A BAY AT TBE ASC0T

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-./01 2,34

Ascot, Su miles fiom Lonuon is an exhilaiating tiip to one of the Woilu's Best Racing
venues.
Touay is the fiist uay of the season that enus with the R0YAL ASC0T RACE BAY
sometime in the thiiu week of }une. Theie aie six iaces scheuuleu touay with fiist
iace staiting at 2 pm. We staiteu fiom Wateiloo station in Lonuon at 11:21 anu
ieacheu the venue much befoie time to soak in the atmospheie.

"# $#% &'#()
*#+,- +./-, .+- 0-.,%+-1 2' 3%+4#'5,6 7'- 3%+4#'5 2, 8990:-+,6 ; 3%+4#'5, 0.&- . 024-
.'1 < 0.&- . =24#0-:+-6

Each iace has uiffeient lengths anu vaiying numbei of hoises.
The fiist iace hau only foui hoises ian foi 1uuumtis.
L0NuINES is to Ascot as R0LEX is to Wimbleuon. They aie the time-keepeis.
At eveiy iace meeting at Ascot theie aie foui specially qualifieu equine vets appointeu
to look aftei the welfaie of all hoises iacing.




A BAY AT TBE ASC0T
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The hoises aie paiaueu at the Paiaue Ring befoie they aie iaceu. This is to help the betteis to
see the hoise that they woulu want to bet.





Boise age ianges fiom 2 to 7, most common age being 4. }ockeys aie skinny anu weigh
veiy less so that they uon't become a buiuen on the hoise. Boise Tiainei is as
impoitant as the jockey. The bieeu of the Boise also plays an impoitant pait in the
iace.

5"$#"/ 67 )*" 86/%"

Can you think of one spoit wheie men anu women compete against each othei as
equals.
Stumpeu. Tiy hoise iacing, wheie female jockeys iegulaily jump in the hot seat
alongsiue theii male counteipaits.

>#4:: A male hoise unuei foui yeais olu
?-412'5: A castiateu male hoise
@:.442#': A male hoise that has not been castiateu
3244$: A female hoise unuei foui yeais olu
A.+-: An auult female hoise

B0RSES 0N PARABE - }0ST BEF0RE TBE RACE
A BAY AT TBE ASC0T
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90/%) :&;" 67 <' 107"

In the fiist iace theie weie foui hoises only. I bet 2 on an Boise nameu ESCALATINu.
This hau been iecommenueu by many. It was a two yeai olu colt. This iace was foi
1uuu mtis. It was completeu in 1:u4:24 - as clockeu by the time keepei. Befoie we
coulu blink the eye the iace was completeu!
But the iace was contioveisial. While the winnei was inueeu ESCALATINu, it was
founu that at the winning stietch it hau biusheu asiue anothei hoise. So the
authoiities hau to see the viueo footage to confiim that it was not uelibeiate. Finally it
was announceu by the authoiities that the push was acciuental anu ESCALATINu was
ueclaieu winnei.
Beginneis L0CK. I got my 7 pounus foi my fiist bet!


I lost my othei thiee iaces. Net loss: S pounus on an investment of 1u. Not bau foi
the fiist expeiience.




You can see the timeline of L0NuINES at the
backgiounu.


Because theie is noimally enough time
between iaces, public use the oppoitunity to
uo many things - such uiink, eat anu chat
Some enthusiasts uo watch the hoises being
paiaueu anu exchange notes on the betting
system.

Theie aie vaiious types of bets.
The Tote is the only bookmakei in Biitain
which is alloweu to offei betting on hoise
iacing. 0thei bookmakeis offei a Tote seivice
thiough synuication, while othei bookmakeis
will accept a Tote bet anu pay out on exactly the same teims as the Tote.
The pooleu bets offeieu by the Tote aie:
Win, Place, Exacta, Tiifecta, Quaupot, Placepot, }ackpot, Scoop6 anu Swingei.
Some of the above teims aie self explanatoiy. Bet on winning the hoise as in fiist
place, bet on winning the hoise in all six iaces.etc. etc. Enough uata is available on
websites on these kinus of bets. You can also pick a hoise to be placeu - in a paiticulai
oiuei! This bet is known as Toteplace.
}ust befoie the Finish Line in the S
iu
Race
A BAY AT TBE ASC0T
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0bviously }ackpot means winning the winnei in all the six iaces. The possibility is veiy
low. Anu hence ietuins aie high. The }ackpot winnei in some high piofile iace uays
may get close to S million!










=*" 96>/)* :&;"

The fouith iace conuucteu at S:4S pm was an inteiesting one. We bet on two hoises:
BARRIS TWEEB & C0CKTAIL Q0EEN - 2 pounus each. This is a longei iace of S.2
kms. Nost of it has to be watcheu on the scieen anu the last leg is seen live as the iace
neais the finish line, that is wheie one sees the Longines time scieen.
CQ is a filly anu 4yi olu with a veiy low iating
BT is a geluing anu 7yis olu, but has a veiy high iating.
We bet on both anu lost!! Anu how.
The winnei was TAC BE B0ISTR0N a 7 yi olu geluing, with just a bit highei iating than
CQ. The way this hoise ian has eveiy one gasping. At the finish line it was cleai two
lengths aheau of its neaiest iival!
Because the iun was long, the iace was followeu veiy closely by the public on the giant
scieen.

We uiu not attenu the othei two iaces as theie was a tube stiike in Lonuon anu we hau
to get back home, befoie nightfall. We hau to take a complicateu tiain anu bus ioute
home because of the stiike.




Punteis watching the iace keenly
The Piize Ceiemony - A Royal Family membei piesenting the tiophy
A BAY AT TBE ASC0T
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Apait fiom the bieeu of the hoise, the Tiainei anu }ockey play a big pait in the
foitunes of the hoise.
Keen punteis stuuy vaiious aspects of the hoise (its histoiy in winning) anu peuigiee
befoie committing on the bet.


Eaily Biius taking vantage positions in the lawn