The Grand National is one of those Great British institutions we all take part in each and every year. Everyone has a bet, your Nan, your Aunt and maybe even your pet dog. We all do a sweep stake at work and for the vast majority of us we will go down to the bookies on the Saturday to put a few quid on the horses and then will ignore horse race again for the rest of the year.
I'm no different. Every year I follow the same ritual I will usually get up, make my way to the local shop and buy the paper, ill come home have a cup of tea and look through the form guide. Ill decide who to bet on, how much (one bet is never enough) and ill make my way to the bookies and place said bet and wait till 4:10 for the race. I'll watch the race and then collect my winnings or enter despair for wasting my money knowing full well i'll follow the same pattern next year.
I'm going to be honest, when it comes to betting on the horses I don't have a clue. I'll read the blurb on each horse and pick a couple who I think may win me some cash but I don't know who races best on what surface, who is on form, jockey history etc etc etc. But does it matter? I don't think it matters too much because to me and I may be completly wrong and ignorant but the grand National is a complete lottery. I haven't watched that much horse racing in my life but the national has somewhere between 30 - 40 horses and i'm sure that, that is more than your average race.You can always guarantee that you will lose a lot of them at the fences because from where I am sitting there are too many of them and you are bound to get a few crashes! I'm sure the better horses/jockey are still more likely to win but it does look like a load of junctions all coming together at once into one giant horse mess!
Another point I would like to make is when the race has started I don't have a clue which my horse is. I realise all the jockeys have a different shirt on but to me the vast majority look the same or at least are very similar looking, so im sat there listening to some over excitig commementator shouting out all these horses names talking at the speed of sounds and when I do hear my horse I still won't know where it is! I hope im not the only one baffled by this but im pretty confident there's a nation of people watching and hoping, holding their betting slips but not really sure what the hell is going on!
It may all sound like a nightmare and a mindfield and it is, but at the same time its enjoyable and for one day in a year most of us are horse racing fans.
C ya later!
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