1MillionChallengeMan

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,442.23 (+44%)

Hello again,

apologies for the lack of posts last week. My LapTop decided to self-destruct due to overheating and is currently in the Computer Hospital, so it has not been easy for me to enter my posts.

This week my 5% Win target is £72 which would see me crash through the 50% barrier and finish the week at £1,514.23, that's the target I'll be trying to achieve anyway.

Today I have put on a total of seven bets, being four PLACE bets, two Lays and an Each Way. I'll share the four PLACE bets with you first of all, they are; WOLVERHAMPTON 3.30 Number 2 STORM HAWK, and WOLVERHAMPTON 4.30 BEACH BABE, and REDCAR 3.50 Number 10 EZRA CHURCH and WINDSOR 7.10 Number 5 FRANCISCAN. I staked 1% (£14) on each of them to get 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.

I have also Layed two horses to lose - both in Handicaps at WOLVERHAMPTON - in the 1.30 Number 2 INVIGILATOR and in the 2.00 Number 3 TITAN DIAMOND. My Maximum liability for is is 1% for stakes of £3.50 and £5.00 respectively. And finally I have backed one of AP McCoys two rides at TOWCESTER this evening. In the 6.00 race he rides Number 1 BELLABOOSH for Nicky Henderson and I have backed this one at 1% £14 Each Way at 5/2.

As ever, I am hopeful of making an overall profit on the day. Have to dash, catch you later!
T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,419.92 (+41%)

Hello again,

What happened to Cardiff? I made a net loss of £16.40 on the day due to them. Had a good + £50 day yesterday though as I had BAHIRA and BIG ZEB in the horseracing and pushed through the 40% barrier - Hooray!

Had to back KAUTO STAR in the 5.30 at PUNCHESTOWNS and if Kauto doesn't win I'll be looking to recover my stake and make a profit on WAAHEB in the 6.05, so my bet is effectively a two leg Stop At A Winner bet. I got 2.38 on Kauto.

There was an article in the Racing Post today about Paul Nicholls' Punchestown entries being a good investment and I am hoping that good ol' Kauto will be one of his winners at the meeting.

MAN UTD should win against SCHALKE tonight shouldn't they? But just in case I have backed them to win with 5% (£71) and also covered the stake with a DRAW bet of £21 at 4.4

Plus have Layed a couple of horses and backed a couple more today, so I am hopeful of an overall profit on the day. have to dash - lots of racing to watch.

T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,384.66 (+38%)

Hello again and thanks for checking in. Well despite some good results last week I had to recover from a 6% Losing day so it was an uphill struggle again. Last Monday I was at £1371.84 so I just managed to shade it over the week.

My weekly 'Target' is 5% growth which is £69 for this week and that would see me finish the week at £1,454 (+45%).

Today I have gone for five PLACE bets and a bet on CARDIFF to win their match against Middlesborough this evening, kick off at 5.15pm. This is a vital match for Cardiff, who must win this if they are to have a realistic probability of promotion. I staked £10 level stakes on each of my Place bets and 2% (£26) on Cardiff to win at 1.49 so my total risk today is £76 which is 5.48% of the bank.

Well the Sun is shining and I'm outta here.
T.T.F.N.

Hello again,

How about that Royal Wedding - a fantastic spectacle wasn't it? I will update the blog with my progress on Monday. Today I just wanted to share my philosophy about betting in proportion to resources. To be honest I think that most people just don't do this. For a start you must have a 'dedicated resource' to manage. When you have this you then need a definite strategic approach to betting, plus willpower to stick to it, and sometimes the patience of a Saint.

I could have started this challenge with a £10,000 bank as it would have shaved the best part of a year off my progress but starting with £1,000 has certainly made it difficult because it is slow to gather momentum in the early months. Nevertheless I have my 'Mathematical Route Map' to follow and so long as I keep faith and the bank keeps growing then success is inevitable!

My maximum bet is 5% of the bank, which is 1/20th in points terms. Some people advise a maximum stake of 8% (a 12 point bank) or even 10% (a 10 point bank) but these are dangerously high levels of staking, as when you factor in a possible losing sequence of six in a row your bank could be quickly decimated. So my 'normal' stakes of 2.5% with a maximum of 5% should be sufficient to see me through any difficult times.

Today I have staked 5% on FRANKEL in the 2,000 Guineas at NEWMARKET (3.10) as he has all the credentials of a solid favourite. Some months ago I signed up to the services of a Tipster and racehorse owner - who shall be nameless - who advised 'maximum stakes' on one of his horses which 'couldn't lose'. On that basis I lumped on a sizeable sum - way beyond the parameters I have shared with you today. Guess what? Yep the horse lost! And then there were all the excuses from the owner of course. So I lost a packet and learned my lesson and that's why it's 5% maximum for me from now on.

In racing there is no such thing as a 'certainty' - just 'good things' which should 'probably' win!

Right, now where's that betting slip?
T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,397

Hi,
Well done to MAN UTD in their win against SCHALKE last night. I backed the Draw and the Win and made a small profit overall. There is some excellent racing going on today and I am £3 away from 40% profit! Hope I can do it today otherwise I'll be knocked back a bit as I have invested 6.25% today. I have 2.5% win singles on MAGIC CITY in the 2.00 at ASCOT and on HIGHEST in the 7.10 at NEWCASTLE. I have also backed ALBAQAA in the 6.10 Claimer at NEWCASTLE as it surely has a high probability of winning, half stakes of £17 on it though purely because it is a Claiming race.

