YOUR FIRST TRIP TO THE RACES

Carlisle many years ago glorious day in June and made a nice profit too.

Gold cup day 2003. Best mates 2nd gold cup.

I backed 4 winners that day including my all time favourite horse, spirit leader in the county hurdle.

It's gone downhill ever since!

Scary to think it was 12 years ago

My abiding memory of early visits to the Racecourse were ...

How slow the horses appeared to be traveling, at the finish -  compared to watching them on television.

Or - before some smart alec posts .... was it just the one that I had backed?

you will like this one onlooker

unsurprisingly my first trip to the races was haydock as I did not have any binoculars at that time I took my dads telescope instead.

Carlisle, summers day glorious weather and massive turnout.   Went with the lads and the local betting shop "expert" had told me to back dalgliesh horse in the last as it was "pounds in" in The Cumberland plate trials. Got on it early at 10's  and every winning fiver and change from the pints went on this thing all day, last race came and it was 4-1 2nd fav.  Turned out the expert was right, it absolutely hosed up and I became instant hero dos I'd being telling anyone who would listen to me to back this beast, everyone made a tidy profit and a massive night out was had in carlisle after the races. What a cracking day!!

The name of the horse.... Chookie Hamilton.  Never forget it!

My first three in order were Brighton, Lewes then Goodwood, but I think there were a couple more Brighton trips before Goodwood.  Never looked back   I think I have been to Goodwood every year at least once for the last 53 years.

Same as Blackbarn.......i think (i actually can't remember) my first visit to a racecourse....but it was between Brighton and Goodwood?


Hooked straight away

Sunday Silence, Churchill Downs 1989 winning the Kentucky Derby in a very slow time of 2:05 flat.

foxy - Why did you bother going to Haydock, though?

You could have just stayed at home - and watched the racing through your, "dad's telescope."

Stratford night meeting summer '72 ish... Terry Biddlecombe fell off an odds on chance in the country..... got spat on weighing in... never forgot that !

Epsom for the Derby many years ago. Couldn't believe how many had taken the Wednesday off work, put on their Sunday best, and paid for the posh tickets in order to spend the entire meeting indoors moving only the few yards from bar to Tote and back again.

Haydock,fri night meeting,early 80s Horage won odds on.

Upton on Severn Point to Point, early 60,s(63 I think), there where a lot of people there, it was The Lady Dudley Cup Day, one thing I do remember was that the lady jockeys had thick red lipstick and I was also struck by all of the different colours the jockeys wore.

Cheltenham Gold Cup day 1971 with my Dad, a pretendy illness having kept me from primary school.  I saw L'Escargot complete the GC double, Boxer winning the Triumph Hurdle, and Sally Furlong win the Hunters race. The opening race was won by Hound Tor, possibly a West Country success??

Years later when looking through my race card (signed by Sir Peter O on the day) in the last race I saw a horse called RED RUM had taken part, though under different training and riding connections to his later storied ones. A race possibly won by The Laird but I wouldn't swear to it.

Not a bad first day.  A few months later we went to Hereford to see Bula win a pulsating Welsh Champion Hurdle in a three way photo.

One of my first bets Alun, was backing Canasta Lad to beat him... remember the price was 11/2 !

A mixed card @ Aintree in the 70's.

Got in for free by showing my mates bus driver's badge.

Remember Credit Call won the Hunter.  I was on Creme Brule 3rd @ 8/1, 1/4 of the odds.

Cheers Halcyon….. an error almost as grievous as the one I had to pull you up about on a Mandy R-D  thread !!

Made a mistake my first visit to a Racecourse was York Ebor Day 1980 I had to meet
a girl out of Pans People first then my boss picked us up and we had a really good view
from some Majors box supping Champagne out of plastic cups...

The first I can remember was 5 August 1992 Kempton evening meeting. I know that because a big cheer went up when Sally Gunnell won the 400m hurdles at the Barcelona Olympics.

