Caviar Gets The Nod

I'm not usually a horse racing enthusiast, but Black Caviar's appearance at Royal Ascot today did get my attention, and some of my money. Some of you may remember my post last year where I mentioned that Black Caviar's average stride was 11 metres, two metres more than the average racehorse. Unbeaten in 21 races, once the forums and Twitter world saw non-racing people suggesting the horse was a lay in the low 1.2s for no particular reason (BC drifted from 1.18 to around 1.24 at the off, after trading at a high of 1.31), that was my cue to back. Black Caviar traded at 1.98 in running after the jockey eased up too early and nearly ended her unbeaten record, and more importantly, me some cash, but the 'wonder mare' just held on. Over £13 million matched on this race on Betfair.

Speaking of winning runs, and Scott sent me a link to an article on how the number 19 purportedly came up seven consecutive times at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. The key word is 'purportedly' because it turns out that the display was the result of diagnostic testing, and not of free spins. 

The Euros continue today, and this weekend I am looking for the return of the draw. Euro tournaments are usually tighter than World Cups, and we now have 13 consecutive matches without a draw, and still no 0-0 this year. The quarter-finals usually sees at least one such result - since 1996 there have been 2, 0, 1 and 2 and all five went to Penalties. England v Italy is very short for the draw - trading at 2.92 for a small amount, but for a lot more at 3.05. Under the 'curious, rather than useful' heading, it should be noted that Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match.

Scott (who seems to have a lot of free time) also sent me a link to a statistical look at the Euros which may interest some of you. The latest percentages are shown on the left. 

This year's tournament now has a very Western European look to it.