Thank-you Mr Logic for your reply but not everything is as clear-cut as it may seem..i usually never follow the money at the track because most of it is mug money but the bet on thursday night was not an interest bet or "hey lets throw a grand away and watch my horse run-last"... when there is a large amount of money placed on long-shots it is usually worth following and treating with caution.. the owner obviously knows something that the bookies and punters dont know...when the bet was placed the bookie lowered his odds from 81-1 to 17-1...think about it Mr logic why would a "mug punter" which is what you are making this man out to be, throw $500 e/w on a horse at 81-1 in a 12 horse field? he wasnt drunk? so why did he do it? A thousand dollars is quite a substantial bet on a Thursday night race meeting and the fact that it was on a 81-1 shot makes it quite a large lay. I know you can never tell and you can't stereotype people but he didnt look like your typical mug punter but rather a professional looking horseman..he was wearing an old driza-bone and had binoculars around his head with many badgers hanging from it...well i thought it was an interesting bet and i will be following this horse very closely.