RINGING TILLS UP ON DOWNS

Simon Nott joined bookies on course for Classic action

- Simon Nott

Oaks Day

THERE'S a certain ambiance about Epsom, there's so much history there, it exudes the passions of racing fans over the last 200 years.

Sadly, it's only the Oaks and Derby meeting that appears to capture the imagination of the race-going public these days, there's a lot of room to rattle around Epsom on the off days.

Oaks Friday certainly isn't an offday, it's traditionally the busiest of the two if you are a bookmaker, on the rails at least. The reason is probably just down to the requirement to wear topper and tails on Derby Day.

I was with Star Sports for the meeting, not a bad vantage point to spot the bigger bets being tendered on course. The opening Woodcote stakes wasn't a frenetic betting affair, though the jolly New Charter attracted some decent bets, £3,000£1,500, £1,000-£500 and £600£300 laid. That money stayed with the Hove-based Star boys when 7/2 chance Tee JA won the race, relatively unsupported.

As is usual, the handicaps don't see the same sort of lumpy bets, in fact, none at all above a bottle in the Trustatrader Handicap.

It was a different story in the Coronation Cup. Star Sports laid a walloping £14,000-£8,000 Emily Up John topped up with a £700-£400 the same horse. The only other sizeable bet was £500 Luxembourg at 11/4. The trouble with laying a bet of the £8,000 variety is that there's unlikely to be many more of that size, or the volume of smaller money to bet up to it, so it's just the bookmaker taking on the punter.

At the off the bogie was losing £15,000, there was only £11,000 in the hod, so with £8,900 of that in bets already described, you don't need to have a degree in maths to work out how little the rest of the field money was.

Luckily for the bookies, this time at least the big punter got it wrong, Luxembourg won so the book copped plenty.

The Betfred Nifty 50 Handicap was another low-key event betting wise, the biggest bets were £250 and £400.