Horse Racing Liers

Hi Everyone,

No one becomes a punter due to passion or commitment. It happens just like that. Either your friend takes you to the race-course for a company and you get a taste of it or you want to see horse-racing like motor-racing and get stuck somehow. Nobody develops an interest for punting just like that.

I had seen even honest people start speaking lies after joining racing. For those who already speak lies, this ground offers a Doctorate degree?

I had a friend in Chennai, whose job is to take his entire salary to race-course, lose it completely and started taking hand loans from colleagues from the next day. Here, his kind of lies will be like 'I need money urgently for hospitalisation of my father', 'I have a function at home', 'I have to pay my son's school fees' or something like that which carries a lot of appeal with others.

We come to know that it is a lie only when the same person approaches you for a help for the second, third and fourth time and very frequently citing very similar reasons. He will 'kill' his parents many times to get money, hospitalise his wife again and again (and that too only in a leading Corporate hospital) and keep on paying fees for his son?

There is another category of punters who keep on speaking lies among fellow race-goers. 'Yesterday I played heavily on that 6/1 horse and recovered my last one year's losses', 'I told everyone that this favourite should be eaten, no one listened to me' and 'I have purchased a new car from the profits I made in racing last month.' No one knows that this man is actually preparing ground to seek loans from the very same listeners?

The third category of liers are saddists. They do not want to show themselves small in front of others. They will make such tall claims that you may feel like him slapping them, if given a chance. i remember a racing friend in Mysuru telling me 'Hello Sir, this bookie is in deep trouble... I only arranged finance for him through a source', 'Do you know about this punter's history, he is not allowed permission in his house by his wife and children' and 'I make frequent foreign trips with the money I make in racing. Last month I went to the US twice and next month I am planning a tour of Europe'. This fellow would have not even seen Sri Lanka or Singapore, but will speak visiting the US and the UK regularly?

There were honest and truth-speaking punters in this same race-courses once upon a time. I can cite one incident : A punter, who used to say 'hello' to me (and that's all) whenever we meet in the course in Chennai during early 90's, once came to me and said 'Sir, I would like to meet you after the race.' I said 'yes' but kept wondering what was there to meet after the race when we are very much available during race time? When we met after the last race, he started revealed a shocker : "Sir, tomorrow is my daughter's wedding. I should have not done it but this racing addiction made me do it. I have 'stolen' Rs.35,000/- (mind it, this was a huge amount during those days) from my own house to play racing today, hoping to earn something and replace the initial amount. But I lost everything Sir. Don't mistake me that I have called you seeking some instant help. I am working as an Insurance Officer. This is my salary certificate and i have my cheque book also. Could you please introduce me to some money lender and get me Rs.35,000/- on interest for 2 or 3 months Sir. I promise to repay the amount by that time." I was left spellbound! What convinced me the most is the wedding invitation that he shared with me. I took him to my house, helped him that cash and he repaid me that amount within two months. We soon lost contacts as I left Chennai soon after but if he happens to read this post by chance, he will definitely recall that day. But he was a symbol of truth. Why I say this is because compare his case with others who keep on telling lies like 'my father is sick', 'my wife is suffering from cancer', 'my daughter's is in wedding next week' only to get money by hook or crook!

Copied&pasted from:

Horse Talk ..5.. September..2018