I was very impressed by a  Sheik Mohammed horse ridden by Walter Swinburn that just seemed to float across the turf. Took the bus home and got lost.

Alun, was it 13/2 ?


Accept your memory is better than mine !

I've no idea !!

alun

bula,welsh champion hurdle and Hereford happy times for a wonderful place to go racing.

Will never forget that Bula Welsh Champion Hurdle finish that's for sure. And not on TV sadly.

Worcester 1963.
Flat meeting.

1971/1972 Season: Hurdling[edit]

Bula suffered a defeat on his return in the Autumn, finishing second by a neck to I’m Happy in the Woolton Hill Hurdle at Newbury after making a mistake at the last flight.[8]

He returned to winning ways in the Skeaping Trophy Hurdle at Sandown,[8] but badly bruised a foreleg in the process and missed nearly four months of racing.[9]

Bula returned to racing in February and, despite the layoff, won the Kingwell Hurdle for the second time by four lengths hard held from Irish Sweeps winner Kelanne.[8]

Despite the interrupted campaign, Bula’s Kingwell win confirmed his well being and he was rated an 8/11 favourite to win his second Champion Hurdle. This year, he faced two former Triumph Hurdle winners in Varma and Boxer, dual Christmas Hurdle winner Coral Diver, Cheltenham Trial and Christmas Hurdle winner Canasta Lad and the re-opposing pair of Dondieu and Kelanne.[2] As was the norm, Bula was held up at the back of the field as Varma and Boxer made all the running. Racing down the hill, Paul Kelleway on Bula decided to move to the inside and follow Boxer rather than Dondieu as they had been doing. At the third last flight, Dondieu fell and broke his neck while causing severe interference. Bula avoided the incident and strode past Boxer to win by eight lengths in a “triumphal procession”. However, his win was somewhat overshadowed by the fatal fall of Dondieu.[9]

In Bula’s next race, he was beaten in an upset by Canasta Lad, who had fallen in the Champion Hurdle. In the soft ground and under top weight, Bula was under pressure from the second last and lost by three quarters of a length.[8]

Despite this loss, Bula was overwhelmingly voted as Champion NH Horse for the second year running, receiving 37 out of 39 votes.[9]

Yes I recall Canasta Lad beating Bula in the 1972 renewal of the Welsh Champion.  I think they had a quite a few battles.

I know when I shouted him home listening to the blower in the shop...  the heavy hitters' thought I was deranged !   

Not as good as when I was surrounded by middle class Munich men celebrating Peter Withes goal in Rotterdam circa May '82... that really was mental !   

^ They were right.....!

Übersetzung für Indeed

Newmarket 1973 - 1000 gns. I went specifically to back the fav Jacinth who couldn't possibly lose

Newbury in the 60s and Whisky Poker won, from memory it was his second attempt. He won at a big price and one of our party collected a packet courtesy of the tote. I am not sure but I think Derring Do ran that day too in the feature race.

Great Yarmouth!

Love the place!

Funny that. Given your name I would have had you down as a Taunton fan.

chepstow 1976.very small fields.going officially hard.
seemed like easy pickings.

frances melly,so is italy.

15 Jan 15 15:12
Haydock,fri night meeting,early 80s Horage won odds on.
-------------

I was there, too - Walked the straight with Horage's trainer Mattie McCormack.
Blazing hot day - The track was like concrete, with ridges and dried divot holes.

Wouldn't be like that nowadays - with Kirkland Tellwright watering - it would be on the soft side of good.

Difficult to decide which scenario is worst.

Folkestone the Summer of 1965.
The time is etched in my memory as the Clanging sound of Mcguinns's Rickenbacker was everywhere..
50 years since Mr.TM was Number 1 ....My Oh My.

I am told that my first visit was to Didmarton Point to Point at the age of 11 months. I didn't miss a year there until I went to Uni. in America 21 years later and couldn't afford the air fare back. My first "proper racing" was to Cheltenham in 1955 at age 11.

