100-1 outsider Mon Mome wins the 2009 Grand National, trading at the maximum of 1000 on Betfair during the race. Easy to say after the fact, but why would anyone lay a horse with a pulse at 1000? One guy on the forum admitted to laying £4,000 of the £8,000 but offered no rationale for such a high risk low reward bet. I'm giving away my age a little here, but I can clearly remember Foinavon winning in 1967, after stopping and turning around to get a better run up to one of the fences after a mass pile-up had taken place. I also remember my Dad telling me that I wouldn't see the likes of that again in my lifetime. If he was referring to a 100-1 winner, I guess he wasn't expecting me to live for too long!
Coming of age during the golden era of Red Rum, and associating the race with one of the sadder days of my life, the Grand National no longer holds much interest for me, and I haven't bet on the race in 30 years. Can't fault it as a colourful spectacle however, although I remember Foinavon's win, along with many of my happiest memories, in black and white.
5 comments:
Linked to one of your posts ( re challenges ) in my latest post.
Only got vague memories of black and white TV. I clearly remember Leeds defeat to Sunderland in '73 being in colour, think we were the first on our street with a colour TV.
Cheers Rob - I added your blog - good read!
You guys! Old, don't make me larf!
I got demobbed after three years in the RAF in Jan 1956. Went to work as a trainee tele'settler for Arthur Horton's credit office in Sydenham Road, sahf lunnon.
Grand National day in 1956 was one of the most memorable of all, in my opinion. We (i.e. the boss, Arthur H) had plenty of bets on the Queen Mum's Devon Loch when the poor animal appeared to jump a non-existent fence or something and did what looked like a belly flop. ESB went on to win the race, but there's no doubt that Dick Francis and Devon Loch would have won easily had he not flopped down like that.
Cheers, Phil (or Oldie, if you like)
Time is funny. When I read about Devon Loch, probably around 1967, it seemed like a tale from the dim and distant past. Now anyone in their 20s must think Foinavon, and England's World Cup win come to think of it, happened while dinosaurs still roamed the Earth...
If you enter a room with a hand grenade and your best case scenario is walking out still holding that hand grenade is it worth it? I presume that is what laying at a 1000 when still in the game means.
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