Melbourne Cup Day

Everyone looks forward to the Melbourne Cup. Even those people who don't like horses. Or betting. Perhaps even the No Pokies party leader, Nick Xenophon secretly, deep down, enjoys the Melbourne Cup. But don't bet on it.

It's the race that stops a nation. Well, we all gawk at the TV for a while hoping that the horse we picked in the sweepstakes, because we have no idea about horse racing, will do well. Most people that would only have one bet per year would place that on the Melbourne Cup.

At work we had two sweepstakes - a five dollar one and a ten dollar one. I entered in both when, out of the 24 horses minus three scratchings, there were only four and five left respectively. For the five dollar sweepstake I was given Efficient and in the ten dollar sweepstake my pick was Blutigeroo. Didn't know if they were a pair of Clydesdale horses or not. I'm just like any other Melbourne Cup punter in that regard.

Well, blown me down. Efficient won the 2007 Melbourne Cup. And I collected $60 for my trouble, less the $15 in the first place, for a tidy 300% profit. Doesn't make up for all the years I haven't won a cracker. I sent a text to Miky and it turned out that she had won $30 at her workplace for a $2 entry. The boy said that he picked horse number 6, Efficient as it turns out, before the race.

I think I'll take my winnings and retire from punting.