1988 Grand National, looked at the results a few months ago and can still remember a few of the winners

Mine was at Southwell about ten years ago and it was a day to forget. I got invited by a builder that I do some work for, he was invited by some suppliers and they laid on a three course meal and a free bar. I don't think I backed a winner all day but I more than made up for it with the free drinks. We were in the pubs round Southwell after the racing and I'd had far too much by 9pm. At 3am some copper was waking me up underneath some trees and thankfully he ordered me a taxi home which cost me £60.

Thankfully I don't drink any more, but I still cringe to myself about that day!

I went to Lewes 1956
  Id have gone to Brighton before that as we lived a few houndred yards away

They'll hound you for that spelling faux pas!

My first taste of live racing was Perth , an evening meet in May 1984 . I think a horse called Kavaka ( or similar ) won the last . I had backed 5 out of 6 winners . A glorious evening . I had gone by bus straight from my job in a factory . It was the first time I'd owned a £50.00 note . I was a bump in my late Mother's tummy at Redcar , Summer 1963 . She reckoned that had an influence on my interest in horses/betting etc .

mange, good evening..



is Brighton full of horses hufdahs ?...

THANK YOU TO THE PERSON WHO POSTED THIS THREAD ,IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND THE KIND OF THREAD THAT SHOULD BE ON A HORSE RACING FORUM,YOU SEEM TO KNOW WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT

Diddy, wah do !

YeH tHat BLokE tHat STArtEd tHe ThreAD is A dIAmonD

not my 1st visit but i was at Hereford the day rhyme and reason won the 1988 national , and  an £80 win on the 2 mile chase winner at 13/8 made it a profitable day

I know as a child I went to Yarmouth races and I must have been to Beverley but the first one I remember was Ebor 1987 and Darkom winning.

onlooker,i have the racecard from that night,somewhere about my house,signed by Greville and Pat.I remember it being a scorching evening.

Mine was Newmarket Rowley mile can remember sitting in the small cafe room under the stairs I backed the last 3 winners Count Pahlen Simply Great and Rocamadour for Arhur Pitt must of been about 12 and watched the races from the top of the ok'd Grandstand.

mine was royal ascot, backed dettori in the last only for spencer i think on red evie to pick me, i was screaming him on and looked a right tit when he got chinned! lol

My first meeting was charing point to point my dad tells me, was probably only about 2 or 3 years old so cant remember much. Went to loads of other meetings, both p2p and NH meetings before the first meeting I can properly remember. It was an august plumton meeting and I went with me dad and all his mates from his cricket team. I remember the going was firm and royal derbi won a 2 horse race, pretty sure he went on to be placed in a champion hurdle in michael tabors colours. Pretty sure Penny Fitch Hayes had a winner as well. I remember being in the pub near the course afterwards and me dads mate playing Dale Mckeown pool for money and beating him a couple of times.

Devon and Exeter 1977 - left work half day, steel toe cap boots and donkey jacket - won £50 - back to local strip club - pi*sed as fart - went home puked everywhere - never forget that day, neither has me mam!

Jimster.  Good memory!  12th August 1988.  Details correct on Royal Derbi, beat Jiving Ive in a match.  Re the Ffitch-Heyes, it was rather a good day for them as John had a treble with two ridden by Penny and one, Carpet Capers ridden by Ray Goldstein.   You may be sad to learn that that pub is currently being converted into houses

I honestly can't remember....and now it's bugging the hell out of me, cheers Do Wah!

Keep all my old racecards so might have to go through 'em and check the earliest.

Wetherby in the sixties, when red rum won at a very big price.

Newbury 1984   had 3 bets a 6/4 and a 7/4 winner and put the winnings on the Guy Harwood  trained Taj Alriyahd in the "lucky" last who according to Harwoods  apprentice /stable lad malcolm stiff a certainty. starkey must have thought it was dancing brave he was riding given the amount of ground he left it to do finished 3rd , but hosed  up next time out at 11/8 to recover losses.

