I say courage because for some professional gamblers they have a lot more to lose than win. How come?
When they bet huge odds on.
Betting odds on takes a certain mentality. You find comfort in the fact that your horse is favourite. All the money is on this beast. You are happy to be part of the crowd. There's safety in numbers.
What could go wrong?
Odds-on winners are good but odds on losers hit you hard. All that positivity comes back with an equal measure of negativity. You literally feel like a clown is following you around the racecourse. He's pointing at you: smiling, laughing, sneering, mocking. You feel as though your trousers are going to fall down at any moment and you can't remember if you put on boxers.
He shouts: ''Look at this chump, he backed an odds on loser!''
He gives you a couple of honks from his horn. Smiles.
''Loser!''
He delves into a bag and pulls out a cream pie. Everyone on the racecourse is watching. Even the commentator [Tommo] is keeping the crowd informed. Bookmakers price up the odds whether you will get a cream pie over your chops.
You'd bet yourself, but fearful of what happened to ''that'' poor loser.
Out of the corner of your eye, you spot a line of clowns limbering up with their best stuff. One is scooting around the course in a clown car as parts fall off along the way. I remember a story detailed in Dave Nevison's book which he spoke of one pro who bet huge odds on and hardly dare watch fearing any moment his horse would be struggling or notice (somehow) it was being ridden by a real clown. He's laughing at the crowd as he fires confetti into the air. He yells: ''You f****** losers!!!!''
Too many times that big, strong, colt returns to the paddock with cream pie all over his face.
Strangely, they never called for a stewards' inquiry.
The perils of betting big odds on.
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