Chester Racecourse

Number of visits: 6

My first five visits to Chester were very much an eclectic mix. The first in the 1980s was a standard family affair extending my early range of attended racecourses. By including Chester, York and Haydock in these early visits I was being spoilt by the quality on offer and to some extent setting myself up for later disappointment. Sorry Catterick! Whilst at University I attended Chester in the summer holidays with my racing friend from college Paul. He was impressed with my growing knowledge of racing and my new ‘professional’ approach to betting. I would only back two horses at this meeting. When my first selection won he was very keen to bet on my second. He was then most surprised and disappointed to see my selection never trouble the leaders. A couple of years later a works trip (from TNT) to Chester provided my first insight into where drinking not betting was the priority for my group. I did badly at both but did back the first winner, watching excitedly from high up in the packed stand. I remember it took forever to exit the stands and go and collect my winnings and that my colleagues were frustrated with my efforts to wade through the crowd. They were keen to get to the bar before the next race!

My next visit took in a day of the three day festival in May which includes the Chester Cup and significant trials for the Derby and Oaks. I had travelled alone by train via Preston and Warrington. I won the Placepot on that rainy day watching the decisive race six in a betting shop between the racecourse and the train station. This was 1994 and my method of collection was to send my winning slip to the nice people at the Tote, who in turn sent me a cheque in the post for around £60. When I returned around ten years later to Chester I would have a baby daughter with me attending her very first racecourse. My wife Claire and I plus baby Rachel had stayed at the nearby Mollington Banastre Hotel. At the races, camped out near the paddock our little entourage generated almost as much interest as the horses themselves. It was another fourteen years or so before I visited Chester again in June 2018. A VIP day for me and my Dad courtesy of Racing UK. Despite us having a fantastic day, Chester racecourse had taken significant steps backwards. 

For a Saturday fixture this was a pretty low key affair. The feature race of the day was a class two handicap. There was better racing at York and Sandown but the best flat horses around were now gearing up for the Royal Ascot meeting. My dad and I had bagged some very valuable Festival Chalet tickets, in the centre of the course, for a select few Racing UK Club Day VIPs. The facilities in the chalet village are excellent. Private access to the inner rail, less than a furlong out and our own room for the fifty or so in our group to base ourselves for the day, buy a drink, enjoy the free biscuits and escape the elements. The weather forecast had been patchy at best but following a couple of stormy downpours the day settled to become sunny and warm.

To start things off the Racing UK team had laid on racecourse commentator Stuart Machin to go through the card with us and hopefully point us in the direction of a winner or two. He came across very well, chatting happily with members of the group before discussing significant contenders in each race. Whilst he did mainly sit on the fence he did put strong emphasis on Istanbul Sultan his fancy in the big race of the day. I like to make up my own mind when it comes to backing winners but I am always looking for information to help form my opinion. Race one was a good example of this where Stuart did not tip me the winner but he did prevent me from switching to a loser. I was struggling to decide between the established form of Marie's Diamond and the potential of Gabrial The Wire owned by Dr Marwan Koukash. Stuart was somewhat negative about the latter's debut which nudged me in the right direction. Both me and Dad backed the impressive Marie's Diamond who won under the expert course guidance of Franny Norton despite having an unfavourably wide draw. When Franny Norton won again in race two it was no real surprise but the mood in the chalet was somewhat sombre. The weather had just turned nasty and everyone inevitably had backed the well touted but ineffective today Istanbul Sultan.

At this stage I had placed my bets with the traditional board bookmakers over the other side of the course. I would do this only once more as the process of getting there through the growing crowd was both unpleasant and time consuming. Bottlenecks in key areas were prevalent. After being somewhat crushed and nearly knocked over twice my Dad was now content to stay in the safety of our chalet. There were simply too many people in the same small space. Unfortunately this meant we had to embrace the disaster that is Chester Bet. Before I get into this it is only fair to mention the numerous positives Chester racecourse has to offer. First and foremost it has a wonderful natural setting around the historic walls of Chester. There was live music on arrival and in various areas of the course during racing which certainly added to the atmosphere and quality feel of the place. I enjoyed looking at the display boards around the paddock of historic Chester racing scenes since 1539. The paddock itself is stunning and centrally placed. There are plenty of helpful staff and a high level of security. The racecard, which we got free, is one of the best I have seen including full pages on the key races at other meetings. There are great food options, the usual big screen and plenty of toilets. Despite all this I was not happy.

