potential.

Lingfield 1:30 – not keen on just backing Swiss Diva – be happier if I could dutch her drifiting with (the) one that's shortening.

Lingfield 2:00 – Top three potentially, but a wary eye on Pollys Choice.

Warwick 2:20 – Think Chapoturgeon is potentially top-notch; and we could keep Songe on-side and expect the King horse to be unable to defy double penalty. More a gamble than a barking bet, but still in the mix.

Hexham 3:10 – Possibly front two, with wary eye on Galapagos.

“Snippet of the day”
“I was so upset that I cried
all the way to the bus stop”

Tuesday 18th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3117)
I played that novice chase at 1.13 – some very nice horses in that – a race to follow.
Folkestone has similar looking early races today – possibilities but not at the current prices.

“Snippet of the day”
“You think it's funny, turning rebellion into money.”

Monday 17th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£824- 6 bets inplay – accounted)

Thank heavens for Hull's team spirit, if not their defensive solidity! Phil Taylor needs to dig deeper though.

No bet today. I guess those leaves are finally going to get swept up.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3082)
The only possible bet was the Leicester Novice Chase, but the front three take over 90% of the market, so looking very unlikely.

“Snippet of the day”
Just googled a load of old schoolfriends – all of whom seem to have done more with their lives than me! Check out www.chriscoco.com for example. Don't suppose he finds the time for a placepot.

Sunday 16th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£818 - 6 bets inplay – accounted)

What to say. Not sure how I ended up with so many bets in this fund yesterday after my midweek decision to pare back.

I can't find a bet at Cheltenham which is a blessed relief.

However my ratings do demand a bet on Hull, which will come as no surprise to anyone. Man City look to have serious internal problems and have been coming unstuck away from home against proper “teams”. Hull's home record is actually not very good, and they do concede goals – a worry given Man City's ability in that area. But I'm compelled to play again. Football has been hurting me badly so far this season. I have to keep looking at the blog spreadsheet overall to reassure myself.

Hull win £3.50 at 2/1+
Draw no Bet £6.50 at 6/5+
Hull +0.5 £15 at 4/6+

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3082)
I was flowing along nicely until greed got the better of me. No obvious bets today yet.

“Snippet of the day”
“Don't hit me. I wear glasses normally.”

Saturday 15th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£872 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Well, at least I won the placepot yesterday, and the pay out leapt admirably on the back of Herecomesthetruth's antics at the last fence. Let's hope my 16 line Scoop 6 is as lucky today!

And my own bet on Chesterfield worked out somewhat better than the simplified version posted on here. And I got Evens on Dix Villex keeping the race yesterday.

So, all in all, a day of pitiful selections was saved by a bit of luck and quick thinking!

First things first. Phil Taylor is back in action. 8/13 is getting close to the bone now – but I reckon we follow him till he loses. He's been about the only profitable angle since the start of the flat season - looking back at daily challenge bets has been a sobering experience.

Secondly Cheltenham:

1:25 I can make a case for Big Fella Thanks and West End Rocker here. The two carrying penalties have it all to do, and Gone to Lunch just looked OK at Exeter and the going looks plenty soft enough for him. Either of the our two could have won the sprint up the straight at Chepstow the other week, and so go unpenalised here. I'd have them taking 60% of the book, so dutching them as close to Evens as we can get looks the way to go. Of course, as we saw again yesterday, chaos is the default setting for Cheltenham novice chases.

2:35 Really I shouldn't be betting here, but if you can't bet in the Mackeson/Murphy/Thomas Pink/PaddyPower you must have lost the love of betting that attracted you to the job in the first place. Bradbury Star was my first equine hero after all. Looking at the shape of the race and the going yesterday, I can see this race being run too quick and a stalker coming through late. That said, the Racing UK re-runs of previous Mackesons showed that most were prominent by the top of the hill. I priced Piraya, Maljimar and Fleet Street up at a collective 3/1, so dutching them at 5/1 and playing the exotics is the way I'm going.

Finally, Ipswich come out as a bet on ratings against Doncaster. We're riding our luck if we play this because by all accounts Doncaster slaughtered Sheff Weds last Saturday for a 1-0 defeat and our profit for the day. I haven't decided whether to play yet. The good news is they kick off late so I can wait for the Cheltenham fog to clear., The bad news is that makes me prey to recency effect on how the day's gone.

