Tag: horse racing

Categories
6 years and beyond

Melbourne Cup 2014

How quickly has this year gone! Yes it is November and today is Melbourne Cup day… and in a blink of an eye it will be Christmas. The year is nearly ended and that makes me think, what do I get everyone for Christmas? But that is another post entirely.

Analysing the horses, their form, jockeys and trainers. Also looked at the odds for each horses. Who shall I pick? Will I pick a winner? Who knows
Analyzing the horses, their form, jockeys and trainers. Also looked at the odds for each horses. Who shall I pick? Will I pick a winner? Who knows

I do love to have a bet on Cup Day, not that I bet much as I hate to lose my hard earnt dollars, but it does make it a bit more interesting and exciting. Betting on a horse or a few makes you involved in way that makes it more fun. You yell at the screen, have a cheeky remark to a mate at work that their horse won’t win and yours will. It is a bit of fun for a day.

A little bet also allows you to daydream with the possibility of winning big. Will this be the year that my horse wins? Will this be the year that I win hundreds of dollars? I am not sure but it would be nice.

I went with a different tactic this year. I looked at how good the horses were regardless of odds. I went with horses that I thought would do well and backed some hopefuls that have long odds, if this horse wins I will be a very happy lady indeed. Last year I went with all the favourties and did not get a win. I wonder if my technique this year will generate a win.

I have taken my time and picked some horses for a win and a place. I am covering all my bases this year. Betting on Melbourne Cup is fun.
I have taken my time and picked some horses for a win and a place. I am covering all my bases this year. Betting on Melbourne Cup is fun.

If you hear a VERY LOUD SCREAM after the race, This will mean I have won. Yes my scream would be most powerful as it would travel for km’s and across mountains and towns, to alert you of my good fortune.

Now I have my horses I can seriously yell at the TV now to tell the horses to win. How I wish they would listen when I say this. They did not listen last year. However, I do believe my new way of choosing the winner to the Cup will turn my luck around.

Are these the winning tickets? I have a mystery bet on. It would be great if that won. How amazing would that be!
Are these the winning tickets? I have a mystery bet on. It would be great if that won. How amazing would that be!

 

My fingers and toes are crossed I am holding a winning ticket…. What about you? Have you put your bet on? Do you have a flutter on Melbourne Cup? Are you in the company sweeps? Do the kids help pick the winning horse? Do you pick the horse based on the colours of the silks the jockeys wear? Let us know how you pick the winner in your household.

Good Luck everyone! Hope you have a wonderful day and if you can get dressed up in a frock and hat, Relax. Enjoy!

UPDATE: I managed to pick first, second and third so my technique this year has worked. Not sure that I have won a great deal but pleased that I might be getting a little something back (My winnings were: $40.20, so all in all it did not cost a great deal to bet on the cup this year). Wish I go the big win though and one day that will happen. I live in hope.

Categories
5 years and beyond

National Holiday for Melbourne Cup Day

Melbourne Cup is tomorrow, and it is the race that stops a nation. So as the term “Stops” indicates nothing much happens on cup day. When I was in the corporate world it was an excuse to go for a long lunch, and that really meant, we had lunch and never made it back to the office.

Not the actual horses racing in the cup, but they look like they might. Image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Not the actual horses racing in the cup, but they look like they might. Image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Melbourne is the only state in Australia that has a public holiday for tomorrow, the rest of the country has to turn up for work. That said, no work really happens tomorrow as there is a lunch at the office and everyone is busy with the office sweep, catching up on gossip and yelling at the TV.

I for one have never understood why the country does not embrace the holiday that only Melbournians get? Why don’t we just create the holiday and make it official. Most people throw a sickie that day, or don’t really work so why not have the day off for all? It would make it easier all round. I would love to not race to pick kids up from school to then come home in record time to manage to catch the race on TV.

