Grand National...

[Parkey]

Anyone up for a flutter? It's looking likely that Hedgehunter will bag it, but Liberthine and Monkerhostin are well worth a punt.

[camo]

my mate reckons 'Joes Edge' to win

[Parkey]

We should do a sweepstake...

[camo]

What is this?

It's a race where lots of british people run around London stark bollock naked.
The winner is the person who is last to be caught by the police.

People enter with nicknames. The most famous one being a fella called 'red rum' (named after that bit in The Shinning).

[camo]

For serious?

yeah, honest. It's one of the most famous things us brits do!

Even bigger than the 'boat race'

[camo]

That is so fucking cool. Is it an official thing where the police know about it and the people who get caught don't get charged? Is there a prize? Is it yearly? Can I enter it next year?

Yeah the police are the main sponsors, so no one gets into trouble. The prize is big money or so I'm told.

It is annual but sorry you have to be british to enter :(

[na§tee]

my grandad would always whip out the paper with all the jockeys/horses details on it if we were ever over from germany round the grand national and put a bet on for me. mostly i would pick the person with the coolest outfit/name.

they still put bets on for me, i just don't pick who. so, er.. go team! (y)

grandparents are cool, sometimes. especially if they make bets on your behalf.

but no, other than that i am not placing bets on things which i know nothing about.

last weekend my flatmate decided to sign up for online gambling with real money (!) and lost £50 playing poker. it was a curious kind of high watching her win cash, even with very little stakes - 50 cents, 25 cents, and it was like 'oh, but maybe the next time...' if she lost but.. naw. whitey.

[camo]

You dirty rotten liar :O (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_National)

thats the horse version they introduced in 1992, not half as popular though

I'm half British ha ha.

you'll have to enter the bottom half of you then

[camo]

I was made a fool of *bluuuuussshh* :o

oops (y)

[Big Gus]

I won on NumberSixValverde last year! (£2 each way, won £32), so I'll bet on that each way again, Hedgehunter and Slim Pickings is a good outside eachway punt!

[Nivvie]

I love horses and am glad the course and entry conditions are better than they used to be, but I still hate the thing.

I know that horses die in races all the time and not just the National, but it happens more than any other, and I'll never understand how an owner who loves their horse could enter it.
When I was a teenager I rode at a stable which was joined to a racing stable, and no one there would entertain it for a second, the horses were loved (and worth) too much to risk them.

So booo, hiss, and the like.

[Teh]

Nivvie, where abouts is that in your avatar? East Coast of Scotchland?

[Nivvie]

Yep, it's east coast, New Aberdour.
There's a £2000 fine for taking the lumps of rock and pretty marble home, which I risk daily.