- This topic has 6 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 15 years ago by
.
- Posts
All this talk about a Tote monopoly has got me thinking, how many people on this site actually use the Tote exclusively?
I reckon it’s probably not many.
And if you don’t, why not?
If paying taxes was optional, which would you chose
a) pay taxes
b) not pay taxesDepends who’s offering the better odds. Which is why I don’t bet with the Tote; you don’t know what the odds are til you pick up your winnings.
Can’t remember when I last had a Win Single bet on the Totalisator, probably in the late ’70s. Other than that it’s been the occasional tilt at the Jackpot when in ‘social day-at-the-races-in-fragrant-company’ mode on a sweltering Knavesmire
My long-standing Tote Credit account is woken from its slumbers twice a year or so with a fixed-odds punt
Other than that it’s the exchanges
I’d dearly love to bet with no one else but a Tote Exchange, but that wish is diminishing to the point of the pie becoming a singularity in an infinitely large sky
I don’t use the Tote on a regular basis because the pools aren’t big enough and hence the prices aren’t predictable. A glance at the Tote prices for one race at Kelso recently showed £289 in the pool 25 minutes before the off, which sums up the problem.
I would be interested in some of the ‘exotics’ on occasions, and do use them at major meetings, but it’s a combination of weak pools and too big a Tote ‘take’ that puts me off most of the time.
Rob
I use all three.
I do a fair amount of forecast betting and, unless there are less that 8 runners, I will invariably use the Tote for those bets. I will also use the Tote for small (up to £50) bets in big field handicaps.
Otherwise my general betting tends to be on the exchanges for win or, obviously, lay bets and traditional bookmakers for each way bets.
Large bets are done via an commissioning agent, so no idea where they are ultimately placed.
I’d bet Tote exclusively if the liquidity supported the enterprise. Fifty quid can destroy a tasty Tote price at Southwell – that’s embarrassing for a major racing nation.
The big festivals and Saturday meetings are definites though.
I always bet offline – partly because sitting about in my boxer shorts watching telly, drinking Scrumpy Jack and munching warmed up doners, with the Blue on main screen and a shrunken poker table tile in top left, wasn’t doing my outlook on life much good. A lack of fresh air, sunight and contact with actual
people
wasn’t helping either.
After a year of watching horses on telly, seeing a horse up close again was a trippy experience.
Also, I bet with high street bookies, particularly pension-enhancing cross card accumulators – one major argument against a Tote monopoly. Although all the textbooks I read as a kid argue against accies – advice I followed for at least fifteen years – one major problem with that advice is that while win singles might bring home regular slices of bread and butter, they certainly don’t bring home the vintage champers.
All you need is one big day when you see the ball like the planet Saturn and bang, six line up. Off to the Sandy Lane with a leggy blonde, a Samsonite briefcase full of cash and a Fez.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.