If my horse refuses to race, do I lose my money?

In horse racing, one of the jobs of the starter is to ensure a fair, equal start. Once horses come ‘under starter’s orders’ or, in other words, are waiting for the imminent start of a race, they cannot, under normal circumstances, be withdrawn. Thus, if any horse refuses to race, either by planting itself in the starting stalls or declining to jump off with the rest of the field in the event of a tape start, any bets on that horse are typically settled as losing bets.

However, some, but not all, bookmakers recognise how frustrating it can be, as a punter, not to get any sort of a run for your money. Those that do may, entirely at their discretion, refund money staked on single, win or each-way, bets on horses that refuse to race or otherwise lose all chance at the start; some do so in cash, while others do so in free bet credits or vouchers. While such action is true to the principle `if you can’t win, you can’t lose’, bookmakers are under no obligation to refund your money, at all, under such circumstances. If, on the other hand, a horse is withdrawn before coming under starter’s orders or is officially deemed by the starter to have taken no part in the race, you are entitled to have your stake money refunded, in cash, in any case.

Apart from Richard Johnson, who else finished runner-up to A.P. McCoy in the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship?

Sir Anthony Peter McCoy, popularly known as ‘A.P.’, was Champion Conditional Jockey in 1994/95 and, thereafter, Champion National Hunt Jockey in each of the 20 seasons he rode as a fully-fledged professional in Britain. Richard Johnson OBE famously finished runner-up in the National Hunt Jockeys’ Championship in 16 of those 20 seasons but, following McCoy’s retirement, at the end of the 2014/15 season, became Champion Jockey himself in 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19. Apart from Johnson, the four other jockeys to play ‘second fiddle’ to the perennial champion were David Bridgwater in 1995/96, Jamie Osbourne in 1997/98, Timmy Murphy in 2004/05 and Jason Maguire in 2012/13.

Bridgwater was, at the time, stable jockey to Martin Pipe, with whom McCoy would subsequently form a partnership that would dominate National Hunt racing for nearly a decade. Likewise, Timmy Murphy also signed a retainer with Champion Owner David Johnson in 2004, replacing McCoy, who left Pipe in favour of a more lucrative retainer with the J.P. McManus operation. Nevertheless, Bridgwater finished 45 winners behind McCoy, Murphy 58 behind and Osbourne and Maguire 44 and 41 winners behind, respectively. In fact, the closest McCoy ever came to being usurped as Champion Jockey was in 2005/06, when Richard Johnson finished 11 winners behind.

 

What’s an accumulator?

In horse racing, an accumulator is a collective bet on selections in successive races, usually four or more. If the first selection wins, the initial stake and winnings are carried forward to the second selection and so on, such that potential winnings ‘accumulate’ progressively until the end of the bet is reached. For example, if you place a 1-point accumulator on four selections, each at 1/1, or even money, your potential winnings will be 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16 points.

However, an accumulator is an ‘all or nothing’ bet, so if one of your selections loses, you will lose your stake, regardless of the outcome of the other three races. Consequently, unless you’re in search of a huge return for a relatively small outlay, an accumulator is best suited to horses at prohibitively short odds, which are uneconomical to back individually. Of course, it’s possible to place an ‘accumulator’ on two or three successive races but, in horse racing parlance, the former is usually referred to as a ‘double’ and the latter as a ‘treble’.

Who Was Dick Francis?

In later life, Richard ‘Dick’ Francis found fame as a best-selling author of crime fiction, known for his formulaic, but nonetheless realistic, stories. That realism should come as no surprise, though, because before turning to fiction, Francis was a successful National Hunt jockey. He started his riding career, as an amateur, in 1946, before turning professional two years later. Between 1953 and 1957, Francis rode horses owned by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and trained by Peter Cazalet and, in 1953/54, shared the National Hunt jockeys’ title with Fred Rimmell.

As a jockey, the most dramatic incident of Francis’ career occurred at Aintree on March 24, 1956, during the running of the Grand National. His mount, Devon Loch, safely negotiated all 30 fences and, on the run-in, held a 5-length lead over his nearest pursuer, ESB. Approaching the wings of the Water Jump – which is ommitted on the second circuit of the Grand National – Devon Loch suddenly fly-jumped into the air and collapsed to the ground, allowing ESB to win unchallenged.

Various theories have been put forward for the mishap, but Francis was of the opinion that, granted that Devon Loch recovered quickly, ‘cramp seemed the only solution’. However, what really happened to Devon Loch remains an abiding mystery, worthy of one of Francis’ novels.

 

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