![]() ![]() McCririck, a very colourful character, often used the tic-tac terminology to explain the betting odds to his audience. Years later, I was lucky enough to meet John McCririck the TV pundit, and a former bookmaker himself. Dad said these were called Tic-Tac men and were responsible for passing coded information across the betting ring on the size of bets being struck, which usually led bookies to shorten their odds. On my very first visit to Doncaster, the home of the St Leger, I had spotted a few guys wearing white gloves who were standing on empty boxes around the racecourse and making strange hand signals. On that occasion, we began a long walk home but fortunately, a kind racegoer spotted us a few miles out and gave us a lift back to the local bus station. This was in stark contrast to a family visit to Ripon Races several years later, when he lost all his dough on a one-eyed horse aptly named Lord Nelson. Before I forget, I should perhaps mention that dad had paid the taxi driver the return fare beforehand, so we were at least guaranteed a safe passage to our beds. No, it was abundantly clear to me that there was so much more to this sport than just the betting aspect, significant though this was, particularly for our survival never mind that of the sport. What the hell, I wasn’t going to let that setback spoil my evening one bit. Lester Piggott (cropped)” by Ragge Strand is licensed under CC BY 4.0 Young Lester: Always had the last laugh…… He must have used up all his luck earlier in the day. But yes, you’ve guessed it, another epic fail. ![]() Throughout our journey across Yorkshire my dad kept talking about Lester Piggott, the racing legend, who was due to ride the hot favourite, Double Bud, in the feature race on the card. The buzz of the crowd, the smell of recently cut turf, of rich people smoking expensive cigars and everyone seemingly dressed up to the nines, helped generate a unique and intoxicating atmosphere. And I knew instantly it would not be my last. The occasion sticks firmly in the mind because it was the very first time I stepped onto a racecourse. As I recall, the return fare was £8 which would have easily covered a fortnight’s shopping bill for us. Flushed with his success, dad decided to take us by taxi to an evening race meeting in Doncaster, 40 miles away. It was a Friday afternoon back in 1969, when he miraculously managed to buck the trend. Oddly enough, I can vividly remember one of those occasions. ![]() I can probably count on the fingers of one hand the number of times my father’s betting strategy resulted in a profitable day, or he broke even for that matter. Needless to say, it was my father who usually ended up broke, which ultimately cost him his marriage and was a major factor in the tough upbringing my brother and I both endured. If they all won, then I imagine the bookmaking industry would quickly go broke. Put simply, the favourite in a horse race is the one which attracts the most money from the punters. He would rarely study the form and instead tended to place a bet or several a day on the unnamed favourite in a race. Sadly, this was a lesson my late father (bless!) failed to grasp. I have since learnt from bitter experience never to mix the two. You see my father liked to bet on the gee- gees, but he also liked to drink. My passion for horse racing began at a very early age, although in all fairness I probably could be forgiven for hating the sport in its entirety. For those of you who are less familiar with horse racing, I hope the articles will offer an insight into an industry that has been part of my life, one way or another, for well over half a century.įirst a bit of background. I know several Puffins like the occasional flutter, so hopefully I will have a captive audience. The show was released on VHS and DVD by HIT Entertainment, but the episodes were not in order.This is the first of a short series of articles I plan to write for Going Postal that will coincide with the major horse racing festivals during 2023, starting with Cheltenham in mid-March and culminating in the St Leger in early September. It took a break for a while from CITV until it was repeat on Christmas Eve 2003 showing the 'Christmas Eve' episode and repeated for most of 2004. The show was broadcast from 1997 to 2000 on CITV and Nick Jr. The videos have won awards including a BAFTA award for best children's animation. In some cases, the episodes are specifically based on particular stories by Mick Inkpen. Kipper (the Dog) is also the name of a British animated television series based on the same characters. The books consist of 34 titles (as of July 2005), which have sold over 8 million copies and have been translated into over 20 languages. Kipper the Dog is a character in a series of books for preschool age children by a British writer, Mick Inkpen. For other uses, see Kipper (disambiguation).
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