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October 6 - I've been betting on South African horseracing for twenty-eight years, and if
you adjust my results for inflation over that period of time I've lost an
absolute bloody fortune.
I've lost winning tickets, taken the wrong horse,
missed more million Rand Pick 6s in the last leg than I can remember, forgotten
the name of every big winner I had, and can recall with haunting accuracy every
hard-luck, bad-beat, still-running loser that limped away with my loot.
Through it all I have always remembered to check my ticket. I take a lot of big
perm bets and make it a scrupulous habit to scan the numbers and make sure they
add up before I leave the sports betting window.
On Monday I was fasting to atone for my sins in accordance with the Jewish
religion (my parents are Jewish, and it's my little way of showing family
support) when I stopped by my local TAB.
It's the one day of the year where God
is supposed to watch your every move as he weighs up your pros and cons and
decides whether you deserve to continue living. An ideal time to take a Trifecta
in Kimberley, I reasoned.
If the bet won I would be assured a sweet year of punting. If the bet lost it
would be a sign to leave the ponies alone.
I took two separate Trifectas, spent a total of R400 and went back home to watch
the race. Both Trifectas won, but the dividend paid out was R400! I concluded
that the man upstairs treated me with indifference, and that not much had
changed.
When I went back to the TAB the following day to cash in the tickets the teller
informed me that the first ticket was a loser. I replied that could not be the
case. She asked her partner to check yesterday's results, calling out
'Wolverhampton, Race 3'.
I had the right numbers but had not checked the racecourse. My bet was for UK
racing at Wolverhampton. That's a new low of stupidity at the races, for me
anyway.
I started to berate the teller (it was the same woman who had taken my bet the
previous day - wondering how Kimberley Race 7 could sound like Wolverhampton
Race 3 to her) when she informed me that the second ticket was 'a winnah'.
I had inadvertently caught the Trifecta and it paid me R1000 in profit. I gave
the teller a R100 tip and oh how we laughed.
To all those people who say that it is unlucky to bet on high holidays, or that
you should check your ticket I say 'No it isn't'. Now if this just happens another
hundred times in a row I should be square with horseracing overall.
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