Just doing a roll call of all the old forum farts on here

FRANNY 25 Mar 19 14:16 Joined: 17 Sep 00
Do I still hold Pole position

You do unless someone else declares. I'm a few months behind you. Just over 18 years service so far for us

Still trying to make a million.
Still enjoying the banter that the forum generates.

Be interesting to know who the first person to join was. Liqudity must have been poor those first few days.

big aitch 25 Mar 19 11:11   

Keep battling Stephaniebot, are you a man or a woman btw? You are never too old to learn something new, I have had several changes of career, I'm 64 now and have been selling solar panels and battery storage for the last 8 years along with other things. Always go for commission only work, and/or a decent network marketing company.

In all but one sense nowadays, a woman. Even passport says female (10 years since starting transition), and has done for 4 years. But yes, I've put off a rather major operation until after retirement, but that might be happening sooner now, assuming they will still do it post seizures. Given I also have back, knee, wrist, and shoulder damage, I'm quite happy to take the medical retirement if offered after MRI, and other similar stuff

old forum farts fred has morphed into an ailments top ten

Looked like I was on my way out not so long ago but still here 2002 I joined

Anseo a Mhaistreas.

Oh for the good old days!!! PP King, Aceform, Happy Hibby and many more who added a variety of opinions....never dull always entertaining.


Punting was never fun ......too serious but some characters did add a light side to it.

My forum date is the 27 Dec 2000 - same as Deepdale Dreamer

But is that not just the date of selecting a Forum Name when first wanting to post?

I have what I think is a vivid memory of backing Papillon on here for the Grand National and that would have been April 2000.
Am i confusing here with Flutter or am I right in thinking I joined much earlier, then joined the forum many months later?

I do remember when BF sent a card for a Telephone Betting & Premium Brockerage Service - my personal number for that was sub one hundred i.e. Just 2 digits, maybe 079.

Just realised my Papillon claim is possibly the oldest after-time!

But would be interested to know if Forum Name date is def the same as Joining Date.

been on forum since few weeks after coming over (reluctantly at the time!!!) from flutter - good to see rollo tomassi on this thread, used to be a regular poster but not seen for ages, if national is your last meeting, put your bank on tiger roll and go out in a blaze of glory.....or despair

still here

Think there were join betfair and join forum dates-The Management.

Into 15th year here

Thanks Punchestown - pretty sure I only joined the forum (after being a silent lurker) to find out what was going on after an outage. Would guess it was 3pm on a Saturday!

Think most on here did the same before dipping their toes in the shark infested waters..

August 2002.. bloody he'll getting on for 17 years here..Hope to do a silver anniversary but not much chance of a golden

30th January 2003 and still on here every day....time to get a life maybe?

Nahhh! Too late now!

The date shown on the 'live view' is definitely the day I joined betfair.
It definitely isn't the date I first posted on the forum which was some two or threee years later.

Sorry - that should say 'on the 'standard view''

October 2003, still about but not as active. There used to be some real belly laugh banter and pi ss taking in the early days.

Sadly there are some real sensitive killjoys about now.

I remember I joined up because I was eager to lay a horse that always got made the favourite, and always dogged it, called Lazim Afooz. Somebody told me in my local bookmakers "There's a website you can lay that on" and the rest is history.

Joined betfair after reading the adverts placed above the Sandown urinals and placed my first bet on laying there being snow on Christmas day. Have been with the forum since around 2005 apart from a couple of 'enforced' time outs .

Still here

Still looking in!!!

I'm somewhat annoyed betfair made a cant of my other account, it was near the beginning.

Plus TonyFerrino would got me less abuse than current moniker

Still here joined 18/09/2002,,,

jerseyboy....we would never have guessed.

Nearly 18 years for me. I can remember when a morning BAGS thread had 600 posts before 2pm. They don't get 600 posts in total a month now.

Join in 08 .I recent the old fart comment

Still here - Ocean Finance...

Nearly 15 years ...I need to get out more

Originally joined in Spring 2003

Does that count?

Hello

Only moved here because they closed Fluttertalk

Baby Jesus is all grown up now.

where did those 18 years go

can anybody remember the name of the other exchange who went skint around about 2002 betfair payed there debts and got there punters ?

pretty sure it was an orange site

It was called Sporting Options I think

Still here

now you say that madhatter i seem to think it was called sporting exchange.

yes foxy, think you're right

Can not remember, don’t post but look in now and again

there was also another one which started the same time as betfair cant remember its name at all madhatter

Flutter?............foxy.

there was one called that sparrow but its not the one i mean this one the prices were 7/4 as oppose to 2.75

Sporting options went bust later than 2002, as I had an account there after joining bf in 2003. 2005ish at a guess.