1979
12 Years old
Grand National
Won by Rubstic
As you do when your a kid you back more than one in the race.
I had Rubstic and the Pilgarlic who was placed as he always was.
Only for a couple of Bob each way.
Cost was 50 pence which included travel anywhere in merseyside to the course and back, and entrance to the steeplechase enclosure I think it was called.
This Enclosure ran right up from the first or second fence right up past Beechers.
Stood right by the fence 10 yards past Beechers.No big screens and not a lot to see.
However on the second circuit I remember seeing a horse coming over Beechers back legs first hitting the deck and not moving.
Turned out to be Alverton which had won the gold cup a few weeks earlier.
Twenty seconds later when you think everything has passed,loads of people me included decide to take a closer look at what these green screens being put up around Alverton were for.
From out of nowhere comes a straggler jumping the fence.
**** Myself,and ran like fcuk.
Next thing I remember is seeing Alverton being dragged by ropes onto the back of a truck after the vet had done his work and put him out of his misery.
Time to pretend your a horse then and walk/run the course climb on every fence and jump off them and continue the whole way round.
Took ages.
Beutiful sunny day.

Yarmouth on a hot summer's day in 1959. The course caught fire!

My first visit to a racecourse was around 1959 to Flagg. Don't remember very much at all other than at one point my mum and aunt were chatting to  Dave Dick.

thank you do wah diddy for posting this thread,its the kind  of thread that us formites appreciate,where we can all interact with one another and tell of our life experiences ,thank you once again do wah diddy ,your a credit to betfair and your self

1862 on a summers afternoon.

1862 ????

Newmarket 1958. Cambridgeshire day.
The race was won by London Cry and my father allowed me a 1/- each way bet on this horse at 20/1. When he asked me why I had picked it, I told him that he had said you need a low draw and this horse was drawn 1. How's that for aftertiming.     

Previous life do doubt

Epsom 1974 when Snow Knight won the Derby. When I had to explain my absence from school the next day I just told the truth where I was. The teacher said did you win? Sadly I didn't but he appreciated my honesty and I didn't get a detention.

My 1st trip 2 the track was when on holiday at Great Yarmouth with my old man (80 or 81) L Piggott rode the 1st race winner for Cecil had a wee fiver on it at 6/4f my only bet, shrewd punter even in those early days

Lanark,circa 1958 with my dad.On weekdays racing used to go out to the track after school to get in free for the last 2 races.Saw a St James Palace Stakes winner run at Lanark and also a dual Ascot Gold Cup winner.It was said at the time that the decision by BR to no longer stop trains at the racecourse station led to the demise,but even after that the attendancies were greater than those that I now go to.

Used to see Phil Bull there on a regular basis when his beard was still ginger.

Cell 1	Cell 2
Cell 3	Cell 4		Cell 1	Cell 2
Cell 3	Cell 4

Is that a Prison map?

Iamajambo - Gold Cup winner was Fighting Charlie (Lady Mairi Bury, whose colours were a classy All Rose). Who was the St James Palace winner?.  I ought to know!.   Cheers

nb. do let me know the next time you can make Plumpton?

Perth races, May 1991. Jinxy Jack won a novice chase and J J Henry won the big race of the day. Jim Thorpe also ran that day. The Demon Barber won the last race. Never backed a winner the whole day after marking 5 out of the 7 winners in the paper.

I never went to Manchester racecourse, I think I'm too young.
Am I right in thinking that it used to be next to where Salford University now stands.
I've been in Manchester today and drove up The Crescent , was it situated in the U of the river next to "The Old Pint Pot" pub?
Often wondered, tia

my first time was 44 years ago 1971 (hell I didn't think I was that old) Epsom derby mill reef won, placed horses were linden tree and irish ball. I had a tanner (not a tenner) on piggot's mounts not sure but I think it was the parson.

