Ascot Saturdays

[clivexx]

I know I’m going to be triggering moaning and it’s been addressed plenty on here but train to ascot now is gross.

What is it with drinking at midday? Are these people such a mental mess that they can’t function socially unless falling over?

One guy near me has the sort of laugh that is like running finger nails down a blackboard. Would a sharp slow knife deep across his throat be justified? I believe it would be

[clivexx]

Fortunately meeting racing people at the course and in fairness it’s easy to find space there

Must get my new motor though

Conversations (or bigging up boozy shouting ) is either golf or football. Sad really when you think about it

I haven’t slit the guys throat yet but close to doing so. At least carriage will go quiet and I can go back to my paper. Although blood does spill out a bit and will be livid if he messes up my shoes

[IanDavies]

“Would a sharp slow knife deep across his throat be justified? I believe it would be”

It was an extraordinarily long time ago – just over 38 years – that I somehow emerged from Warwick university with a minimum-effort “Desmond” (II.II) in Law.

I’ve long since forgotten what little I took in in the first place, but I remain fairly confident that’s illegal.

I’m at Salisbury today, I just walked the course (“Far From The Madding Crowd”) as long-suffering followers of me on Twitter could attest.

It was a pleasant experience, made more so because I had a nice chat with the Clerk Of The Course at the three-furlong pole.

He said the ground was Firmer than ideal, but I said that Salisbury, Bath and Brighton were just about the only tracks you could take a horse who needs fast ground to nowadays and that in by view it was simply summer Flat racing ground.

There was a lovely covering of grass as I walked the loop and arrived at the five-furlong pole where it started all those years ago for Mill Reef.

No midday drunks out in the country.

I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"

[clivexx]

In fairness the crowd is good natured especially considering that they had to step over the corpse

Agree. Plumpton another civilised example. Actually kempton is surprisingly decent too

Is it age ? I just don’t get this obsession with booze

[IanDavies]

Cracking day at Salisbury, fair amount of drinking among others, but no one getting larey.

I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"

[Richard88]

Ah yes the Desmond, also known as a drinker’s degree. As the proud owner of one myself I can confirm this is true.

As I have no doubt said before, I enjoy a drink or ten but if I go the races I’m there for just that. I’ll have a few beers at most but the rest can wait until later.

Most of those drinking early are probably carrying a bag of Bolivian nose candy, it allows you to carry on boozing long after you’d normally have keeled over.

[IanDavies]

I don’t drink, so my Desmond was more of a racegoers’ degree.

Warwick university was ideally located for going racing all over the Midlands – Warwick, Leicester, Nottingham, Worcester and Towcester being among those visited and I attended more race meetings than lectures/seminars.

I don’t mind people drinking as long as they don’t get larey with me specifically – nice crowd at Salisbury last night.

I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"

[Cancello]

I’ve seen characters boarding the train at Birmingham New Street for Cheltenham at 9.30 am, drinking Scotch straight from the large bottle. At least the conversation seemed to be horses so partly forgiven.

However,it’s hearing talk of footy bets,often from those who at the same time refer to their horses by the number, that is testament to the general decline in popularity of the sport. During the running of Mastery’s St Leger there were attendees at the top of the stands talking of latest scores, oblivious that a race was being run. I guess it would have been the same as Camelot was attempting to complete the Triple Crown, but not in a time gone by when Nijinsky was in the process of sealing his.I guess we could all come up with countless similar examples.

On a side note I noticed that the York crowd was only 12% down on pre covid levels for John Smith’s Cup day on the 9th, while greedy,lost the plot Chester,lost 25% the same day in what used to be known as the Summer Cup day fixture. How I chuckled.

[IanDavies]

Funnily enough, I went up to Doncaster for Camelot’s Triple Crown bid in the St Leger.

I recall a younger local lad who’d put his week’s wages on Camelot at 2/5 – “I’ll be bathed and bedded by eight o’clock if this doesn’t win” I remember him hilariously saying in his South Yorkshire accent as they went in the stalls.

Nice guy, but there was to be no Doncaster nightlife for him THAT evening.

I am "The Horse Racing Punter" on Facebook
https://mobile.twitter.com/Ian_Davies_
https://www.facebook.com/ThePointtoPointNHandFlatracingpunter/
It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"

[Author]

Posts