To be fair I was not happy with the notion of Chester Bet before I arrived. Effectively a replacement for the Tote it should not really have affected my day as I only occasionally bet with the Tote. I was expecting poor value returns and I had heard that it had replaced the on course betting shops, though I found this difficult to believe. Incredibly though, this was true and the reality of it was much much worse than I expected. There was no equivalent of a betting shop, just a series of betting points, similar to the Tote manned mainly by inexperienced young staff. If McDonalds ever do gambling! The lack of a betting shop was a big loss. Nowhere to use as a base between races, nowhere to study the form in depth, nowhere to watch an obscure race from Hexham and nowhere for my Dad to place his favoured multiple bets! A few select races from York and Sandown were shown on the big screen but there was no apparent access to footage from other meetings. Predictably the old betting shop was now a bar. Most of all it was tough to reconcile that I am no longer the target audience for the sport I love. A much younger, drinking focused crowd with only a passing interest in the action is the main demographic. I get the economics of it but I don't like it. Race three was a disaster for Chester Bet but I would have to accept that the majority of racegoers probably didn't even notice. On the way to the start of the race a runner unseated its jockey and proceeded to do two laps of the track. Not an everyday occurrence I know but it does happen quite often. I had intended to have two bets in the race but only managed one.This late non runner crashed the Chester Bet system moments before the race commenced but not before betting chaos ensued. Once the non runner was announced some punters wanted their money back to change their bets. No can do. Others continued to bet freely on the race not realising all bets were now somehow going on race four! Some people realised. Others did not! Once the Chester Bet supervisors fairly quickly picked up on this they stopped any further bets being placed. If you were on the inside of the track like me and Dad you could not place any further bets. In a flash the race was off and fortunately my unbacked selection did not win. I can live with poor divdiends and slow payouts but this was ridiculous. If this is the future of betting at racecourses, betting at racecourses will greatly suffer and maybe even have no future.

We managed another winner prior to our final race where we both fancied sprinter Zac Brown who had run well at Goodwood the previous week. We both had £10 to win which was a bold move on a horse forecast to go off at odds of around 10-1. Our final twenty minutes at Chester highlighted the contrasts of Chester and our own experience of it. Well positioned from the off Zac Brown kicked clear on the turn for home and stormed past us with the race in his pocket. Fantastic, a great way to finish. My Dad and I started the payout queue and were curious to know what we would get paid for our very generously priced 14-1 winner. Ten minutes later we were still waiting to find out while the Chester Bet system, seemingly powered by my ten year old laptop, worked out the returns. The wait was improved a little by us watching a re-run of the race. Finally a dividend was declared and we both received £136. Not terrible especially given the expected price but still £14 short of parity. As we squeezed our way to the exit, happy with our winnings, we encountered the police dealing with a scuffle between two drunken racegoers before finally making our way to the safety of the exit. A day of contrasts for sure but one we certainly enjoyed.

Epsom Racecourse

Racecourse number: 37

First visited: 1997

Number of visits: 1

In April 1997 I was attending a training course in Woking with my good friend and colleague David Bennett. This two day session required two nights in a local B & B. We had no plans to go racing, though we had already lined up tickets for that night’s football game between Crystal Palace and Reading. During the morning session of our first day it became clear that we would not be required to attend in the afternoon. The element of the computer system being covered was not relevant to us. Quite quickly an alternative plan was hatched. Racing at Epsom was only half an hour away. There was, however a bit of a problem. We were not expected back at the B & B until teatime and it seemed no one else was, as at around lunchtime our brief homestead was deserted. No mobile number to ring in those days. No access to our cash or the cash cards we needed. Our limited funds would have to do. So off we went to the home of the Derby for their season opening fixture.