I don't really like backing evening races as you are in suspense all day wondering if your horse/s will win, but you have to take what's on the table and they are my system selections.

I'll be enjoying the racing at Ascot today as it is a lovely day for it. Also at PERTH where there is an interesting Jumps meeting and AP McCoy has six rides. I will probably back him in a Stop At A Winner as at least three of his rides have very good prospects for success today.

Well its brightened up nicely and I'm outa here! Gotta get my cash bets on at the local bookies.
T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,371.84 (+37%)

Hello again,
well progress was slow last week but at least I managed to recover a 5% loss and end up slightly in profit by +£16. It may not seem like much but it is still another 1%+ growth in a week, not as good as I would have liked but still going in the right direction. I'll be happier when I've broken the 40% barrier and then it's on towards 50%.

Today, despite their being no less than eight meetings, it still looks like a Bookies benefit day to me. I have only had an interest in one race today and that is the 2.40 at MARKET RASEN where I backed the first and second favourites ALTA ROCK and CYGNET at 6/4 with 2% on each for a net 1% gain if either of them wins. It is 7/1 the field of five runners so I am hopeful for a win.

Lay bets should speed up my progress a bit with wins here and there throughout the week but with the runners being spread over eight meetings today there are lots of small fields everywhere and I can't find anything suitable to lay with confidence. Hey the Sun is shining and its a beautiful day!

T.T.F.N.

Hello again,

lost a bit the other day on a couple of horses at 2.5% on each plus a tiny overall loss on the lay bets I did. Todays bets will either lift me right back up or knock back my progress further.

In the football I have backed CHELSEA, MAN UTD, TOTTENHAM, & LIVERPOOL all to win in £20 Win Singles plus a £10 Fourfold. A friend advises me that CARLISLE have a very good chance of nicking the points in their match against ROCHDALE today. I just got 4.2 and staked £13 (1%) on CARLISLE to win, so it would be very nice if that one comes in.

In the Horse racing I have layed FORTUNI in the 6.15 at KELSO £6 for a £9.96 Liability and at NOTTINGHAM in the 6.30 I have layed YANKEE STORM £3 at 4.5 for a £10.50 Liability.

I have also backed SURF AND TURF to win in the 4.25 at NEWTON ABBOT at 2.55 (£32 at 1.55).

If I make an overall profit I will be a happy Easter Bunny. Hey it's all 'calculated risk' at the end of the day so here's hoping for some good results.

Enjoy the holiday!
T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,385 (+38%)

Hello again. Well following my last entry I had a profitable foray into Lay betting yesterday and got three out of three right. I have been following the progress of some of my Contacts and fellow Bloggers who are enjoying tremendous success with Lay bets and I have to say you can't fail to be impressed by their 'rocket speed' progress compared to my own with just Backing horses to win. I know I mustn't grumble when you compare my 38% growth in just a few months compared to the High Street 3.4% per annum but I do believe I should use Lay bets aswell to speed up my progress on my mathematical route map.

I have devised some self-guidance rules for my lay bets and they are, only Lay at 4.0 or less, minimum of 10 runners, Lay within 10 minutes of start of the race for shortest Lay odds and generally Lay Handicaps and non-fit horses and avoid horses running within 7 days or races with really 'warm'favourites and a big gap in the betting to the field.

With that 'guidance' in mind I have selected EPSOM 2.00, 2.35, 3.45, 4.50, SOUTHWELL 3.20, HEREFORD 4.05, 4.40, NEWCASTLE 6.05, 7.05, & KEMPTON 6.50 & 9.20 as 'potential' Lays if I can get 4.0 or less etc.

Assuming I could get them all on that's 11 lays today. I have to consider the possible 'nuclear disaster' scenario of them all winning so I will limit my total exposure to less than 2% and Lay just £2 per Lay. I know - i'm the last of the big spenders ain't I!

Hey, thanks for your visit today - have a good day.

T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1355.55 (+35%)

Hello again,

well here I am sitting here with a well-oiled machine gun ready to fire, but very few targets to fire at! Maybe I should get into Laying as there really isn't much going on in the Backing front and I need to make progress.

All I can find to back with confidence today is LIFESTYLE in the 4.10 at TOWCESTER but it really is at crappy odds of around 1/5. Nevertheless that is my 'system' selection so it's a maximum stake of 5% on it, which for me at the moment is £66.00.

My 5% win target for the week is £68 which gives me an average of c.£10 per day and would see me finish the week on £1,423 which is step 7 of the 142 I need to reach the magic goal. All I need is more 'targets' to fire at!

T.T.F.N.

Start Bank £1,000
Current Bank £1,342.57 (+34%)

OMG Temptation is everywhere today! I lost a bit yesterday - thanks AP - YES TOM came 4th in my Place bet having never finished out of the first two at AYR before, and COLLECT ART finished 2nd. RONINSKI won in good style and at 2/5 instead of the 1/6 SP that was a good result, but down a bit on the day.

I am sorely tempted at NEWBURY by MODUN, VERDANT, FRANKEL, at RIPON by DANDINO, and at AYR by GIORGIO QUERCUS, MILLE CHIEF, RUSSIAN WAR and FOURTH ESTATE so this could be a day for making big gains or big losses.

Sir Michael Stoute takes five to NEWBURY today and has the favourites in the first two on the card and may well have success with one or both of them. All things considered I think my safest option is to play a Stop At A Winner bet at Newbury and another at Ayr with some cash but for the £Million Challenge account bet I will just stake 3% to win 1% on FRANKEL in the 3.10 at NEWBURY.

Whatever you're on enjoy the racing!

T.T.F.N.