This is the second visit I have made to an all weather track in as many weeks and although my results have taken a turn for the worst, my visit to Kempton is proof of the fact thata.

  1. I’m a mug and will remain one for ever and a day or
  2. That I am investing in myself and my future.

I wonder if there is a market on betfair for my ambitions.

Back to the subject at hand. Yet again, the journey to Kempton from Bristol via National Express bus and Southwest Railway was efficient, cheap and reliable. As Kempton has its own station (similar to Lingfield racecourse) if you’re travelling on your own, these modes of transport are highly recommended by yours truly if you live outside London and are planning to visit London based racecourses.

I won’t bore you with my impressions of the course as the review from this website is very accurate. However my views are that the course is geared up to provide punters (blokes or extremely attractive women with fake tans and short dresses) an environment to meet, greet, gamble, drink, eat and as happened on Saturday, keep dry if it rains

Have made this point before in a previous post, it really astounds me why people part with their hard earned money to travel to a course, pay an entrance fee but stay inside the course facilities to bet with bookmakers! Honestly, some punters required surgery to remove themselves from their positions in front of the Betfred betting booths and TV screens and proves my point that us mugs love similar company, be it bookmakers on or off course.

A fool and his money are easily parted’
English Idiom

Oh well, at least I now realise why Kempton attracts bigger national hunt crowd given the close proximity of the turf/fences to the viewing audience.

As a result of my visit in the dim and distant future I may even be tempted to pay a visit to Kempton on Boxing Day to watch the King George. It had that affect on me even though I consider myself a follower of racing on the flat!On the betting front I paid my usual educational fees to the gambling gods however, I did obtain some useful advice from a bloke I will call Mr S.

Mr S has a job in the city (broker, trader whatever) and frequents racecourses around the London area at weekends. I recognised him from my visit to Lingfield on Winter Derby day and we met by chance when he asked me my opinion on the runners and riders in the second race. From there we chatted the afternoon away in between races.

Mr S is what we mugs call “a big hitter”. A £1000 punt is nothing to him and his approach is based on minimal handicapping the night before and monitoring pre race market movements. Being a city type I suppose he is familiar with price fluctuations and market trends; whenever he spots a discrepancy/match between his opinion, early prices and on course bookies he steps in with a hefty wedge.

His approach works for him. Lets just say that during our afternoon discussion it was hard to concentrate when someone is stuffing wads of £50 notes into every pocket available in a Barber jacket (and there are a lot of pockets in that brand)

During my bus journey home, I spent a lot of time contemplating my discussion with Mr S. In part II of this report I’ll describe my conclusions.

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