After paying for entry our meagre collective funds required an early winner to keep further bets flowing. The opening race was a very competitive six furlong sprint. Our selection was both topical and sensible. Given our destination later in the day Selhurstpark Flyer, trained by the ever reliable Jack Berry was the obvious choice. In running he looked very much like the solution to our funding problems, leading from three furlongs out, with just one challenger getting anywhere near him. With five yards to go he was leading and on the line it was very close but we both knew we had been defeated. A head victory was awarded to Lord Olivier ridden by Frankie Dettori. The set up at Epsom was both spacious and impressive. It truly was a fantastic sporting theatre. From the stands you look way down on the horses below who are encouraged to drift towards the far rail by the remarkable right to left camber on the course. Not heavily attended this particular day, you could still appreciate how Epsom could host a vast crowd for one of our nation’s most prestigious sporting events.

Undeterred by our initial close call Dave and I pressed on in our quest for a winner. Race two provided another action packed photo finish but this did not involve our selection. Following the purchase of some much needed sustenance we had only enough cash for one more bet, unless it won. Following some earlier competitive races we now had only three selections to choose from. Sometimes the situation dictates your betting strategy and whilst we discussed backing the outsider, logic and our desire to back a winner took over and we backed the short price favourite. The favourite Palio Sky obliged with able assistance from Pat Eddery. We reinvested our returns in a competitive fourth race spreading our stake around to secure a positive interest. Of the nineteen runners none our three fancies finished in the top ten! To see such a large field charging past with a furlong to go was some compensation though. Somehow, surprisingly I was at Epsom.

We planned to watch one more race but had simply run out of money. The solution was literally staring us in the face. At this time every racecourse had a tote credit club facility. Usually an exclusive betting office for credit club customers only. It was often a haven of calm especially on busy days. On this day it provided a solution to our desire to keep betting. I had opened an account to celebrate getting my first proper job a few years earlier so armed with my memorised account number I placed a decent win bet on the final race for me and Dave. Twenty years later I still know this number even though I have not used it in over a decade. Supply and Demand was our choice, one of the 2-1 joint favourites.  Ridden by Kieron Fallon our fancy had little trouble seeing off his market rival. This sent us away with both a sense of satisfaction and the knowledge a cheque would literally be in the post with our winnings. Without doubt the best afternoon’s training I have ever had!

Taunton Racecourse

Racecourse number: 54

First visited: 2018

Number of visits: 1

Of all the racecourses Taunton could well be bottom of my list in terms of both races watched and my desire to attend. Historically it was a course with limited exposure. In the days before wall to wall TV coverage this would be the meeting with audio commentary only. Limited annual fixtures also combined with a tendency to race on firm/hard ground with low numbers of runners. Added to this its West Country location has kept it well off my racing radar. Nevertheless, in 2018 plans were made to tick this box and finally attend a Taunton meeting. We had booked a family midweek break at the not too far away Longleat Center Parcs. On the Sunday night we stayed at the Taunton Premier Inn after a four hour journey, so we were handy and fresh for the Taunton meeting the following day.

My wife Claire and kids Rachel and Jake have themselves put a lot into my journey to all the racecourses. Over the years they have enjoyed it generally without sharing the same level of enthusiasm I have for a sport that I love. On this day though it became apparent that, to use a racing metaphor, the Tomlinsons were beginning to tie up as we entered the final stages of my racecourses challenge. To be fair to Taunton they had done their best to engage with younger attendees on this first Monday of the Easter school holidays. However, the vintage tractors, Ferret racing, Beagle parade and Owl display generated little interest from Rachel and Jake who were both getting a little old for that kind of thing. They happily accepted the free egg on arrival and engaged in the racecard Easter egg hunt competition. Unfortunately though, they found the time between arriving and the first race, when I was enjoying assessing the racecourse facilities, too long and somewhat painful. To be fair the whole day they were understandably itching to get to the delights of Center Parcs. Hang on in their guys, only seven more new courses to go!