Phil Taylor £25 win at 8/13
Big Fella Thanks/West End Rocker £15 dutched at close to Evens
Maljimar/Piraya/Fleet Street £13 dutched at 5/1
£2 in total on combination exactas, and a cheeky trifecta

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3187)
Wetherby 1:45 and Punchestown 1:50 could provide a heady ten minutes.
Arsenal/Chelsea games could throw up in-running opportunities

“Snippet of the day”
“In the final when he won the war
After losing every battle”

Friday 14th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Cheltenham.

I think I'll dabble today – the card looks typically difficult – I'll do a placepot, and try to get rich with a treble on Church Island (along with half the RP staff), Puntal (based on last year's ridiculous run) and Paddleyourowncanoe (if he could possibly try this time, he's ridiculously well handicapped). Ornais and Battlecry both look opposable in the Graduation race, but whether you could actually back the other two runners...

Both Nicholls hotpots look very good, but priced badly with decent opposition here. You'd think they were at Taunton or somewhere.

The Cross Country has a barking bets shape to it for those bold enough.

Football tonight and my ratings throw up Chesterfield to beat Shrewsbury and I'll play even though Shrewsbury are probably my bogey team so far this season. I'm going to build a silly looking perm including asians and draw no bet and a win bet,, I'll keep it simple for the blog.

Chesterfield £25 win at 6/4

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3177)
Newcastle 1:30 worth a look.

“Snippet of the day”
“They say I shot a man named Gray
And took his wife to Italy
She inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me.
I can't help it if I'm lucky.”

Thursday 13th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

My connection to blogger went tits up yesterday and I was unable to post my daily offering until too late, but I've put it up anyway for continuity's sake.

Today I'll waste my time (and money) looking to crack the Tote Ten to Follow. And have an eye on Clonmel where I'll be following Ruby Walsh's fortunes closely though quite how I'm yet to decide.

The prices are typically stingy, especially for horses first time up. Ladbrokes go a stand-out 7/4 Snowy Morning which suggests they know something but I felt obliged to take some anyway. They also go 11/2 Light on the Broom – 14/1 elsewhere. That's as big a differential as I think I've ever seen in early odds!

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3177)
Racing again helpful yesterday. There's no obvious races today though, nor nothing much else sadly.

“Snippet of the day”
“Mange tout, Rodney, mange tout”

(ok, that's enough!)

Wednesday 12th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

The Graduation Chase at Kempton is interesting but the prices seem about right to me – I'd have liked to have backed both I'msingingtheblues and Briareus but 1.5 looks right. Adding Modicum would make it close to a barking bet for the brave (or stupid).

Otherwise no bet again today. And a review of figures suggest that may become more common with this fund. I was guilty of just turning over money here, and that partly explains the poor progress over the last few months. I also think the barking bets fund itself is partly to blame. Third to blame is poor judgement and lastly a run of baddish luck.

I can see barking bets taking over as the engine room of my betting anyway – inevitably when they get up to around £500. I never thought that would happen when I was the amateur answer to Pricewise, specialising in top class handicaps. Markets are strange animals!

I'll try to be more informative down below from now on, but I'm sure you see why the bets by necessity are mainly last minute.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3047)
Two easy races yesterday. There are possibilities at both Kempton and Bangor so a day in front of RUK beckons.

Kempton 12:30 too many unexposed nice horses – careful.
Kempton 1:05: possible now Henderson's is a non runner.
Kempton 2:50 – see above
Bangor 2:35 possibilities the front two
Bangor 3:10 possible to build something around the front 4
Avoid Southwell.
Celtic are not strictly speaking value, but not unfair prices either and you could do worse.
I was going to play the dog final tonight but am worried about Trap 1 causing an upset, so will skip.

“Snippet of the day”
“This time next year Rodney...”

Tuesday 11th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

I'd like to be able say I sat out the Wycombe game...

This fund could do with a break I think. No bet today.

Nevada Royale is a horse to watch closely this year and thereafter I think – looked a real galloper at Newbury last year – and hopefully will be trained as a potential National horse of the future. Not sure I want to lump on at short prices in awful ground at dreaded Exeter though. Especially as we've already missed the Evens.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £2897)
Some potential races today.

“Snippet of the day”
(An encore for slipperytoad)

“We've got some half-priced cracked ice
And miles and miles of carpet tiles
Tvs, deep freeze, and David Bowie LPs
Ball games, gold chains, wottsanames, picture frames and leather goods
And at a push some Trevor Francis tracksuits
From a mush in Shepherd's Bush.”

