Zen and the art of desperate dobbelary

The 13^th cheque is all spent; the pension pot is emptier; the wallet slimmer. It’s that eerie time between Christmas and New Year when people sober up, feel rather less merry and, possibly, start contemplating a financially challenging future.

For racing fans, the lure of the Get Out Stakes is strong. Luckily there’s plenty of racing on the go, providing abundant opportunities to restore respectability to the bank balance.

Of course, seasoned punters will know that there’s never an easy racecard and the usual red flags and warning claxons about chasing losses always apply – even in the silly season.

Here are some pithy observations on the subject

• Backing horses is a very hard way to make easy money – pro punter David Nevison
• It is not winning that beguiles the gambler, but the thrill of waiting for a result – writer Milton Shulman
• A foolproof betting system is the stuff of dreams and dodgy small ads –  journo Greg Woods
• Never be afraid to win too much – Victor Chandler, er, a bookie
• [Bookmakers] are pickpockets who allow you to use your own hands – curmudgeonly humourist W C Fields
• Anyone who can’t take tough luck doesn’t, or shouldn’t, bet – famous racing journalist Tony Morris
• Take it from me, most tips are trash and racecourse rumours are usually rubbish. Have faith in your own instincts and your own observations and you will back more winners – and enjoy them more – racing commentator Simon Holt
• [Pro gamblers are] obsessive workaholics with nerves of steel who can walk away after a major loss – British racing editor Tony Lewis
• One minute it’s titles and royalty, the next minute it’s Bob the Builder. Toffs and spivs, all rolling up their sleeves together, trying to take down the bookie’s trousers – description of a crowd of punters on race day
• To all those gallopers, fast and slow … I am grateful. Without their help, I might never have learned that getting poorer by the minute can be marvellous fun – journo Hugh McIlvanney

Anyway, break a leg.

To help with that, below is a random Pick 6 perm to ignore.

Turffontein, Saturday, 28 December 2024:

1 x 8 x 1,2,3,4,7,9 x 1,4,5,7,9,10 x 2,4,5,6,7,8 x 2,3,4,5 (R864)