The Sport of Kings

Race Night at the club was a great success: Derek Wymes had pushed for an event like this to get the clubhouse used more, to provide an enjoyable evening for members and friends and to raise money for the club. It worked at all three levels and I hope will be repeated in future years.

Over eighty people came along, the race organisation was seamless and expertly introduced by Neil Forsyth, seeking an alternative career from being a torch singer.

My betting policy was as scientific as the format allowed, and was based on amusing names of horses ("Rehabs for Quitters"; Builders "Crack") or on liking the horses' "owners" (people had been asked to sponsor races and to buy and name a horse for the evening). This was pretty effective, as I picked winners in four of the eight races, and I was the winning owner in the second race. (The only trouble was that I had also bet on lots of others that didn't win).

The evening had an added piquancy as there was a quiz handed out in the second part of the evening. A bit Blue-Peter like, I had invited my regular quiz team along (without realising they'd be needed) so we swung into action. But failed to win by two points - I'm sure we'll have a post mortem later.

So overall, success and failure for all the attendees: but an evening everyone enjoyed.

The real winner of course was racing itself.