Hard Luck Stories

[NakedDeadGuy]

Anyone on the punt has at least one - share em. I'll have a crack first off.

Earlier this year our cricket club had a last man standing day, everyone was well and truly knackered when we called stumps at about 3:00 Sunday arvo. A few gluttons wandered down the pub, me and 2 other guys decided to have a couple of rounds of misery bets, standard $3 ones. First one no good, second one the same. The young fella who was in with us wasn't really versed in the ways of the pub or the punt, asked us how to put it on - we just told him to grab the ticket and whack it through. We asked him what numbers we got, he told us and we sat back and watched those three duly salute. You bloody ripper, the winner pays something like $78, second was about $11 the place. Bugger me! The tri's paid $14k, $2.5k each, we'll take that. Sent him up to collect ...... nuh-uh, you guessed it, he's put through a $1 misery bet. Of course we didn't have the bastards in order. The hangover at work the next day really hurt.

He still cops heaps, but at least now he knows how to put a bloody bet on!

 

[The Hitman]

I was 15 when Hawthorn took on Richmond at the MCG in season 2000. I had a lot of mates and relatives who went for the Tiges, so I put a series of bets on with all of them.

Anyway, we were up at three quarter time and looked like rolling them, when Richmond started to show some un-Richmondlike spirit and came back. Luke McCabe kicked backwards, Richmond kicked a goal, and I was $60 lighter.

Might not seem bad, but for a 15 year old...

The Hitman

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Missing out on a lease share in a 3 year old unraced filly from NZ.

Her name is Pernod

I was all set to be in on the horse, even went to watch her in trackwork. Went up to the trainers box in the middle of Flemington, met up with Michael Moroney and Kerrin McEvoy.

That day the foreman told us she might make city class, if things go her way.

I left that day with a potential share, two days later, after a falling out with the mananger of the syndicate (Stephen Baster's manager) i was out.

Not a good feeling.

 

[Pieman7]

I'm good at getting three legs of the quaddie in each and every Saturday(it feels like it anyway).

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Ah, the good old tripod.

I'm sure most of us are experts at finding 3 legs.

 

[Catman]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Ah, the good old tripod.

I'm sure most of us are experts at finding 3 legs.

Ah good, so it isn't just myself finding 3 legs.

 

[Danny Chook Fan Club]

I'm a five leg expert.

I am very dirty on the Straight Six going, it was a great bet. Of course, I never got one, but went very close twice.

The first was a Sunday jackpot back in around 1995 or so. I spent the princely sum of $2 on my six (four one out, two legs of two) and serenely waltzed into the final leg with Marine Magic one out. Got run down by Magical Storm and I was out a grand or so.

The second was at Sandown one day. I've blanked out the details but I was a couple of lengths shy of $4K.

But the worst was Rememberance Day, 11 November 2000. Final day of the Carnival. DCFC takes a $24 quad, sitting heavily on the Bomber (Bomber Bill) and St Chrisoph in the first leg. The Bomber salutes, we're on our way.

Emirates was next. Took a set against the Hawkes horses (Hire and Adam) and included four - Umrum, Weasel Will, Go Flash Go and my old mate Testa Rossa. Of course, Testa gets up with Paddy and the 59 at 14-1, and things look good.

Mares race next, typical raffle, took six of them and found the winner, Flushed at 11-2.

Sadly, that left us one-out in the final leg. Queen Elizabeth Stakes. I liked Fuss, thought she could win it, but Craig Williams slaughtered it and Savrocca got the choccies. Before they ran the final leg, I'd written down the approximate divvy. $20K. Tough.

 

[Chris_23]

Originally posted by Danny Chook Fan Club
but Craig Williams slaughtered it

What a surprise! Can't stand that dud. I backed Danelagh at Flemington a few years back, he gave it the worst ride i have ever seen from a jockey. I was actually laughing out loud, it was that bad.

Two of my worst stories centre around the same mare, Piavonic. I backed her at every single start in her career, except these two times.

