It was a constant battle,the hardened punter v the bookmaker,both trying to stitch each other up.But that was the name of the game and everybody new it. My old man introduced me to the sport and,with the characters I've met in the game and made friends with over the years,I'd do it all over again. If they'd had a track on the Channel Islands,I'd have gone there as well. From the age of 12 years old,I was a regular at Wandsworth (now a housing estate) then it was flapping up,down and across the country to Ystrad Manach,(the locals called it the sand track),Swansea,Skewen,north to Wishaw and Gretna,further south to Long Eaton and Kinsley (great galloping track) and even further to Aldershot and Poole. Yeah, I used to go all over the place as well,mate. I hope there is some tv.members who's love of racing can help me remember those days.Īs for horse racing flat or national hunt this was also my love,traveling all over the country too many tracks to remember but i did see shergar in the flesh when he won the derby,also i saw arkle win 2 gold cups and persian war winning the champion hurdle. The sadest part for me was when we had to part our ways with them either to old or injury,nobody could look after my dogs the way i did so giving them away i was always against so i always had them put to sleep.i did keep 2 who had been with me since their puppy days. Then it was also visits to blackpool.chesterfield,rotherham,askern,halifax and if i had to go to ireland to buy a dog i would visit tracks there aswell.the last dog i had came off walthamstow he was a great flapping dog but had a slight shoulder injury so you couldnt run him too often,but i never treated my dogs as if they were machines i loved everyone of them. Monday highgate,tues kingsley,doncaster,wed cant remember,thurs stainforth,kingsley,fri highgate,doncaster,sat.kingsley,whitworth.sunday was trials everywhere. Then i started to visit some of the london tracks,hackney,park royal,harringay,walsthamstow,white city then later yrs when they moved the derby to wimbledon. Visiting the licenced track at the arms park cardiff,now its the millenium stadium home of welsh rugby and pies. Starting in the sixties with a dog i raced at flapping tracks in south wales,skewen and taffs well. Apart from my wife and dog,my love for greyhound and horse racing has always been part of my life.