JB: “OK Rodney so you like having a dabble on the gee gee’s; and you think your not clever enough to take on the world of financial trading and you also think it’s an area for toffs and computer geeks like me! Correct”

Rodney: “Errr yes, I had a great winner at 6/1 yesterday; it flew home past the favourite and beat him by 12 lengths, absolute magic”.

JB: “Can I ask you if you know what financial trading is? Do you understand the concept? Has anyone ever explained it to you? – be honest!”

Rodney: “Well I must admit in the words of two syllables no. I know it’s risky and you can lose your house and everything you own and you have to be very clever, but in all honestly, like all my mates I really don’t have a clue it beyond me”

JB: “Can you give me a few minutes, and I will see if I can explain the principals in simple horse racing terms to you, are you aware of the Dow Jones Stakes? It is a horse race that is held nearly every afternoon on a racetrack which is called Wall Street in the USA in New York and it always starts at 2-30 UK time – you haven’t?”

Rodney: “No JB I can’t say I have; how many runners and what length is it over?”

JB: “The Grand National usually has about forty runners and the Derby about a dozen but you will be pleased to know Rodney in the ‘Dow Jones Stakes’ every day there are just two runners and they are the same two horses, would you find it easier to pick a winner if there were just two runners? The length is to the other end of Wall Street but actually its run over time not distance, the race could be as short as 5 minutes”

Rodney: “I sure would, but the odds are bound to be lousy like both 4/5 on or something similar– how can you get a decent return on that? And can I read the form? I like to look a the past performance and pedigree of the runners”

JB: “It is the same two runners every day. On is called the “Bull” and one is called the “Bear” and the odds are not about 4/5 on as you mentioned, I often get returns on the winner of 20/1 33/1 66/1 and sometimes over 100/1 – I’m not kidding, stop smiling! I think I had better explain the rules to you first Rodney, and by the way we have a form book going back to the 1920’s ”

Rodney: “Yer having me on JB - 100/1 on a two horse race, pull the other one it’s got bells on it! I bet the rules are really complex, go on then how does this Dow Jones Stakes really work

JB: “Here are the rules – you can bet on either horse to win, you can also bet on either horse to lose. So the choice is yours and the minimum bet is usually one pound or one dollar or even Euros if you like, we won’t go to what the maximum is it will not concern you for a while – lets consider you bet£1”

The next rule is that if you bet on the winning horse and it wins by 12 lengths you will win 12/1 so yesterday you would have had twice the return on a two horse race rather than the many runners in your race. How are we doing so far Rodney?”

Rodney: “That’s great it sound simple enough where do I bet? Are there any other rules?

JB: “Quite a few, most importantly if you have bet on the wrong horse you don’t just lose £1 if that is what you bet you would lose £12, the number of lengths that you lost by, and the bookmaker takes a small fee out if you win or lose, but I shall ignore that for the moment in explaining the rules”

Rodney: “Ahh I knew there was a catch, what if my horse loses by more I will lose everything, I’m not stupid is there any way can I stop that?”

JB: “Rodney once the Dow Jones Stakes has started you are in sole charge of the race not the bookmaker, and you have many choices on what the outcome of the race is likely to be, would you like me to outline your many choices?”

Rodney: “Go ahead JB, I’m all ears, call me Dumbo”

JB: “OK you had better make notes of these, I’ll bullet point them to make it easier to follow, here we go:-

□ Rodney if you have bet on the wrong horse after the race starts at 2.30 a.m. and you quickly see your horse is falling behind you can stop the race immediately and therefore you know you have only lost a small amount. You can start the race again at any time you like after this time and you can change horses if you like.

□ If you are betting on the winning horse and it is running away very strongly you can increase your bet (the bookmaker has to take the bet) so you can really make some serious dosh, If your well ahead and you think your horse is tiring you can stop the race and cash in anytime.

□ If you are on the losing horse and you don’t want to risk all your money, you can order the bookmaker to stop the race if for example your horse falls 10 lengths behind, and, he has to, therefore you know exactly your maximum loss and therefore you eliminate the worry of risking it all your hard earned money.

□ If you horse is well in front and looking strong you can move the finishing post and make it much longer, remember the race is based on time some races must finish within a day and some can last weeks if your horse is running strong and you keep the race open you can end up with 500/1 even more.

□ Another thing Rodney if your horse is 50 lengths ahead you can instruct the bookie to stop the race if your horse starts running out of steam, and say the gap is closing to say 40 lengths the bookie must stop the race and you have guaranteed 40/1 – its in your bank

□ You can also tell the bookie to stop the race if ever your horse gets say 40 or 50 lengths ahead, and put your winnings in your bank, when you do this it’s a great opportunity to take your dog for a walk.

□ If you are the pessimistic type and like to back losers you can all the above rules apply in reverse bet on the winner or the loser the more right you are the more money you will make and you can control how much you risk . Rodney – you control the race. That’s the rules, not difficult just need a need to understand it and there are similar races run in Chicago London Tokyo and many more places every day”


Rodney: “Your kidding!!”

JB: “No I’m not”……………………………………….

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