I was at a friends house watching the Night races. Unfortunately the amber fluid was flowing rather heavily by the time the feature race (Group 2 Carlyon Sprint) was about to start. I had forgotten all about the race until i saw Alf Matthews on tv rating the horses in the mounting yard. Luckily the local TAB isn't far, and as there was no way either of us could drive, we set off on foot. It seemed like we were going in slow motion (in my case, i was) but we somehow managed to make it just before the race started. You know those bastards (apologies if you are one ) who have 1000 trifecta's, running doubles, quaddies etc etc, and you always get stuck behind them in the line? Well thats what happened. It was obvious that these bets were for many races, not the one about to jump. I politely asked him to put in the tickets for this race and let me through, but he wouldn't have a bar of it. I didn't get on, Piavonic won and paid something like $35.

Manikato Stakes day, and she's up against Sunline, Falvelon, Testa Rossa etc etc. I gave her a good chance, but didn't seriously think she would win. Piavonic does it easily, pays over $40, i am laughed at by many.

I've got plenty more hard luck stories (doesn't everyone?) but those two hurt the most.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by Danny Chook Fan Club
I'm a five leg expert.

I am very dirty on the Straight Six going, it was a great bet. Of course, I never got one, but went very close twice.

The Straight Six was the most overrated bet type ever.

The dividends were pathetic when compared to Quaddie pools.

You would have been better served having an all-up.

The bet type i miss is the old school QuadXtra. I loved the brackets, made it a little easier to get a return.

 

[Danny Chook Fan Club]

I disagree with that.

I'm not sure what they take was for a Straight Six, but let's go nuts and say the TAB yanked 25% of the pool.

Contrast that with six all-up wins.

15 off the first: 85
15 for the second: 15% of 85 - 12.75, leaving 74.25.

You're already down after two legs.

In all, you'd get back 37.7% of your $1 on a six horse all-up at a 15% take.

On that theory, the straight sixes should have paid, on average, twice as much as the all-up. Haven't got any numbers, but I might go back and have a look at it.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Also compare it to the quaddie dividends for the same meetings.

The Straight 6 should have paid upwards of 10x the quaddie dividend, very rarely did that occur.

 

[Danny Chook Fan Club]

Fair enough. The dividend is always going to be limited by the pool size, and Quad pools are/were always much bigger than Straight Sixes (jackpots notwithstanding).

 

[Fall Out Boy]

I've just had a quick look at some dividends from 2000.

On May 21 2000 the Straight 6 paid $3965.90, an all up would have returned $4300.22.

The only time Straight 6 dividends exceeded potential returns from all-up bets is when there is a minimum of 4 jackpots.

BTW The average straight 6 pool was between $4000-$12000. Compare that to the average quaddie pool of over $250,000.

On occassions the quaddie pool was 60-70 times greater then the straight 6 pool, hence why the TAB got rid of the bet type in favour of the equally shocking exacta.

 

[a4brianp]

Was involved in a plunge on a horse at Bendigo one day horse called Mercy Mistress(trained by brother in law) backed it from 66/1 into 6/4 and got nutted on the line by a horse which only ever won one race why did it have to pick that day.
Still took $7500 out of the ring in place bets and quinellas. and such.

Cheers

 

[Deej]

I had $50 straight out on Juggler first up in it's 4yr old campaign, started at $11 and hit the front kicked 3-4 clear with like 50 meters to go, then this friggin 3yr old which had been going half pace blocked in suddenly gets a run and explodes out of the f''kin ground, beat Juggler by a head, I mean f''kin Juggler was still a length clear with 10 meters to go, this thing friggin flew home dead set I mean Juggler was a pretty good horse back then. Anyway the thing that beat mine was called Saintly and started at about 25/1.

Anyway a week later what do you reckon, they're facing each other again, I'm thinking this 3yr old is a superstar and yep it's only 6/4 this time, Juggler is starting at 7's. I'm thinking there's no way known Juggler can beat this thing it's last run was like PharLap, so I have a hundred straight out on Saintly. Money for jam you'd reckon. What happens, Juggler wins by 2. I felt sick.

Saintly's next run was in the AustralianCup, 9-1 Deej get's $50 each-way and followed it up the rest of it's career. Pity that friggin Octagonal had to be in the Rosehill Guineas & the Derby, I'd have won a good drinking pot.