I must be getting old.

Gone for me are the days when the approach to Christmas was a time of glee and excitement. Only one week to go and I can barely raise myself from the chair to fill my glass. God forbid that I shall have to leave the house and join the scrabbling, elbowing throng in the hunt for presents.

I’m definitely getting old!

In my 70’s childhood the thought of years beginning with the number 2000 was fantastical – like something out of science fiction. And yet, here we are with 13 of those years already under our belt. Time and life marches inexorably onwards.

Being well on the wrong side of my first two score years, Christmases come around with the rapidity of a merry go round and they are about as exciting. I’m even struggling to get excited about the King George now that Al Ferof is out – I thought he looked a very decent bet at the price. (As an aside – what on earth is going on at Ditcheat at the moment?)

Honestly, I don’t mean to be a misery –  I'm just struggling to find my Christmas hat at the moment! Anyway, onwards, I’ve a lot to cover today.

 

MYBP Christmas Tipping Competition

I’m afraid I’ve been a bit slow off the mark getting the Christmas Tipping Competition organised this year.  Apologies for that but better late than never as they say!

Prizes this year will be:

1^st Prize: 1 months free subscription to my Morning Value Service (value £150 -currently more than 1000 points in profit over the last 18 months) + £50 Amazon voucher.

2^nd Prize: £30 Amazon Voucher

3^rd prize: £20 Amazon Voucher

I think those are pretty decent prizes!

 

The Races

The races you need to find the winners in this year are:

Saturday 22-12-12 14.00 Ascot The Long Walk Hurdle

Wednesday 26-12-12 Kempton Park King George VI Chase

Thursday 27-12-12 Chepstow Welsh Grand National

 

The Rules

All entrants must register for the competition no later than noon on Friday 21st December

Selections are required by 12 noon UK time on each race day. Any that come in after that will not be included ( I will have to be strict about this – last time I was still receiving selections 5 minutes before the race!).

Points will be allocated in line with SP for each winner you find.

If you don’t tip in a race you will lose 10 points.

The winner will be the person who has the most points after the Welsh National on Thursday the 27th

In the event of a tie at the end of the competition, I will draw the winner from a hat.

All the usual gumph about my decision being final.

 

How to Enter

To enter the competition you will need to contact me on kieran@makeyourbettingpay.co.uk before noon on Friday to register your name as an entrant. Please put TIPPING COMPETITION in the subject line of your email.

Please also supply me with a tipping nickname you would be happy to see posted on the site.

I’m afraid no new entrants will be accepted after noon on Friday (21-12-11). If you don’t pick for Saturday’s race – there is no joining in later!

I hope those rules are fair and clear!

*****************

 Finally today, even though I can’t find my Christmas hat, I thought I’d try and spread a little Christmas cheer with an amazing freebie from my friend and colleague, Michael Wilding of Race Advisor.

Michael is one of the shrewdest, most logical bettors I know and he’s been using his own ratings for many years – and I don’t think there are many better sets of ratings out there.

I’m pretty amazed but Michael has decided to give away a piece of software that accesses his personal ratings database – and a system that shows you how to use the ratings.

No hype here - it really is a great freebie!

To grab your copy click below:

 

Racing Dossier

 

There’s some seriously dramatic music on the video as well – which is always a bonus!

 

That’s all from me today – have a great one.

 

Kieran