Lindsay Gallagher was betting $1.25 about the chances of Apache Cat when this photo was taken. $1.30 was the best price bet in the ring and the horse fell in by a head and Lindsay thought he "was lucky to get home really".

The BTC Cup meeting at Doomben last Saturday featured a glorious day weather wise and a big crowd was on hand to see Victorian visitor Apache Cat attempt to win his fifth Group 1 race. The gelding which was 4-1 on, on some bookmaker's boards, when the field left the gates, had a battle royal on his hands to claim victory. Thankfully for all the extra people he dragged through the turnstiles, he was able to scramble home by a head.

The day was a good day’s racing with most races being truly run. As happens interstate, the staying race won by Fulmonti was little short of a joke when the race was run over 24 lengths off the course record. In Melbourne, home to some of the most pathetically slow races run in the country in the last decade, Gorky Park won the distance race at Caulfield. His time for his 2394-metre assignment was a disgraceful 41.94 lengths outside the extrapolated track record Diatribe holds for 2400 metres. Over in Adelaide they had a $170,000 supposed “race” over 1600 metres, but it turned into a “disgrace” not a “race”, when they took 1.38.20, which is over 22 lengths off the track record.

I often wonder who is at fault in all these races that are run so slowly. Is it the jockeys who have no idea what speed they are going? Is it the trainer and owners who hog-tie jockeys to instructions and then sack them if they don’t ride the horse as instructed. I just wish one jockey somewhere around the country would show a bit of initiative and actually do something really unbelievable like take off mid-race when they are running 15 seconds to the furlong. I reckon the next jockey in Melbourne that attempts to do a Vo Rogue, Scotch ‘N’ Dry, or Pirate Bird, and goes out with a big lead will probably win the race, as the other jockeys will get shell-shocked via having a thinker in the midst.

Earth to all jockeys, trainers and owners. Can we get some truly run races so that we know who the best horse actually is over a distance – not the one who can sprint home their last 600 the fastest? The BTC Cup at Doomben was also a disgrace last Saturday when the other jockeys all sat there like stunned plovers and let leader Dance The Waves run his first 600 in 36.02 – which is about the same time I could run up a sand dune in gum boots. Good luck to Scott Seamer if he can get away with the lead in that time, but what are all the others cumulatively doing? How can any backmarker possibly get home given what is unfolding before their eyes, so why not take off early, as horses were no hope sitting back in the ruck? Weight-for-age racing, except for the Cox Plate, should be banned forthwith in this country, as it is little more than a joke. Well either ban it, or introduce pacemakers to our racing.

From the Doomben betting ring, rails bookmaker Lindsay Gallagher reported:

Race 1 - Dawn’s Pride $31, Very Canny $10 and One For None $3.20

The first race was a good betting race.

There was good money for Enrique at $4.40 and there were several bets of $5,000 on the horse along the rails.

One For None was heavily backed from $3.40 into $3.20 all over the ring.

There was also money for the winner Dawns Pride at $31, but it wasn’t enough to stop his victory from making it a winning race.

Race 2 – Masai Pride $5.50, One Eyed $6 and Charvicky $16

Masai Pride was well backed. He was $4 on the tote and we were freely betting $5.50. There were several bets on him to lose $10,000 along the rails and his win was quite a nasty result actually. Then he missed away by 2 lengths and still won, so he certainly deserved the victory.

There was some money for One Eyed at $7 and I laid him to lose $10,000 a couple of times through betting. He ran $6 and he’d have been no good to us had he won.

There was also specking around for Sam’s Express, but he didn’t fire a shot and really the two that you could lay for big money ran the quinella, so it was a bad result.

Race 3 – Moglich $18, Ulladulla $6 and Felixtrinidad $16

This was the result we needed after the previous shocker.

Stolit was easy to lay around the $4.40 mark - particularly on the phones.

Go Sequalo was well fancied at $6.50 and he firmed into $5 with me, but there was still $5.50 available on other boards when they jumped.

Ulladulla was backed as well at $6 and there was good money late in proceedings for Woody ‘N’ Buzz, whilst Looking Fur Lang was specked right throughout betting with just general public money.

Moglich sticking his head out on the line got us back in the fight as the second horse Ulladulla would have been no good.

Race 4 – Acorns $2.05, Youthful Jack $9 and Left Standing $12

Acorns was heavily backed here. We bet $2.25, but the best call went away at $2.10 and he ran even money and fell in.

The only other horse that found support was Choose A Star, but it was very thin after that, so really we could only lay one horse for big money and he got home, so this was a bad result.

Race 5 – Sequestrate $5, Daunting Lad $4.60 and Mr Aristos $8

This galloper Sequestrate was very well backed. He was $6.50 into $5 and he was as short as $4.80 on boards at the finish. There were several bets to lose $10,000 and even higher amounts along the rails during betting.

Sheezvalue was an easing favourite, but I did lay her on the way out.

There was also money around for Daunting Lad and Mr Aristos as well, but I had a bad result on this race.

Race 6 – Fulmonti $6, Diamondsondinside $9 and Legendary Man $4.80

Well this winner Fulmonti was the best backed runner in the race and whilst it was a wide betting race, he was $7.50 into $6 - and this was another bad result. There were several bets to lose $10,000 along the rails on Fulmonti.

Legendary Man was easy and got out to $5 and Rezone got out to $6.50 and there wasn’t much money around for Sir Sensible.

Diamonsondinside was well backed around the $9 and $10 mark when he was about $6 on the tote, so that was probably why he was well tried with bookmakers.

The race fell away and it was bad result when the two best backed runners again ran the quinella.

Race 7 – Apache Cat $1.30, Vormista $8 and Swiss Ace $10

I found it strange that there was no big cash money in the ring for Apache Cat at $1.30. There were plenty of punters who took the short odds, but there was no big cash money for him – it was only general public money.

You could lay other horses and personally I laid Swiss Ace to lose $10,000 in a single bet a couple of times and the same with Vormista.

There was money also throughout betting for Swick, but the favourite prevailed on the line, albeit I thought he was lucky to get home really.

Race 8 – Pepperwood $5.50, My Joliene $17 and Formula One Racer $8.

Pepperwood got out to $6.50 at one point, then the money came for him and he firmed up to $5.50 late.

Dalzar was well tried around $10 and Formula One Racer had plenty of  fanciers at $8.50 and I laid him to lose $10,000 a couple of times at that price.

Tagus was probably the best backed runner in the race. I laid him to lose $10,000 and then $15,000 at $6 and  $5.50 respectively. He started $5 equal favourite with Royale Harmony.

There was a rap on Royale Harmony, but there wasn’t any money for her.

As a bookmaker, you could have won or lost on this race.

Overall it was just a losing day for me personally, but some fellow bookmakers managed to win on the day.