The top 5 heart-breaking moments for racing punters
HORSE racing is Australia’s great pastime and unquestionably the sport that we love punting on the most.
If you’ve been around the game for long enough, you know the perils and pitfalls that can emerge if you let your heart get the better of your head.
Whether it’s clinging to the hope that an old favourite of yours recaptures its best form, a final leg quaddie going down that robs you of a tasty dividend or a mug punter getting the spoils on their first ever bet, anyone that has experience on the punt can relate to the list below.
We took a look at the worst of the worst when it comes to punter’s perils that we know you can relate to – because the team at Horsebetting.com.au has been there too.
The quaddie killer
Any seasoned punter knows exactly what we’re talking about here.
You put in the hard yards, you select a roughie or two in the first and second legs, suddenly you are feeling great as one of your outsiders no one gave a chance salutes in the third. You are staring the quaddie in the face with your ‘sure thing’ of the day going around in the final leg.
Sound familiar?
We have all been here, the heart-sinking feeling of seeing that final leg going down when you already have the text template ready to send out to your mates.
Smart online bookmakers are now offering cash outs on quaddies, but the smaller dividend can sometimes be just as big a slap in the face as the last leg going down.
Novice punters getting their first bet right
How often does this happen?
You and your mates head down to the pub for a few beers and a punt and your mate who never bets on the ponies decides to have a crack at an outsider.
You know how the rest of this unfolds. He gets a mammoth roughie up at incredible odds and you are left licking your wounds after pouring over the form and selecting the horses you thought would absolutely dominate his elect.
The only small consolation you get out of this one is the fact beers are on your mate for the rest of the afternoon.
Missing out on picking a winner after a phone malfunction
They say you need to shop early if you want the best odds on a horse, but sometimes the late mail calls for a late punt on a good thing.
Those who punt on their phone know how excruciating it can be waiting for your phone to unfreeze, the perils of being reliant on reception or even what a shoddy wifi connection can do to the heartstrings, but there is no greater sinking feeling then seeing ‘your bet did not place’ after it passes the post first.
Fixed odds fluctuations not going in your favour
There is an old adage in racing that dictates ‘a win is a win’, but sometimes a win can hurt just as much as a loss.
Banging on a fixed odds bet early in the day on your sure thing of the card can get you some fantastic odds, but it also goes the other way too. The Horsebetting.com.au team here know that all too well.
You get all excited after seeing your mound smash the field, only to see the top tote margin is almost double the dividend you got at the start of the day. In fact, the mid-place divvy is akin to your winning payout via fixed odds.
Needless to say, a win can sometimes feel like a mini-loss.
Getting sucked in by the money pit
Let’s be honest – whether it’s footy, soccer, cricket or horse racing, we all have our favourite athletes.
It could be because he scored a winner that won you a massive multi, perhaps he top scored in the World Cup final to get you your top run scorer bet or maybe a filly saluted in the last leg of your quaddie to get you a monster dividend.
That love can be blinding though, and we have all been there.
You sink your hard earned time and time again thinking they can replicate their best but you know deep down it will never happen, but we cling to the memory of their best.
Sometimes it is best just to let go, and while there may be flickering moments where they get somewhere towards their peak form it is better off for your hip pocket in the long run.