Boss Hogg

Hi Red It is near the end of a long trip for many a trainer ,owner and Jockeys that had started back on the west coast ,trainers from Adelaide and Melbourne had started to drop their slow horses at each race meeting as they traveled north to Broome and then across to Katherine and back down to Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.Katherine is a great day ,getting courtesy bus to and from the races They get you out of there after the races to one of the clubs and courtesy bus will get you back to the caravan park ,no drink driving .Next biggest race day on the circuit after Broome. A better meeting is a short 200 k's drive up the road to Adelaide River staying behind the pub and walking to track ,intertrack betting and bookies lot of fun ,back to caravan park for a beer by one of the best swimming pools and pubs in NT .It certainly gives your liver a hiding >CHeers BH

Hi Nomates Remember Timon winning big time ,We were bookmaking then and the pub was packed ,we had taken huge bets and as the Cup was coming up my Partner in Crime said we are dead and buried its going to be a blood bath .I said no one has backed Timon ,he said you are a f###kn idiot , Timon held on by a nose from Guest Star we were drinking Lion Red straight out of our shoes boy we new how to celebrate back then Cheers BH

Hi Ohoka We were driving up from Waiouru ,were in the CMT and had 6 of us in the landrover, One of them wanted to back Simon de and the others allput in to back him .Being the driver and said we cant stop at Taupo as we will get in the shit if we do. one of the boys had a transitor and when it won you could here a pin drop .Its amazing how long it took to get to Auckland in silence and in a Landrover, Cheers BH

Hi Turnip It was the best bar at Ellerslie , with everyone dressed in their finest , the coldest 7 oz beer on the planet .I still when walking onto Ellerslie look over to where the bar was and see my father standing there with a 7 oz in his hand and like your dad Turnip ,he felt like a King for a day ,Cheers BH

Hi Meomy we ended up in the garden bar just opposite the Hill Stand great time left the course at 7.30 it doesn't get any better than that .We've been to 8 Melbourne Cup weeks and it is something everyone should do .No two carnivals are the same ,Cheers BH

Hi Trumpy that would be a dream day , were in Melbourne 2000 ,in a bar the day before Derby this group of people were having a great time real big party ,we managed to wedge in with them and even stayed on for tea ,its hard to get rid of us once we get our foot in the door. They had a horse in the Derby called Hit the Roof told us it would win and they had thousands on it and told us to back it. Well being a know all never thought it would win .Home it rolled $40 ,the wife still brings it up, god they never let you forget anything, Cheers BH

Were talking to mate of mine about The Good Old Days of racing in the 60's and 70's when going to the races was a great day out .With big crowds and a huge atmosphere making you want to be part of the action ,picking winners and screaming the place down .Now I got to thinking its been a long time since we enjoyed those times . When you go to the pub for a beer it doesn't matter what you talk about after a couple of minutes someone will always start on about Covid FFS. So a just thought for a change do you remember what was the best day you and your mates have had at the races ? What was your best win? when you screamed the house down pissing everyone off around you .In recent years going to the races seams very subdued compared to those days when punters were larger than life . One of our big collects in the mid 70's was we backed Purple Pearl in the Great Northern Guineas to beat Balmerino brilliant ride by Warrick Robinson keeping Balmerino jammed up on the fence we were yelling all the way up the straight and back over to the old Garden bar behind the old tote .A great day and nite ,the good old days great memories , Cheers BH

Hi Red now theres another great day out ,They have half price drinks every couple of hours and a couple of bookies ,really friendly critters ,Cheers BH

Hi Ted , No they couldn't ,they were not allowed to ride , I dont remember anything about written permission ,sounds strange.Cheers BH

Hi Ted those instructions came out on the Saturday before Level 4 ,at level 4 there was no racing ,CheersBH

Hi Ted Unfortunatly this is not every other year and when we went into lockdown early on in March NI jockeys were not allowed to ride in the south and SI jockeys werent riding in the north .Whats changed? Its only a $70,000 race .Cheers BH

Hi fellow soldiers what surprises me is why areI northern jockeys going to Riccarton to ride slow horses .I know they have to make a Quid but you would think someone at Riccarton or even the jockeys themselves would show some responsablity and stayed at home.Cheers BH

H Blue sorry I cant help you, there are a few posts on here with all the answers .Cheers BH

Hi leggy would be great but see the time frame 1976 ,I think its a young mans game .We had a lot of fun and some real hardcase stories .We did it for about 3years or so in the great times of racing. My last conviction in 1979 was the final straw .Between me and my Partner in crime we were starting to spend more time in the police cells than in the pub so decided to retire if thats the right word and put on a big piss up at our pub ,great memories ,Cheers BH

Thanks Leggy My head hurts after trying to read all that , but i enjoyed it .I remember the first time I was convicted for Bookmaking in 1976 the judge said ''he thought it was a victimless crime and I was doing a service'' I thought shit I'm going to get off, but then he turned nasty and said there is a TAB down the road that people could use and fined me $500 ,I paid the fine ,then went down to the police station and they had to return the $3000 they had taken off me when I was arrested ,don't you love the good old days .Cheers BH