I love horses although I haven’t had much to do with them personally. They’re magnificent animals and I’ve often used them as subjects for photography sketching, photography and leatherwork. This is a personal memoir about my slight acquaintance with the “Sport of Kings” before I was aware of the inherent cruelty. I’ve come to the conclusion that stricter regulation is insufficient and an outright ban is necessary. There are links to some petitions at the end of this blog, relating to the Grand National and the Kentucky Derby.

I’ve never been much of a gambler, although I thought I might enjoy a day at the races in good company. The first and only bet I had on a race before emigrating to Australia was placed for me by a colleague as I was underage. I didn’t back the horse but the jockey, and it was the only horse Lester Piggott rode at that didn’t win.

When I arrived in Australia I started work, after a week’s training, as a conductor on Melbourne trams – could’ve been this one.

My second day at work after training was spent sitting around the depot on 3x pay as it was Melbourne Cup day, a public holiday. A few years later I was hitchhiking with a friend and had a radio-cassette player openly displayed hoping someone with a car radio that didn’t work would pick us up so they could listen to it. Many drivers seemed in a hurry to get to the race but our plan worked, although one lift was in the horse box 😅

I had a brief period while living in Melbourne when I betted regularly, basically because of the company I was in. I’ld be chatting with friends in a pub and asked to stop talking while they listen to a race, can you imagine how difficult it is to pick up a conversation where you left off after such an interruption? I started betting just to give myself an interest but I did it sensibly, not betting more than I could afford to lose or trying to recoup my losses on the last race.

I won some and lost some but the closest I came to a big win was when I backed two horses in each leg of a quadrella and the same horses in the 2nd & 3rd leg as a double. Only one horse wasn’t placed, it came in 4th, but I didn’t back the winner of the 3rd leg and a place doesn’t count.

I moved from Melbourne to Adelaide and intended backing two Melbourne horses that had good odds because they weren’t so well known in Australia. They won, but I was too late to get my bet on due to not knowing my way around. I did manage to watch it in the pub and had it written down so I could prove I wasn’t predicting the winners after they had already won.

I did have one decent win in Newcastle NSW. I was sitting in a pub sipping brandy & coke, the only thing I drank at that time. When I learned that a horse named Brandy Sipper was running in the 1st leg of the double I took it as an omen and went next door to the TAB to place a bet according to my accustomed pattern – 2 horses in each leg, one of which would be the favourite.

I went back to the pub, continued my conversation and forgot about it until the barmaid said came over and said “Your horse just won.”

“Which one?” I asked.

“Brandy Sipper.”

“Great” I replied, and carried on with my conversation as if I couldn’t care less (and I really couldn’t) until the bloke I was talking to said “You just got your 2nd leg in.”

I started paying attention then nipped round to the TAB to collect my winnings – 10/1 on a $2 bet.

After returning to England I had a couple of flutters on the Grand National, not counting sweepstakes at work. I watched it once in my local pub and thought how spectacular it was compared to the Melbourne Cup – twice the distance, twice the field and over the jumps. Then I woke up to the fact that’s exactly what’s wrong with it – with so many horses competing in such a gruelling race some are bound to fall! Reducing the field, lowering the fences, and banning the use of the whip might help; but not sufficiently, and there’ld be plenty of objections that even such minor changes are ruining the event!

Make your voice heard – time to end horse racing deaths. https://takeaction.league.org.uk/page/103262/survey/1?locale=en-GB

They Forced This Horse to Race. He Broke His Neck, Lived Long Enough to Suffer, Then Was Killed. https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/878/468/711/they-forced-this-horse-to-race.-he-broke-his-neck-lived-long-enough-to-suffer-then-was-killed./

“Seven Horses Died on Racing’s Biggest Stage.” Race Horses Deserve Better! https://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/119/209/696/quotseven-horses-died-on-racing%E2%80%99s-biggest-stage.quot-race-horses-deserve-better/

SIGN: Justice For Horses Tragically Killed For Kentucky Derby https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-justice-for-horses-brutally-killed-for-kentucky-derby/