As we come to the end of another jumps season, one in which my 6-1 Sean Bowen to win the jockeys' title was arguably the best-value loser I’ll ever bet (yes, get those tiny violins out for me), I’d better be telling you about what April has been like on the road for us, writes […]
It’s a busy time for bookmakers, is Easter, with a whole raft of meetings both Flat and Jumps to attend, although the early news on Saturday is not great, writes David Massey. Not only has Musselburgh bitten the dust after an early morning deluge, but for the Midlands bookmakers, the point-to-point at Sandon, near Stafford, […]
A week today (or tomorrow, if our esteemed editor publishes on Monday) we’ll all be like kids at Christmas as the Cheltenham Festival begins, writes David Massey. Money in our pockets and hope in our hearts, we’ll attack the week as if it’s the only show in town and racing doesn’t exist for the other […]
If you’re wondering why “Hey! Student” is the title of my latest meanderings, well, two reasons, the first of which is obvious enough, writes David Massey. What follows is about Haydock’s Student Day, which took place at the weekend, and for which I was working in the ring; and secondly, I’ve always wanted to crowbar […]
It’s 6.50am on Saturday morning, and the alarm has just bleeped its way through the first of three wake-up calls (copyright D. Thompson), writes David Massey. The other two, which will come at 6.55 and 7am, signify the start of what has become known among jumps fans as Trials Day, but the good lady is […]
The first piece of good news I receive regarding the working day is the start time for my pick-up from Leicester, writes David Massey. I’ve heard some horror stories from lads that have worked Boxing Day at Kempton previously. Half-five starts to miss the traffic seemed almost to be the norm, so I’m delighted when […]
December’s a quiet time, isn’t it? Not a lot going on, not much to do, writes David Massey. Not from a racing point of view, anyway. The days are short, which means earlier start times, which means getting up at the crack of dawn to get there, which means an early night the evening before, […]
The news that Southwell was going to return after the autumn flooding recently was music to my ears, as I’d been missing those visits to my local course, writes David Massey. (I know there’s a track in Nottingham, and yes, I live in Nottingham, but I have always considered Southwell to be my local. Not […]
“The road to the Superbowl is long, and pointless.” The Simpsons fans among you will recognize this line from the said Superbowl episode where various misdemeanors happen, including Homer having fake tickets (which appear to be printed on crackers), then getting locked up in Superbowl jail, getting busted out by Dolly Parton (no pun intended) […]
We're into the bit of the season I call the "in-between" bit, writes David Massey; the Flat season starts to wind down, although there's still some good stuff to come, and the jumps hasn't really got going, with Chepstow today the signifier that things are about to go up another level. The return of the […]
It's been a while since I last wrote an article for Geegeez, writes David Massey. I was very much hoping to do one post-Ebor but other work commitments got in the way and then, before you know it, I'm in Plymouth getting married. Well, not strictly married as such: we had what's called a civil […]
Still something of a quiet summer on the courses for me, writes David Massey, with York throwing up little to report, although Craig David on the Saturday last was a busy day. Or it least it might have been, had the bookmaker in front of me not broken down (his equipment, not him personally) and […]
It's been a while since you had a blog from me as, to be honest, there has not been a lot to report back on since Ascot, writes David Massey. For every week you find yourself working a Goodwood or a Newmarket or the Royal Meeting, there are two or three Southwells, Stratfords and Leicesters; […]
The summer Festival season is in full swing and there's none bigger than Royal Ascot week, writes David Massey. It's a long, challenging week if you're working in the ring, which I was, but it did at least kick off on the right note with a relaxing evening at Windsor on the Monday. Normally I'd […]
Whilst the title of the piece suggests I'm only away from home two days, as anyone that works The Derby will tell you, it feels like an awful lot longer, writes David Massey. The days are long and, for a fair part, boring. That's down to Epsom's policy of having bookmakers in place before a […]