Monday 10th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

I'm still considering the bet but I think I'll back Unders in the Wycombe game – one of those tricky away cup ties, in rain and wind, this looks likely to be an attritional affair, especially given Wycombe's scoring/conceding record. I'd have thought 4/5 was about right.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £2897)
Villa's hoplessness means I finish the week on yet another loser – and that was my worst week for 17 weeks. I'm losing sight of the objective of this fund sometimes, if that bet had merit it should have been in the above fund. I need to refocus on what I'm after down here.

“Snippet of the day”
“Stick a pony in me pocket,
I'll grab a suitcase from the van.”

Sunday 9th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£897 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

A bit of a frustrating day yesterday – one that ended up all square if you include Heather Small's elimination. (I'd rather clean up dog pooh with my bare hands than listen to an hour of Mariah Carey covers, so I missed Laura's demise and am rather pretending it hasn't happened!)

I was going to back Murray/Federer for Shanghai but this end of season malarkey is fraught with injuries, apathy and fatigue. I'll skip.

As for the football, I'll hunker down out of the rain and hope Woy's new forwards can get us a decent three points at home, but if you think I'd put money on it... I'm keener on Villa, but not at the prices. There is the merest hint of juice in opposing Middlesborough though – one for the barking bets maybe. Although I remain unconvinced laying football teams is wise in that fund, it's doing OK so far, so I'll continue until reality strikes.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3182)
Yesterday started badly with an impetuous play at Kelso. The novice chase at Sandown and Liverpool got some of it back. Looks like a losing week though.

“Snippet of the day”
“Waiting for a miracle,
But nothing ever happens.”

(Still, £2m up for grabs next Saturday!)

Saturday 8th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£886 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Football.
Only one match came out playable on the ratings and that's Sheffield Wednesday to beat Doncaster. I'm a bit perturbed that the leader of the Bookmaker naps table in the Racing Post has napped Doncaster, but am happy to be able to get longer than betfair odds this morning.

Racing
Difficult day. As Jonah says the Racing Post have done Island Flyer's price no good at all. The front three in the betting look rock solid to me. These early season chases aren't really ones to take a stance like that, but there's no other race that appeals as a betting medium.

You could argue that both Tom George's horses are only being denied favouritism by Nicholls' reputation and record at Wincanton. I'll do a double on them, and throw in Sir Harry Ormesher for the treble as he looks like he may be underestimated, and I wasn't blown away personally with Breedsbreeze's last run. The rest of today's fund I'll throw away on the Scoop6.

Perpetual kindly recommended Katchit for the Order of Merit and I had a nibble last night at 10s. I think he's got it all to do today to be honest, and 5/4 was way too short – however the drift is beginning to make him backable!

Strictly Come Dancing
Since I backed her at 5/4 to be eliminated, Heather Small has drifted to 13/8 and bigger. You can count on me for sound advice... This appears to be due to a feeling that John has outstayed his welcome, and that the tango is actually going to suit her. The latter may be truer than the former, but I'll play again, this time though dutching with Jodie Kidd to cover ourselves.

Sheff Weds beat Doncaster £27.5 at 5/6
0-0 £2.50 at 11/1

Dutch Island Flyer/Leading Attraction/Trigger The Light £20 at 1.5

Kilcrea Asla and Island Flyer £4 double
Kilcrea Asla/Island Flyer/Sir Harry Ormesher £1 treble

Dutch Heather Small and Jodie Kidd to be eliminated £5 at Evens

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3357)
Sandown 1:20 and 1:55 possibles; otherwise I'll have to wait until the football inrunning.

“Snippet of the day”
“I said rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and start again.”

Friday 7th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£886 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Good day yesterday. On the other hand I woke up suddenly realising that I was now officially older than the next President of the United States. Intimations of mortality and reflections on a life properly wasted ensued!

I swear you used to be able to rely on Friday's to produce some decent racing cards. Today's reads like an average Monday.

According to Pete's race is the only one that interests me, but I'm going to hold fire for now – the going is a worry, especially for possible non runners, and the price isn't quite right either.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3282)
Even more worried about Mad Vera Zvonareva for my tennis bet, with Jankovic “injured” yesterday and with little to play for. Tempted to get out but this fund isn't really one for hedging. Looks another blank day otherwise.

“Snippet of the day”
“Well, now time's passed and now it seems
Everybody's having them dreams;
Everybody sees themselves walkin' around with no one else.
Half of the people can be part right all of the time,
Some of the people can be all right part of the time,
But all of the people can't be all right all of the time.
I think Abraham Lincoln said that.
"I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours"
I said that.”