I was boosted by an early winner at Huntingdon, Presenting Pearl winning nicely at 4-1. The plan now was a positive start to the live action and I was confident of an initial success with my selection in the first at Taunton, Mount Rushmoore. So much so that I had made this my nap of the day and my selection for our works betting syndicate account. Five of us take turns at betting part of our collective funds. When you have a losing bet the next person takes over. The others mainly go with football bets. In theory at least I am the horse racing specialist. We had turned £200 into nearly £2000 and I was keen to be responsible for further success. Jake helped me secure even money, the best price available for the Colin Tizard trained Mount Rushmoore. My certainty was then heavily backed by the West Country punters and based on the betting activity defeat was out of the question. Unfortunately, no one had told the horse who showed as much enthusiasm for Taunton as the other Tomlinsons. After only two hurdles the warning signs were clear. Poor jumping was the main problem but this large beast could well have been unsuited by the sharp Taunton circuit. Eventually, he completed in fourth but had never looked like winning. I was more upset than normal about this defeat. It is always good to start with a winner and today a win would have been an ideal family morale boost. The main reason though was that it was the betting syndicate selection. I like tipping winners more than I do backing them. I want to be seen as the horse racing expert, whether it is true or not. To select a well beaten odds on favourite was most disappointing. There must be a chart somewhere which mathematically represents backing/tipping winners taking into account odds, outcomes and emotions. At the top the joy of tipping and backing a long priced winner. At the bottom a picture of me and Mount Rushmoore!

Not that any of this was Taunton’s fault and overall the facilities were more than adequate. Good stands, enough space and a range of eating options were helped by an increasingly pleasant spring day. A warm welcome, kid’s entertainment and the half decent card could not detract however from a sense that we did not belong at Taunton. This really was a day for the local country set, the majority dressed proudly in greens, browns and tweeds. The racecard further emphasised the point. We were attending on ‘Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’ day. Race three was sponsored by the UK Gun Repairs shop in Taunton who, apparently stock a wide range of guns and ammunition. We were definitely not from around these parts! This would not though in any way distract me from my focus - the days racing and the quest for winners. I would quickly get back on track in races two and three. Smart Boy held on by a diminishing neck to open my account at Taunton. This was followed half an hour later by a much easier winner, Royal Act who romped home with ease. Neither were great prices at around 3-1 but both were very welcome. Royal Act’s race was a chase so we had crossed to the inside of this tight, short circuit to watch the race from the final fence. Closer up you could see the true nature of not only the course’s tightness but also its undulating nature, particularly early in the home straight. Not all horses would perform at their best here. From this vantage point Jake and I decided to do a ‘Fontwell’. We walked over to a fence in the back straight with the intention of running back across to the final fence before the horses got there. Many others did the same. I got some great photos of the horses thundering past over the far side before chasing Jake in vain across the centre of the course back to the last fence. A horse racing analysis of my effort might read as follows: slowly away, outpaced early, stayed on late but no chance with winner!

Proudly on parade between races on this day were two local equine superstars. Regal Flow had just won the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter. Native River had just won the Cheltenham Gold Cup following an epic duel with Might Bite. Both were very well received by the local crowd. Native River looked particularly well, a horse that seemed to know he was a champion. We swerved race four and headed instead for the Orchard Stand restaurant. Pie and chips ended up being a much better bet than my selections who ran poorly. Race five would be our last and I was pretty confident of a good run from my selection Muffins For Tea. A backup plan was provided by Rachel. Her betting strategy tended to revolve around staking a pound on the biggest priced horse, especially if it was a grey. Cap Horner fitted the bill perfectly and with some form suggesting he was not without a chance I went mad and had £3 on at 12-1. Our two selections fought out the finish, with the grey outsider seeing out the three and a half miles best for victory. It is always great to end with a winner and very helpful if someone else provides it for you. Cheers Rachel. Her reward, in addition to a share of the winnings was that we were now finally heading to Center Parcs. On the hour long journey, which involved some dodgy B roads thanks to our less than trusty sat nav, we passed Wincanton, my next racecourse lined up for in just two days time. After forty years my journey to all the racecourses was heading towards its conclusion.