A much needed break

I'm heading to Ascot this weekend for a little break. I have to say, I'm looking forward to getting away from the computer for a while and doing some old-fashioned betting on course. With Cheltenham coming up, I'll be up to my eyes with writing work and while I can't complain, this is a little bit of calm before the storm. The card looks good so fingers crossed I can get a few winners. If anyone is following the main site, I may not be online much over the weekend.

Cheltenham Charity Single

Normally, I don't like charity singles (don't get me wrong here! - they are a great idea but the music is usually shite). The Cheltenham one is not the worst though and I think I'll actually buy it to support the charities. Haven't bought a single in about 10 years!

http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=eGqA0IhxnPo&v=ci7bpYPd6Tg

Betfair down again

They've been having quite a few problems lately which is a little worrying. It's nearly 12.30 on a Tuesday with racing due to start soon and the site is unavailable.

I've accounts with other exchanges and firms so I can still get bets on but it' worrying for the traders out there and you have to be confident the site wont die while you have a position open. Hopefully, they get it sorted soon.

Happy to get out alive

Well, it wasn't to be with Cooldine but I have to say I got out alive. One layer was offering just over evens in the 'betting without' market. The two horses excluded were the winner and Money Trix. I know such bets are normally for mugs but I thought it was a decent chance to earn a few quid so I had a ton with the layer.

I won't lie and say I made money up there however - it was a tricky day. However, I didn't lose a lot either so I was happy to go home with a couple of quid left in the wallet.

All that said, the wife is still laptop-less so I'll see what I can do this weekend.

Leopardstown and Laptops

Earlier on this week when I saw the entries for the The Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup (3.45) I thought Cooldine looked like a good thing and I even told the wife I'd buy her a laptop if he wins! (she spotted one for 300 quid that she likes). That's what happens when you look at the cards with too many pints of stout on you!

A drift in his price overnight is a worry however and Mullins has now expressed concern about his fitness. That said, Ruby seems happy enough. At 3/1, I won't have to put as much to try win the price of a laptop but a drift is always a worry so we'll see how it goes.

I'm sticking with him for better or worse so fingers crossed. I wrote about the days racing for betfair if anyone is interested:

Hennessey Cognac Gold Cup

Cooldine is not my only bet of the day however so it's not the b all and end all - but no-one likes losing money so I'm heading to Leopardstown slightly more nervous than normal.

22.0 Winner on a rollercoaster day

For most punters, Saturday is their busiest day of the week and I had a right roller coaster ride today. My selections in the Irish Independent didn't do so well which was dissappointing although the column still shows a reasonable profit for 2010.

I had a sizeable bet on Ireland -20pts in the Rugby and when they were trading at 1.08, I was counting my money. Unfortunately, the second half was very poor and while I'm glad to see the Irish win, it was less than impressive and not enough to cover my bet.

Then, along comes Gidam Gidam at Doncaster which was a selection today on Wayne Bailey Racing . He hit 90.0 in running but battled back to make it a great day for me as I'd backed him at 22.0.

A real rollercoaster of a day. Off to Leopardstown tomorrow so fingers crossed...

Last Nag Standing Competition

I've been thinking about this for a while. I might put up say, €100 for the winner and maybe €50 for the runner up. I hope to have it free but prizemoney would be generated from people signing up to Betfair through my link.

Will have to think about it more.

It would be run similar to a last man standing competition in the football. Each week, you pick a horse and if it wins, you get through to the next round. Eventually, there's only one person left.

Perhaps it would be best if the horse had to place only as it would be difficult to get horses to win only.

Could be a bit of fun if it's free, and the sign-ups could generate much needed revenue for the site as it costs quite a bit of time and money to run.

Any thoughts, let me know but I'll get back with details soon.

My first blog post!

It's about time I started one of these!

Going to post my thoughts on racing and other topics here from time to time. Thanks to everyone who has emailed me in the past regarding some aspect of Wayne Bailey Racing.

Hopefully this will be an easier way to keep in touch and discuss racing.