Thursday 6th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£865 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Yesterday's sweep-up bets not exactly started off well. Fund looking very poor right now.

Snooker
Hendry plays Davis tonight. Wouldn't like to pick the winner of these league games, but Steve Davis is long past compiling big breaks. 50 is a big score for him these days. Hendry should probably be shorter to post the highest score tonight.

Racing
Fitness in these handicap chases is proving a puzzle. And has put me off playing a few against the field. Briery Fox is hardly a prolific winner, and supposedly prefers small fields, but he travelled like the winner for a long way on his two seconds last season, where he came late in big fields. 20/80 suits in a race with little depth.

Hendry highest break £15 at 4/7
Briery Fox £3 win and £12 place at best odds.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3282)
A couple of good races yesterday. Bit worried about Mad Vera Zvonareva for my tennis bet. Looks a blank day today.

“Snippet of the day”
“The foreigners had the best cattle but the worst cowboys”

Wednesday 5th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£895 - 4 bets inplay – accounted)

There's a few bits and bobs I've been looking at this week and today looks a good opportunity to sweep them up into one day's betting.

1. Strictly Come Dancing. This week's eviction looks pretty clear-cut to me. John will come bottom with the judges and top with the voters and avoid the bottom two. Heather will be in the bottom two and this time is only left opposing better dancers. She goes!

2. X Factor. I can't be bothered to tie up a load of money on this pile of pooh. However, for interest, Diana and Laura look the only credible contenders to me and we can dutch them at 4/5ish.

3. Another day's racing at Chepstow, another day wondering how many winners Nicholls/Walsh will have. The odds are a joke of course, so think of this as an 'action' bet that allows me to delay sweeping up the autumn leaves from my driveway!

4. I've followed Arthurs Girl (Kempton 7:50) on and off and this looks a chance to come late for a place at least, with a useful weight allowance over the better horses.

5. I'm still waiting for David Howell to fully get his game back, and this is a good field. However, he did win here a few years ago and 80/1 seems worth it.

Heather Small next elimination £5 at 5/4
Diana and Laura win X Factor £10 dutched at 4/5
Nicholls/Walsh today 6x75p doubles and 50p acc
Arthurs Girl £2.50ew at 12/1 guaranteed
Howell £2.50ew at 80/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3162)
I bet a football match inrunning last night, and it was such a terrible bet I'm too embarrassed to say what it was! Painful though.
A few races have small potential today, unlikely to amount to much though.

“Snippet of the day”
Shouldn't betfair void McKeown's race at Southwell yesterday? They make a song and dance about their transparency, but in all other respects act as little more than a grifter's merry-go-round.

Tuesday 4th November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£895 - 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Bugger – done on the line in the Melbourne Cup, and chose the wrong bet for the Birmingham game. Not what was required.

I looked at the Exeter chase today, but it looks like the last couple – unfit animals, Twist Magic better on quicker and may struggle to get home off topweight; Natal looking badly handicapped; Howle Hill without blinkers; others over the wrong trip or out of their depth. Mahogany Blaze the obvious one to reap the benefits but at a terrible looking price. I think we can afford to miss that.

Champions League football also not for me tonight.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3472)
Had a race win yesterday. Tennis tournament today, and possibly the nov chase at Exeter.

White Group WTA Championship
Dutch Ivanovic and Jankovic £340 at 1.35ish

“Snippet of the day”
“String is a very important thing
Rope is thicker, but string is quicker.”

I have a first edition of Silly Verse for Kids that is well thumbed and well treasured!

Monday 3rd November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£925 - 4 bets inplay – accounted)

A better day yesterday – and although I was absent I hope some of you thought to do Phil Taylor.

Football today.
Birmingham have been doing Ok for us, despite the lack of goals. Coventry have been grabbing a goal away from home, so this should tight and close as all Birmingham's games have been. I'll play the scores that seem most likely rather than Birmingham, unders, or Coventry +1 which were all considered.

Racing:
Melbourne Cup. It's been costly waiting for a European winner, but O'Brien and Cumani go with big, big chances this time, and surely they've sussed it out by now, especially with no Makybe Diva. 6/4 dutched seems fair. I'm saved from having to include old friend Yellowstone.

Birmingham dutch scores £15 at 4/6ish
0-0; 1-0; 2-1; 1-1; 2-0

Mad Rush, Bauer and Septimus £15 dutched at 6/4ish

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1275/Current bank £3377)
No bet yesterday, but banked £100 for the week. Not had a chance to look at the racing today – dog had a fight with barbed wire fence yesterday and vets took priority!

