Next race meeting: 3 May 2010
1. Arrive early. Over four thousand people made their way to L’Ancresse Common for the
Guernsey Races in 2006 so don’t get caught in the traffic and risk missing any of the action
arrive early and bag yourself a good viewing spot.
2. Buy a copy of the official Race Card. It includes details of all the runners, riders and form -
essential for following the action and having a bet. It also is the ideal souvenir of your day.
3. Always have a pen at the ready to take down any changes to the Race Card on the day: non-
runners; jockey changes; over-weights etc. I’ll go through all the latest “scratches & changes”
on the card for the first time at about an hour before the first race and confirm all the
changes in plenty of time before each race.
7. Each race on the card is run over a different distance. The shortest race is the first - a sprint over 6 furlongs (1,200m),
while the third, and feature race, is the longest on the card at 2m 1f (3,800m).
8. As L’Ancresse Common is a sharp turning track, a key angle to finding winners at this meeting last year was to pinpoint
speedy horses that ran prominently.
9. Fancy a flutter? You can either bet with the bookmakers (taking the price, or odds, on your selection posted on the
bookies’ boards at the time) or you can have a pool bet on the Tote. If you bet on the Tote you are betting against other
punters and the less bets struck on your selection the bigger your dividend should you be successful. Whether betting on
the Tote or with the bookies remember to Bet early and make a note of your selection/stake and odds on the back of
your ticket.
10. Please also remember - no flash photography. Flash guns going off are a major safety worry around thoroughbred
racehorses. If you have an automatic camera please make sure the flash doesn’t go off if you’re near a horse.
4. Listen out for the special Tipping Forum, in the Parade Ring. It’s your chance to hear what
the experts think will win.
5. Visit the Parade Ring (paddock) for at least one of the races. It’s a chance to see the horses
and jockeys close up before each race. Make a positive note of horses which look well
(shinny coat and alert in nature) as this is often a pointer to them running a big race but
treat with caution horses which are very edgy and/or sweating freely. The “pick of the
paddock” is often a successful betting angle.
6. All five races on the card are Flat Handicaps. In a Handicap Race an independent assessor -
the Handicapper” - gives each horse a rating which determines what weight each horse
must carry so that, in theory, all the horses in the race finish in a dead-heat. Therefore the
more successful a horse is, the more weight it must carry. At this meeting the biggest
weight that can be allotted to a horse in each race is 10st 12lbs, the lowest weight is 8st 5lbs
- a spread of 2 and a half stone.