Yes foxy, someone did mention this the other day but I can't recall the name of it.

i can tell you what i do remember sparrow the layers had to lay a minimum to lose £200

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporting_Options

Sporting Options was an English betting exchange, based in Sussex. The company was founded in 2000 by former City of London options traders Robert Byrne and Kevin Griffiths. Sporting Options went into administration on 15 November 2004 amid allegations of criminal wrongdoing. Industry leader Betfair stepped in with a rescue package.

thanks mouse can you find out the other one it may have been called bet exchange it would be around 1999

re sporting options
I think the guy who made a few quid off the tricasts at thirk had something to do with them.
Paul Cooper was his name  he used to ring me up and ask me to join .
still see the guy at York seems to be still doing ok.
have a good day
Ronnie.

Foxy, don't know of any others from as early as 1999 apart from flutter, but then I didn't enter exchangeland myself until 2003.

Cheers mouse somebody might remember or perhaps age is catching up with me

You're right Ronnie,Cooper was involved although I doubt in a big way.

Wasn't flutter.com around at the time betfair started.

i believe so posy thats the one exchange i never used ,of course there was the one that put up the bonus for any horse winning the fighting fifth,christmas hurdle and champion hurdle wbx

I remember Parbet from ages ago I had a account but not sure if its the one you guys mean

Some more defunct exchanges here.



In March 2015 the WBX betting exchange finally threw in the towel. A note from the company's CEO, Malcolm Gray said:

I have always taken a long view with WBX and believed that we’d become a genuine alternative to Betfair on the strengths of our great platform and commitment to putting every exchange player back in control. Unfortunately the business strategy is no longer viable due to the rising costs of regulatory compliance and levies in the United Kingdom, along with the increasingly prohibitive stance of various betting jurisdictions. Though I am of course disappointed that WBX is closing, I am proud of my team and the fairness in which the exchange has operated for almost 10 years. Please rest assured that WBX will continue to service its Members and affiliates in the same spirit during the wind-down period.

Other casualties in the betting exchange space to date include; Abex88; Backandlay; Betbug; Betbull Exchange; Betx, matchedbets; iwageru; ggbet exchange; bluevex; ubetanything; spomaxx; swapbets; Betbutler; Betxc; Fairoptions; HubDub; Levelbet; Playp2p; mybetyourbet; bet-ex; bettingsociety, SpreadFair; SportingOptions; Betmart; Mansion betting exchange; Livebetting.Com, Tradesports Parbet betting exchange, and in March 2015 WBX.

Alternatives to Betfair still in operation as of March 2017 include; ****, Matchbook, and Smarkets.

The only one there sparrow that might be the one I mean is betx

I joined on 13th March 2005,for obvious reasons given the date,probably day 1 of a particular sporting event.

Joined betfair a year or so before signing up for the forum. Still use the exchange but much less so than of years gone by

.

Still around, though was playing on Flutter.com few years before moving over to here. The nostalgia at first finding peer-to-peer betting.

Where you could leave little messages next to bet offers like 'this one is tasty at a massive 8/1!' etc

Course when first on Flutter I just kept getting sucked in by shrewdies constantly, but hooked by the concept pretty soon. Sad it's all so anonymous these days, must admit.

Good afternoon stu

I never saw or went on flutter are you saying you knew who the bet or lay person was ?

Yeh, that's right - it was true peer-to-peer where each bet offer was matched between two punters.
Someone would place the 'offers' up with price and small description if you wanted that. Someone else could come along and take the offer. The more serious guys would place several different offers up, with different stakes for the same selection - because I believe at that time you had to take the whole stake if you took one of the offers.

At the time, and possibly still now, quite revolutionary. And a lot of fun too.

WBX AKA Weetabix

Thanks for the reply stu sounds good fun shame it didn’t last.

17 years and counting. Never posted much here, although I did take part in the Naps Comp for quite a while. Enjoyed the craic on a few other forums until a few years ago, but hardly ever bother looking now.

I recall quite fondly reading the ongoing banter between PPKing, HappyHibby and Aceform, who fancied himself as a tipster despite being, quite frankly, clueless.

Anyone remember Holte Ender? His ability to tip odds on losers was legendary. For a while I thought he was some kind of genius layer just taking the p**s.

