Packing it in

[Posts: 425Joined: 26 Nov 2011, 22:29]

I returned from a trip abroad on Monday having seen no racing news for about two weeks. Suddenly I was aware of a pleasurable sensation: not only was I on holiday from work, I was on holiday from racing. That sat me thinking about how close to work, indistinguishable really, the whole business is.
What if I packed it in for good? No more squinting at form and turning it over mentally; no more disappointment (the default emotion of the Turf); no more rage at one's own stupidity and bad luck (put inverted commas round bad luck as you see fit); no more getting up early to get a handle on big race form. But there again no more thrills and spills, no more big wins.
Still it was very tempting to just forget all about it (so easy now it's rarely in the mass media), and that surprised me.
Then today I thought: c'mon, it's Brighton. Hard work but you like Brighton. So I got a copy of the Post and settled to it.
And I lost.

'I can't go on, I can't go on. I'll go on.' Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot.

[Posts: 425Joined: 26 Nov 2011, 22:29]

Frozen Over wins. V apt; the name matches my enthusiasm.

I think I'm going back on holiday - it's cheaper than working.

[Posts: 558Joined: 01 Oct 2011, 18:53]

Maybe you should think about watching races without punting. I bet you'd enjoy the big meetings without laying down a penny.

[Posts: 339Joined: 03 Jul 2010, 12:34]

Maybe you should think about watching races without punting. I bet you'd enjoy the big meetings without laying down a penny.

My thoughts exactly. I have been having the odd bet for a few decades now, but I know that there is equal, and sometimes greater, joy and excitement in watching good racing without having a bet. Horseracing is not synonymous with gambling.

[Posts: 4493Joined: 03 Sep 2007, 22:56Location: Milton Keynes]

Maybe you should think about watching races without punting. I bet you'd enjoy the big meetings without laying down a penny.

My thoughts exactly. I have been having the odd bet for a few decades now, but I know that there is equal, and sometimes greater, joy and excitement in watching good racing without having a bet. Horseracing is not synonymous with gambling.

Excellent post, sadly a concept many seem unable to grasp.

[Posts: 171Joined: 08 Jul 2008, 02:36]

I'm quite happy watching without betting as well

I almost never bet at all on the big races or big meetings but I watch them all avidly

when i bet it tends to be on the class 5 handicaps round the gaffs..............which i probably wouldn't watch if i wasn't betting on them

[Posts: 853Joined: 14 Jun 2009, 23:52Location: Croydon]

It took me a while but can now very happily watch racing without having to bet on it.

Likewise as I prefer the jumps I can easily ignore the majority of summer jumping, and return refreshed in the autumn without having missed anything.

[Posts: 695Joined: 17 Mar 2011, 09:26]

Never was a "better", just the annual £5 each way on the National and Derby each year; it's watching the horses that's the main attraction for me. Seeing horses like Desert Orchid, Red Rum and Best Mate sailing over the jumps is a sight worth more than money.

[Posts: 245Joined: 22 Sep 2010, 22:25Location: Dublin]

Always watch without betting, will check the breeding and see if any horses by sires I follow are running, and maybe mark my tip for myself. That's enjoyment enough and just picking the winner is satisfaction and if it loses doesn't matter.

[Posts: 425Joined: 26 Nov 2011, 22:29]

Ooh, i've ended up outside Aristotle's cave with the philosophers!
Anyone would think it's all financed by disinterested gentlemen anoraks having a fiver on the Derby!
Wot a larf!
I hope you enjoy your ivory towers: do you wear white to the racecourse to signify purity and intellectual rigour?

'Without gambling, it's all just horses running around in circles basically.' D Nevison, 2005.

[Posts: 632Joined: 05 Jun 2012, 14:26]

Ooh, i've ended up outside Aristotle's cave with the philosophers!
Anyone would think it's all financed by disinterested gentlemen anoraks having a fiver on the Derby!
Wot a larf!
I hope you enjoy your ivory towers: do you wear white to the racecourse to signify purity and intellectual rigour?

'Without gambling, it's all just horses running around in circles basically.' D Nevison, 2005.

I think it was the Chinese philosopher Confucious who said:-

"Watching Horse Race without bet, like watching Blue Movie without Kleenex Tissues"

[Posts: 938Joined: 28 Feb 2011, 13:01]

Even gambling is not synonymous with gambling for us gamblers. It's some innate search for proving your self-worth.

[Posts: 245Joined: 22 Sep 2010, 22:25Location: Dublin]

Ooh, i've ended up outside Aristotle's cave with the philosophers!
Anyone would think it's all financed by disinterested gentlemen anoraks having a fiver on the Derby!
Wot a larf!
I hope you enjoy your ivory towers: do you wear white to the racecourse to signify purity and intellectual rigour?

'Without gambling, it's all just horses running around in circles basically.' D Nevison, 2005.

I think one of the original point of this thread was can you watch horse racing on TV without betting, and not should those who don't bet while watching horse racing be grateful to those who do.

As far as I am concerned yes you can, it is a sport. But if having a bet adds to the enjoyment then fine.

I also suspect that many who don't gamble while watching TV contribute significant finance in other areas to the sport or just gamble when at the course itself.