“Snippet of the day”
“We thought we could sit forever in fun
But our chances really were a million to one.”

Sunday 2nd November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£902 - 4 bets inplay – accounted)

Liverpool – now that was just a silly game. And that was an awful October for this fund. November has to improve if I'm to stave off gainful employment. I'll drop stakes down slightly for single bets, but keep split bets at current level.

Today's football sees Bolton take on Man City, who remain over-rated by the markets. My main problem is fear of goals, which is identical to my feeling about the Middlesborough game against Man City midweek. I didn't play that game in the end and, despite the usual nagging cliche of weddings and funerals, I'll put my betting suit on today.

It's also the New York marathon. Paula looked in great shape last weekend and I think she'll get back on top here. Geta Wami ran Boston just a few weeks ago and should be happy with her money, and whilst this has a nice shape for a barking bet I think I'll include it up here. The one to be careful of is Goucher.

Bolton £15 +0.5 at 1.7+
Paula Radcliffe £12.50 at 6/5
Kara Goucher £2.50 at 10/1

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1175/Current bank £3477)
12:40 Wetherby went tits up yesterday, so I couldn't have started the day worse. However, the rest was fine, including adding Everton (and 0-0) in-running, to end up in profit. Be nice to find a small bet to finish week on £3500.

“Snippet of the day”
Here's a couple 'Arry quotes from the investigation into Portsmouth manager market. Within the same paragraph – roughly as I remember it.

“We've got a computer upstairs, but I don't even know how to turn it on....”

“Thanks to everyone for all the e-mails of support.”

When he retires he should train racehorses.

Saturday 1st November

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£939 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

Racing:
End of flat – start of jumps – you've been warned.

I'll keep it quiet.

2:05 Ascot.
A lot of these will be having preps, or simply be unfit. Similar to Roan Chase which made a fool of me so be careful. I think I'll play though as I like Air Force One, and a couple of the outsiders look too long, so we can build a reasonable portfolio.

2:20 Wetherby
We can dutch the front two here. If Theatre Belle is a non runner, this would move ideally to the barking bets fund.

I'll also play the scoop 6 and the probably easier to win jackpot, and doubles but won't bore you with the details.

Air Force One £8 at 11/4+
Out The Black £4 at 16/1+
Ontheother hand £1 win at 25/1+
£1 ew double County Zen and Out The Black
Dutch Blaeberrry and My Petra £15 at 4/6

Football.
Scunthorpe look just about undervalued but this might be the last time. Their main striker may be injured which has to be a worry, but I'm playing. The media have gone mad for 'Arry – the chiselling little crook certainly breeds confidence – but they were lucky to get anything from Arsenal and frankly Liverpool should be odds on here in a midfield mis-match.

Scunthorpe £15 win at 4/6
Liverpool £12.50 at 6/5
£2.50 6fold – Liverpool/Charlton/Ipswich/Leicester/Scunthorpe/Bolton

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1175/Current bank £3202)
12:40 Wetherby; and Ascot 2:40 and 3:10 possibles.
Ladbrokes going 1.46 Man Utd/Chelsea is also tempting, but I'll probably skip.

“Snippet of the day”
“Thinks of Edward, still at college
Sends him letters which he doesn't acknowledge”

Wednesday 29th October

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£939 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

No bet today – ratings lean towards Middlesborough but Man City are scoring too freely to play that one.

Off for a few days now – back Saturday.

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1175/Current bank £3202)

“Snippet of the day”
“It's not the despair I can't stand; it's the hope.”

Tuesday 28th October

“£500 Challenge Bet” (£939 - 5 bets inplay – accounted)

At the risk of playing just the one tune I'm again siding with Wycombe tonight. Their lack of goals make them an attractive team for bookies to go after, especially if they can attract multiples. We can cover 0-0 and still get value according to my ratings.

Wycombe £28 win at 8/13
0-0 £2 at 14/1ish

“Barking Bets” (Banked £1175/Current bank £3357)
Small win yesterday on Young Mick's race. Three maidens early on today – 1:30; 1:40 and 1:50 could provide for an interesting half an hour. Later on Bubbly Totti looks worth a go at 1/3ish for the Greyhound St Leger.

“Snippet of the day”
Continuing the theme of favourite rhymes, a gem of a poem (TS Eliot eat your heart out).

“A bit of talcum
Is always walcum”