Just back from 12 Betfair free days on holiday so just in case anyone thought I had snuffed it-I have not. Just had my over 75 free TV licence arrived which was a nice welcome home.

That'll upset all the BBC haters, sageform. Another 3 years for mine but I don't want to wish my life away.

Still here. That 1995 Gold Cup in heavy ground set me up for life

Still here. That 1995 Gold Cup in heavy ground set me up for life

Don't worry sparrow, I am still a BBC hater. I still have to pay 2 other TV licenses on holiday lets that are only occupied for around 20 weeks each year. It is a loathsome organisation and should be wound up asap.

A fine British institution sageform which we ought to be proud of. I use to criticise when I was younger until I experienced American television.

A lot of BBC television is excellent. The wildlife programs for example, you won't see better. The obsession with political correctness is an irritating achilles heel though.

I quite enjoyed their production of the Iliad.

Mar 29, 2019 -- 2:56AM, kkkatt wrote:

Anyone remember Holte Ender? His ability to tip odds on losers was legendary. For a while I thought he was some kind of genius layer just taking the p**s.

He WAS making money.........just trying to get a better price and often.............it worked!

There is one guy who used to be comical too and he had an unbelievable knack of being able to advise lays that invariably.....won ! He got loads of stick but gave loads back............never nasty but with lots of charm........cant remember the name for the life of me..........if anyone could throw out a few names, it may help !

Gordon63,
I won't be backing it at the price now but also like Tiger Roll. I love versatile horses, Triumph Hurdle and a National etc. If it were mine I'd go Cheltenham Gold Cup next year instead of another National. I think it would have won it this year.

Love it! Master Oats posts 36 times in 16 years then when he does post again it's a double

Lawrence aka Genghis was a good judge, I think he may no longer be with us, I hope I'm wrong though.

Anyone remember a poster I think called Adonis, who used to post here and in General Betting way back. He was an original forcaster of doom for Betfair iirc.

I suppose some would say he was partly right, all those years back...though not entirely either, as we're still here.

ko2 is the earliest/longest poster on here

ko2 20 Jun 15 13:07 Joined: 01 Jan 00 | Topic/replies: 694 | Blogger: ko2's blog

he will be along shortly when all you 'noobies' have disembarked

What date did the exchange actually start trading?

Ko2 must have been practically playing with himself, so to speak...

stu    01 Apr 19 09:27 
Ko2 must have been practically playing with himself, so to speak.






Or even with Ko1.

stu; the summer of 2000 but was formed the previous year. Flutter was about before then; maybe ko1 was on Flutter?

The earliest person I remember was a 'Johnny Walker' who joined around June 2000 I think.

Betfair didn't launch until that month

The company was founded in June 2000, by Andrew Black and Edward Wray. Softbank purchased 23% of Betfair in early April 2006, valuing the company at £1.5 billion. In December 2006, Betfair completed the purchase of the horseracing publishing company Timeform (which traded under the name Portway Press Ltd)

I am pretty sure the first days trading was oaks day 2000 the first Cheltenham Festival was the foot and mouth one,Betfair did not know the rules with a void meeting it took them a few weeks to refund all bets.

I seem to remember reading once that that was indeed the case Foxy

Love Divine, trained by the late, great Henry Cecil

the company was formed in May 1999 & started trading the following summer; as Foxy says the F&M put a spanner into earlier trading

That Oaks (Love Divine) was definitely on BF

Foot and Mouth was the catalyst for so many bad things - it was the point at which the books realised mug punters would bet on anything and they didn't need horse racing. Foot and Mouth was the catalyst for the cartoon racing (Portman Park etc) and FOBT's.

I still think I backed Papillon on here for the 2000 Grand National but maybe I am wrong. 100% confident in trading Love Divine's Oaks though.

I remember ringing the unhelpful desk at Betfair regarding the void festival the answer I got was we are waiting on a decision regarding if people get refunds on there bets I said well of course they must the high street firms payed back straight away why are you different they said we are an exchange which of course was true eventually everybody was refunded,I have noticed like the spread firms down the years they have from time to time tried to make up there own rules .

Cheers for the history details guys, interesting that there were usernames around before trading even began on here.

MOT
There is one guy who used to be comical too and he had an unbelievable knack of being able to advise lays that invariably.....won ! He got loads of stick but gave loads back............never nasty but with lots of charm........cant remember the name for the life of me..........if anyone could throw out a few names, it may help !

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The Rebel Billionaire?
Money Tree?

cannyman joined 1/7/02