Kentucky Derby won by a bolter

100/1 shot wins the Grand National, now a 50/1 shot (on track, 150 or higher on Betfair) wins the Kentucky Derby. What a year for bookmakers!

Calvin Borrell let Mine That Bird drop out to a long last, the leaders went ridiculously fast and Borrell weaved his magic through the field, stuck tight to the rail, went around just one horse and streaked away by 6.75 lengths. Borrell is a genius, he weaved a similar path to win in 06 on Street Sense.

Who said pace on dirt meant everything? Pace figures are over-rated, pace maps (rating how the horses will sit in the race and how fast they will go) are much more important.

On a side note - that means a massvie rollover, over $600k for next Wednesday's Pick 6 at Churchill Downs. Start doing the form!

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Spot-fixing - you will never, ever be able to stop it

According to this report , IPL tournaments so far have been rife with spot-fixing - that is fixing minor elements of the game - runs in a single over, number of wides bowled etc. The curious part of that article is that the Income Tax department are supposed to have found these crimes. What idiot would be stupid enough to put down 'big wad of cash handed to me by bookie' as a source of income? Backhanders for sportsmen, particularly in a celebrity- and cricket-obsessed culture like India are not rare. They could come from anything like turning up to open someone's new business (not a sponsor, but a 'friend of a friend' arrangement), to being a guest at some devoted fan's dinner party etc. The opportunities are always there, and there will always be people trying to become friends with players and their entourage - that is human nature. This form of match-fixing (and it's not really fixing a match, just a minor element of it) is very hard to prove, but also,

It's all gone Pete Tong at Betfair!

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lay the field - my favourite racing strategy

Dabbling with laying the field in-running at various prices today, not just one price, but several in the same race. Got several matched in the previous race at Brighton, then this race came along at Nottingham. Such a long straight at Nottingham makes punters often over-react and think the finish line is closer than it actually is. As you can see by the number of bets matched, there was plenty of volatility in this in-play market. It's rare you'll get a complete wipe-out with one horse getting matched at all levels, but it can happen, so don't give yourself too much risk...

Sport is made for betting

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