The Yorkshire Ebor Festival 2014

Being an Aussie I’m familiar with our most famous race of the year, the Melbourne Cup. The race that stops the nation. But as big and popular as that race is it seems to lack one vital thing. The whole thing just lasts one day. Nothing at all like the Yorkshire Ebor Festival which is a four day event. Yep, you heard that right, four days. When you consider the Melbourne Cup squeezes everything into one day you’d think the Ebor Festival would have a heck of a lot more to offer.

Yorkshire Ebor Festival Timetable

Like I said the Ebor Festival is a yearly event. It takes place every August. This year it starts on Wednesday the 20th of August culminating on Saturday the 23rd of August.

  • Wednesday 20th August is Judmonte International Day featuring three major races, the Juddmonte International, the Great Voltigeur Stakes and the Acomb Stakes.
    .
  • Thursday is called Ladies days and there is a competition for the best dressed racegoers who this year win a trip Ebor Festival ladies dayto Dubai courtesy of Marriott Hotels. Man, I’m so glad they’re judged on more than just how outrageous their hats are. Must have a look to see if I can find a hot sports Ebor Festival babe for this post.  Oh, there you go, I found one over there on the right and it looks like it doesn’t matter whether it’s the Melbourne Cup or the Ebor Festival those ladies love to wear those outrageous hats. Races of the day include Lowther Stakes and the Yorkshire Oaks.
  • Friday gives us Nunthorpe day featuring the Nunthorpe Stakes, the Gimcrack Stakes and the Strensall Stakes. Apparently the Nunthorpe Stakes is said to be the fastest race of the season. It’s nice to know that the Aussies made an impression in the 2012 Nunthorpe Stakes as our thoroughbred Ortensia won it in that year.
  • Saturday is the final day and naturally the featuring race for the day is the Betfed Ebor. For complete details of the Yorkshire Ebor Festival your best bet would have to be The York Racecourse website.

Placing a Bet On the Ebor Festival Races

Betting On Ebor Festival Races

Naturally the Ebor Festival is all about horse racing and most people are going to place a bet on at least one of the races. Not everyone can actually get to the Ebor Festival but they can still place a bet.

Check out the Best Online Sports Betting Sites if you’re looking to join one or even to expand your sports betting potential.

Dealing With Problem Gamblers

Do you know anyone is a problem gambler. If you’re not sure what a problem gambler is you should read my post on Responsible Gambling. I actually work with someone who is a problem gambler. He tells me he has spent thousand on the pokies. He even said it had cost him his relationship with his almost bride to be. I told him he had to take control of his life and not let the pokies take control of him. Unfortunately for many it is not as easy as that and they should really seek professional help. Many can not deal with problem gambling on their own. That post on responsible gambling also has some links to helpful problem gambling sites.

I’ve also found this article on problem gambling by the Salvation Army to be very informative. I pulled that image from the article because it shows just how emotionally drained problem gamblers can be.

problem gamblers

 

As the article explains a problem gambler does not want to be lectured to. Doing so only raises their defences. That does not meant that you can’t approach them to tell them you are there if they need someone to talk to.

  • Something you should not do  is to feed their need to gamble. Don’t  put them in situations where they can feed their urge to gamble. If they’re heading towards the pokies in  the pub try to lead them in another direction. Better still, don’t got to an establishment where you know they have pokies.
  • Never ever bring up any type of gambling topic. Don’t brag about some bet that came good for you or how you’re going to place a bet on any sort of sporting event.
  • What you should do is to let them know how important they are to you and how their gambling problem is negatively affecting that relationship.
  • You have to let them deal with the resulting problems that their gambling has gotten them into. Do not lend them money to pay off their debts. They’ll probably gamble it away. Do not lie to protect them as it will have the opposite effect.
  • Do not turn your backs on a problem gambler as this will only exasperate the problem. Spending time with them, away from temping situations, may help them to steer away from their need to gamble, especially if their gambling started out of boredom or a way to relieve stress.
  • Talking to someone with a gambling problem, without lecturing them, may help them to see why they turned to gambling in the first place.

I found this video on gambling addiction.

Problem Gamblers  Overcoming The Urge To Gamble

The video is brilliant. You actually see problem gamblers talking about what turned them into problem gamblers. Knowing the cause can help to resolve the problem. It also dispels a lot of the gambling myths. Knowledge is power.

Please leave a comment and share this post if you think it was helpful.

Black Cat Puts Hex On Crows

black cat bad luck for crowsCan you imaging how many superstitious punters are out there? How many do you reckon are waking around with a lucky rabbit’s foot in their pocket? A rabbit’s foot that they rub for luck just before placing a bet online with bet365.  I reckon there are even punters who won’t place a bet online on Friday the 13th. They’ll never walk under the ladder  and can you imagine the repercussions if they broke a mirror. Shit! That would be the end of their online betting career.

I’m sure some punters won’t even place a bet if a black cat crossed their path. Speaking of black cats, did you watch the Adelaide Crows and Richmond game Saturday night? As you know, being my bet of the week, I put my money on Adelaide Crows to win. Even though the Crows let Richmond get away from them in the 1st quarter I honestly believe they still had a chance. Until that damn black cat ran across the oval. Did you see that stupid black cat? Did you notice that ever since that black cat made an appearance everything went to shit!

Black Cat Just Plain Bad Luck For Adelaide Crows

Before the evil black cat appeared the Crows appeared to make a comeback of sorts. Then in the second term the unlucky black cat showed up. Two minutes after the mysterious black cat appeared the football did an unlucky bounce over Sam Shaw giving Dustin Martin a bouncing goal from 65 minutes to restore order for Richmond.

In the third quarter things started looking up when Sloane snapped a goal. Surely that’s just what the Crows needed to turn the game around. The crowd certainly thought so. Then the video reviewers disallowed the goal saying that the football hit the post! What utter bullshit!! Even the commentators who played that goal back from several angles. You can see Rory Sloanes goal in the video below.

Rory Sloane’s Disallowed Goal

You see, it was a definite goal. The AFL even later conceded that the non goal was a mistake.  Sure they say the Crows would have lost even if the goal was allowed. But then they’re not allowing for the curse of the black cat are they? How unlucky was it for David Mackay to get hit twice in the same spot causing a concussion and him having to leave the field.

I don’t care what they say. It was that damn black cat that caused the Crows to lose and my losing bet 😉