On the night went to the euro cup final at Wembley Ajax beat Panathinaikos 2/0 cryuff played but didn't score.

its amazing I can remember this when I cant remember what I did last weekend

Doncaster 1974. Fairly sure Boldboy won for Lady Beaverbrook. Backed Panglima in the last, won at 10s.Hooked ever since.

They took the bus to Balmbra's she was heavy laden.

Gannin alang the Scotswood road to see the ....... .....

Owen Brannigan ditty

Geordie Ridley posy.

JBNAY 28 Jan 15 18:35 

I never went to Manchester racecourse, I think I'm too young.
Am I right in thinking that it used to be next to where Salford University now stands.
I've been in Manchester today and drove up The Crescent , was it situated in the U of the river next to "The Old Pint Pot" pub?
Often wondered, tia
-----------------

No - Not, "in the U of the river," "next to where Salford University now stands." - But  - only a mie away - due North.

Next time you drive up The Crescent (going Westwards OUT of Manchester) ... Three-quarters of a mile - after two sets of Traffic Lights - there is an OVERHEAD Roundabout where you need to turn of the Main Road.

Go up the slip road and follow the roundabout to turn RIGHT (A576) Signpost probably for Bury (mote locally - Higher Broughton)

Go down the A576 for around half-a-mile - straight on at a small roundabout - the RACECOURSE is then 150 yards further, on your LEFT. - before a bridge over the river.
------------------

The Main Stand - only built a few years before the closure - is still there - now Student accommodation ... and the Racecourse itself is a series of football pitches - not built upon, apart from what was the Car Park on the outside of the track,so effectively unchanged, and you can wander around at will.

holywell ....had never heard of Geordie Ridley so have just looked him up...interesting that Eric Burden related to him.Back in the 1970s used to have dinner parties in Hong Kong where we got very drunk and  played Blaydon races at full volume at 2am which i'm now ashamed of as very inconsiderate of me. Nevertheless one of the really great songs and Brannigan a tremendous singer.

Thank you do wah diddy for posting this thread its loverly

Thank you again do wah diddy

Thaks Doh Wah, I actually wasn't at the Blaydon Races 1862 meeting.

However, if you've ever attended a Northumberland Plate Day meeting at Newcastle it would be like travelling back in time 152 years, the only difference would be the clothes worn. You can still see drunkenness, violence and debauchery at the North East's premier race day.

ITS STILL LIKE THAT ON OUR COUNCIL ESTATE EVERY DAY

My first experience of horse racing would have been at my local show,where they had Harness racing & flapping.That would probably been in the late 40's.As for Rules racing I haven't a clue but I was certainly hooked on Harness racing & flapping for the rest of my life although in recent years my interest in these has waned as my love of pointing has grown.Rules racing,I can take it or leave it.It bores the ar se off me.
Holywell.I don't know if you're interested but there was actually a centenary meeting in 1962 of the Blaydon races.It was however Harness Racing & Flapping.

Thanks onlooker, I will go and have a look.

Bank Holiday at Ripon in the late 1990s. All six horses that I picked won, ..., best turned out.

First time I went, was when I Saw, Golden Miller win at Galleywood in chelmsford . It's great to be going racing in chelmsford again , second time I remember more vividly was folkestone in 1965, when it snowed half way thru meeting

The duke of alberquerque rode a winner , I think !

dambuster you must be older than me !
Are you sure you don't mean CHELTENHAM !!

Its a wind up, Posy - Dambuster is remarkably old or has a remarkable memory OR BOTH, if he can REMEMBER Golden Miller winning at Galleywood.

Its a wind up, Posy - Dambuster is remarkably old or has a remarkable memory OR BOTH, if he can REMEMBER Golden Miller winning at Galleywood.

Surprised Dambuster made no reference to Queenie Watts being there, his memory starting to let him down it would seem.