RaceBase

As you know, you can't always get in front of the tele to monitor a potential bet. Today I was out in the car, listening to Radio Trackside and Mark McNamara. If you're a punter, he's the best at this job. The most important part of it, is the reading of the advance dividends, and this is where he excels.

Firstly, he reads them precisely and slowly and not at a hundred miles an hour, as though he can't wait to get through them.

Secondly, he reads the fixed odds dividends.

Thirdly, he reads them in an ordered fashion. The horse, followed by the jockey, then the win dividend, place dividend and the fixed odds divvy, all in the same order, so the listener knows what's coming. The most common fault, and this is particular to one presenter mainly, is to read them hickledypickledy in an attempt, presumably, to make it interesting for the listener.
Like so :
Number 1 Bonecrusher, Gary Stewart, $5 and $2
Lance O'Sullivan rides Horlicks Number 2 paying $6 and $2.50
$3 and $1.50 for Number 3 Waverley Star, Noel Harris
etc etc. And you completely lose track of where he's up to, and you miss the divvy of the horse you're trying to follow. It's so distracting. And it's all read out at 100 miles an hour.

Fourthly, he always reads the divvys with time to spare before the race. This gives the listener confidence that he's going to actually hear the divvys and have time to put the bet on. I'm never quite sure whether to listen to the radio or not because I find I'm never certain that the divvys will be read out in time and I don't want to take the risk of missing a bet.

Listening to Mike O'Sullivan today. He's pretty good on the wireless too. Divvy's and fixed odds read out with time left to place a bet.