At the night races on thursday, i was probably the only person who witnessed this bet. A middle-aged man approached a bookmaker and placed bet of $500 e/w an 81-1 shot. I thought the horse looked ok in the yard and it had some form to back it up. What was more interesting was that the man who put the bet on had an owners ticket, discretely showing at the bottom of his shirt. I was wondering whether anyone who watched the race can give me any excuses for the run of "Hulavie". Maybe it didnt like the surface? Any excuses?

Owners also lose money backing their horses. Horses can work like Group horses on the training track and battle to win a maiden.

Bet sizes also vary depending upon what one can afford.It was reported in a paper that Wayne Carey was betting US$2,500 a hand at blackjack in an American Casino.

That doesn't mean he was on to a sure thing. The paper report also said the Casino was treating him like royalty. They don't do that to a player they suspect has an advantage - eg. an accurately playing card counter.

[ This Message was edited by: Mr. Logic on 2002-04-13 10:58 ]

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.

The horse had very ordinary form.
That was the horse's first start for a new trainer. As I intimated, on the training track it had probably been working like a Group horse.
I will also be watching it with interest.
Best of punting.

I agree with Mr Logic. Some horses can work the track down but find it very difficult to produce the same effort in the pressure situation of a race. During trackwork, quite often they are either working on their own or with only one or two other horses. In a race they can become intimidated by the others and the pressure exerted.
I owned and trained two horse about 15 years ago and they were full brother and sister. Both worked well on the training track but only one of them reproduced that form on the racetrack. The better one went on to win both in the city and on provincial tracks while with the other I realised after two starts that it did not have the same ability and interest in a race and we gave up on her.
I have seen many horses over the years with heaps of ability but only the ones with that bit extra succeed.

I have heard that Wayne Hawkes thinks Philitimo could pickup and carry Lonhro in trackwork, but we all know the story once they step out to race.

The amount had the effect of lowering odds from 81 to 17.

Would this not make the horse "look" more respectable if somebody looked at past prices? "Backed" from 80 opening price to 17 jumping price looks good if I am selling horses to a syndicate... or just better for the stable or the trainer to get to higher stakes races? (I have no idea how horses graduate in class...?)

if jace was so good a football why would he be a gymnast. I don't get it

well done if u followed the money, u would be kickin yourself if u didnt
Hulavie won today at cranbourne
$20 plus on the unitab
it sometimes pays to follow the money

Yes thankyou for that great tip. I only had 5 bucks on it but a good profit was made. Keep the tips rolling.