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Outside Bet

About 6 months before I started Focus Ratings I also started a small blog which detailed my learning curve with all things Horse Racing.

Once Focus Ratings was under way though, I found that I didn't have time to do both and so I stopped updating the blog.

I am now shutting down the blog and have decided to move some of the content over here - purely for your amusement only.

Pretty much panned by the critics (although a few found it cute), the Outside Bet was hyped as a cross between The Long Good Friday and The Full Monty.

It was neither but that doesn't mean it is a bad film.

This is what the Wikipedia entry says of it....

"It is 1985. Thatcher is in power, Sade is on the radio, and the print workers have gone on strike. But nothing, not even a scale eight earthquake can put a dampener on a group of close friends that meet every Sunday in their regular South London pub for a pint and free flowing banter of the highest order. Set against the backdrop of a changing way of life-as Rupert Murdoch moves the printing of his newspapers from Fleet Street to Wapping-this is a tale of seven firm friends, who embark on a unique journey that eventually leads them to gamble all of their savings and redundancy money on a single race."

The basic plot...

The story is that a group of friends buy a racehorse, bet loads of money on it and...

It comes second!

But there's more.

You didn't really think I was going to give the plot away, did you?

Bob Hoskins plays...

Well, he plays Bob Hoskins and he does it rather well!

There's a love story (behind the scenes), a death and a funeral.

Much of the lovely East London dialogue takes place in the sort of old London pubs that we just don't have in France.

There's even some naughty nobbing as two of the characters have an affair behind the backs of their respective partners!

And, of course, there's a race horse and...

A race!

And I won't mention the lost betting slip...

As that would spoil the surprise!

Conclusion

Outside Bet - I loved this film.

I don't suppose it made any money and is never going to be at risk of an Oscar nomination but...

Any film with Bob Hoskins, Jenny Agutter, Terry Stone and Philip Davis in it...

Can't be all bad?

In horse racing terms, it's obvious that this film is not The Grand National.

It's more of a claimer at Southwell on a wet Wednesday in March but...

It's still enjoyable and one of those films that you can watch over and over again.

Get the DVD here... Outside Bet

keith-eckstein  the horse racing scholar

 

 

Have you seen the film?

Did you enjoy it?

Feel free to leave a comment if you have something to say.

Your opinion is valued!

 

Links and further study...

1). Frankel: The Wonder Horse - Champions Day, Ascot 20 October 2012, saw Frankel win his 14th race, a 100 per cent win record, and a truly outstanding performance confirming his status as a superstar. Frankel: The Wonder Horse is the complete illustrated story of the world's best racehorse. The book charts the superstar's career from his birth through each of his races to his 'retirement' at Banstead Manor Stud. Frankel set the bar higher than any horse has ever done through utterly memorable performances and the book relives these races and the incredible training feat by Sir Henry Cecil. Assembled from the archives of the Racing Post, the book includes contributions from all his connections as well as a complete record of all his races and full statistics of his phenomenal career. Fully illustrated with stunning photographs from the Racing Post's archives.

Get the book here... Frankel: The Wonder Horse.

2). Kauto Star: A Steeplechasing Legend - It is widely accepted in the world of jump racing that Kauto Star is the best steeplechaser since the immortal Arkle half a century ago. The only horse ever to have regained the Cheltenham Gold Cup crown, and a scarcely credible five-time winner of the other classic of the jumps season, the King George VI Chase at Kempton Park, Kauto Star has posted an extraordinary record during eight seasons racing in Britain. But it is what lies behind the statistics which make the Kauto Star story so compelling: the rivalry with stable companion Denman, his next-door neighbour in the Somerset yard of trainer Paul Nicholls; the fallibility expressed in his earlier chasing years by the heart-stopping habit of making at least one major blunder in a big race; the apparently terminal slump in his form as he reached veteran status, which only made the resurrection more glorious. Kauto Star: A Steeplechasing Legend tells that uplifting story as it unfolded through the pages of the Racing Post and the incomparable photographic skills of the Post's photographers, to make a worthy celebration of the life and career of one of jump racing's all-time greats.

Get the book here... Kauto Star: A Steeplechasing Legend

3). Precision: Statistical and Mathematical Methods in Horse Racing - "Precision ... Statistical and Mathematical Methods in Horse Racing" thoroughly discusses the mathematical and statistical methods in handicapping and betting techniques. Differentiations, combinatorics, normal distribution, kernel smoothing and other mathematical and statistical tools are introduced. The jargons and equations are kept to a minimum so that it is easy to understand for most readers. More than 20 professional programs are freely available to download, which can allow readers to easily apply the methodology introduced in the book.

Get the book here... Precision: Statistical and Mathematical Methods in Horse Racing

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