Mothers would love to participate in the race as well and not have to miss out due to the school run! I don’t want to live through the radio and would love to see the colours of the jockey’s silks and see if the horse managed to beat the other by a nose.

I love the lead up to cup day, the fashion, the stakes and the idea that I might win big. It could happen, and maybe 2013 is my year.

Do you think the day should be a national holiday? Why should only people in Melbourne get the luxury of the day off from work to party on for the race. Unfair I say.

According to Wikipedia,”Melbourne Cup day is a public holiday for all working within metropolitan Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria, but not for some country Victorian cities and towns which hold their own spring carnivals. For Federal Public Servants it is also observed as a holiday in the entire state of Victoria, and from 2007 to 2009 also in the Australian Capital Territory known as Family and Community Day replacing Picnic Day”

Maybe I should start a petition on change.org to make it so? Would you sign it if I did it?  I have created one to see what would happen. Do you think nothing much happens on the day other than the race! It does stop the nation and why not have a holiday for all, not just in Melbourne.

Send in your comments.

Categories
3 years and beyond Katoomba and Weather

Appliances fail and horse races

Today was freezing as was last night. It is only April and we are so cold I think this winter this year will be a very cold one. If winter is a terrible one, does that mean that we might finally get a summer that is warm?  You never know, so I am putting my order in now for a decent summer, if I have to live through a terrible winter, I am owed a summer, this summer must also not be one that has non-stop rain.

Before we ventured out of the house, we have now realised that 2 pieces of technology have failed us, and we are not happy at all. We now have a toaster that only toasts 2 pieces of bread, it is a 4 bread toaster, and one side is now not working. The second piece of technology that has failed is the biggest problem, the washing machine. I had only put the girl’s big blankets in to wash when I smelt an electrical burning smell. Not good, alerted James and we have now realised that the washing machine has died. This information is not good and as we are strapped for cash, could not have happened at a worse time. With this annoying and frustrating news, we decided we should go somewhere and exhaust kids and spend a day out as a family.

So off to the Bathurst races we went.  I was not keen on the idea as it is freezing, I had a terrible headache and it is a little better but still not 100%, what I wanted to do was go back to bed. Alas that is not what happened.

So after arriving at the races, I looked around and realised nearly everyone was very dressed up. All of us were in many layers just trying to keep warm, and these layers consisted of jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, jackets and the like. Nothing fancy, like a suit, tie, jacket, dresses or high heels.  The girls were barley dressed in anything and if they were wearing something it was a dress that just grazed their bum, no stockings, no jacket to keep warm and high heels that did not match the dress and were too high for most of these girls to walk in. Many of the girls had taken off their shoes and were bare foot, not something I would encourage on a chilly, windy day like today.  Not sure if I am being a fuddy duddy, but I think there is a way to look sexy, stylish and dress warmly. Maybe I am just getting old.

Since we were dealing with kids, anytime a new race was on we never got the chance to place a bet, It was the only time I have been to the races and never put a bet on a horse. Pity it was not the cheapest, today was still expensive.  Although, I did find $10, thank god for the windy day.

Just to give you an idea of the current temperature in Katoomba, see below. Sourced from Sydney Morning Herald’s Weather page.

  • Current temp: 6.3°C
  • Recorded min: 2°C
  • Recorded max: 9°C
  • Feels like: 1.3°C
  • Humidity: 81%
  • Wind: WSW 35km/h
  • Wind gusts: 61km/h

Now we are home, kids are fed (both ate very little of their food), kids are now in bed, and I am about to start working away on the group university assignment. Tomorrow I need to address the issue of washing the clothes and will be off to the Laundromat. I am hoping to get them washed so I can then hang them on the line at home.

Hopefully after the issue of the clothes is dealt with, I am off to see my nana and my mother for the day. Not looking forward to braving the laundromat with kids, but it needs to be done. What appliances have failed at your place? How did you cope? Send in your comments. Remember to vote for us for Best Australian Blog.