Burton Manor Bowling Club Special Race Night May 2010

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1 Burton Manor Bowling Club Special Race Night May 2010 The Annual Burton Manor Bowls Club Race Night held on the 22nd May 2010 proved an overwhelming success with over 150 punters of all ages turning up. The Bowls Club was well represented as expected with major support from the Martial Arts Club. It took place in the Badminton hall with overflows in the balcony area and in the main club lounge. Fish and chips were efficiently served prior to race 4, by a small army of BM bowlers. The tote tellers, Helutsia Hancock, Pauline Dunn, Ann Burge and Marion Pearson There were eight races with eight horses in each race. Tote tickets cost 30p each or four for 1 if you were willing to bet all on one horse and there was no limit on how many tickets could be bought. There was also a Jackpot which had to be entered before the first race. The winning horse of each race had to be predicted and the entrant with the most winners would pick up the pot. In the case of multiple winners, the pot would be shared.

2 The Jackpot Tellers, Linda Arrowsmith and Lynn Lyne The share out of the spoils of each race was controlled by Alan Hancock, the organiser of the race night, using the latest bookmaking computer tools, assisted by Graham Burge. The Settlers or payout clerks Alan Hancock and Graham Burge, ready for action Each race was sponsored and every horse, which was given an imaginative name and an interesting sire and dam, had been bought either by individuals or, in the case of the last race by the eight sponsors. The race films came in sealed cans and were selected after the finish of the betting, which caused queues stretching out to the entrance foyer. An example of a race card is shown below.

3 Race 4 Card The Tote tellers in action prior to a race and the settlers paying out after a race A race in progress eagerly watched by the Manor punters

4 The horses in race 7 were unattached in the programme but were auctioned off prior to the race. Excited by the prospect of the winning horse receiving half the proceeds of the auction, the bidding was brisk, particularly when opposing syndicates from the Martial Arts members were in action. The average winning bid was 30. The horses were auctioned by John Bates, pictured left, who acted as master of ceremonies for the whole evening. With so much money in the pot, race 7 was the most exciting of the night, with each syndicate trying to outshout the others. In the end, the race was won by a Martial Arts syndicate, who pocketed 120, not a bad return for the evening. No mistaking which syndicate won the 7 th race Bowlers from the BM Indoor Season supported the race night

5 Meantime, the race for the jackpot was heating up with 3 people in contention prior to the 7 th race. In the last two races, however, the favourites won and a total of eighteen people, with three winners each, shared the jackpot and took home 10 each. The evening was a resounding success and, after covering costs, the Club has benefited by approximately 800. The Burton Manor Bowls Club would like to thank everyone who helped to make the evening go with such a swing. Alan Hancock would like to thank particularly those who paid to own a horse, the projectionist, the Tote and Jackpot sellers and the settlers, the bar staff who were run off their feet for most of the night, and to those who cleared up after the last race, and to the punters themselves, of course. The race sponsors were Eddie Arblaster, Chris s Fish Bar, Pickups of Stafford, Goldline Bearings, BMSA Martial Arts, the Crown Pub at Hyde Lea and Power System Partners Burton Manor bowlers and supporters await the next race