Racing diary
It's wrong to feel sorry for a bookmaker, but Gary Wiltshire - one of the more colourful members of the fraternity - probably does deserve a little sympathy right now.
Most are happy just to pick up a few quid at the races, but Kempton Park staged an afternoon last week in association with the Countryside Alliance offering punters the chance to win a great deal more.
Racegoers were invited to lodge bids in a silent auction for such gems as a feast for four at Montcalm Hotel, off Oxford Street, though a morning's instruction on mole catching really caught the eye.
How exactly can anyone put a price on that?
Henrietta Knight is truly blessed to have both Best Mate and Edredon Bleu in her Oxfordshire stables.
But the pair of Cheltenham Festival hopefuls, due to run on Saturday week, may yet earn the trainer a Marie Antoinette award from this diary for behaviour bordering on the dismissive.
Her loyal stable jockey Jim Culloty rode Best Mate to an impressive victory last week and was immediately assured he will keep the ride, even though Champion Jockey Tony McCoy gets the leg up on Edredon Bleu for the big races like Cheltenham.
Miss Knight will no doubt have quite a few complaints if, in addition to Edredon Bleu, the devoted Culloty is replaced in Best Mate's saddle this year.
A competition, which is all part of the British Horseracing Board's 'Discover Racing' campaign, should ensure some eye-catching race titles.
Submit a date and occasion - a wedding anniversary or a birthday, perhaps - which you want commemorated, along with a proposed billing for a race, and the most deserving will have one run in their honour.
