Hennessy Gold Cup – One of my favourite races
I have fond memories of the Hennessy Gold Cup. I’ve traditionally done well at this race and its the race I traded live at the IX Investor show for Betfair in 2006.
Seeing a betting company at an financial investment show was a shock for many people and lots couldn’t understand why we were there, so we had real trouble getting people to come near the stand.
This was when I rolled up my sleeves and traded live for everybody. A slightly unorthodox set up, but it worked. As the profits flowed in, it inevitably brought people to the stand to try and understand what market I could possibly be trading on Saturday. I found a photo last year while archiving some data that somebody took at the show, it was a good day. There is nothing like acting on the spur of the moment!
Back then it felt that was I was doing was so interesting, that it was inevitable that interest would grow. It has, but not in the way I thought. When so many people struggle to make a living trading (trading anything to be honest) or have tried and failed to win money gambling, I imagined interest would have gone stellar. But for whatever reason, it still remains a niche activity and the exchange mechanism itself is still not as well established as I thought it would have become. It’s a shame because it’s such a great concept and one that deliver such great value to an user in the betting markets.
Back then I was pondering just how long the opportunity would last. Now, with a few more years behind me, I find myself pondering just how long I’ll last! I’m keen to make sure I tick off a load of things on my bucket list and won’t be happy until I have. So I don’t want to leave it too late to do that or not do it for the sake of a decent trading month. So I think I need to start being more picky. With my kids now nearing the age where they can have their own Betfair account, I think it’s fair to say that they need the money more than I. So I should give them the opportunity.
I hope to get to Newbury to enjoy the big race in person one year. Till then I’ll still have to enjoy it from behind my screen.
Category: Horse Racing
