FANCY A FLUTTER

Horsing Around

There are over 90 horse racing tracks around the UK providing ample opportunity to have a flutter on the gee-gee’s. The summer months are dominated by flat meetings and include high class racing at tracks such as Ascot, Epsom and York. The Derby, Oaks and St. Ledger, are just some of the top races taking place during the Summer months whilst Winter and Spring bring with them top class jumps action, and include the Cheltenham Festival and Grand National at Aintree. Tickets to the big meetings are snapped up quickly, so you will need to book well in advance if you want to go to one of these, or alternatively the minor meetings around the UK have numerous ticket options from the bottom end Paddock Enclosure tickets through to the top end Premier Enclosure ones. You may wish to incorporate meals at the track or perhaps splash out even more. If you're feeling extra indulgent, why not head off the Epsom Derby and hire a Double Decker bus to watch the racing from! Night time meetings during the summer months are growing in popularity and are often followed by a disco and may even be themed – James Bond eat your heart out. The races is truly a great day or night out, so tuck the form guide under your arm, don your glad rags, and go back some winners.

High Rollers

OK, so you’ve spent the morning at the Bingo, the afternoon at the racetrack and the evening at the greyhounds and you still have some money left - I guess there’s no option, it’s off to the Casino we go!

Casinos are open well into the small hours and provide an opportunity to have a go at poker, blackjack, roulette and more. The stakes are often high, but certain tables offer chances for smaller stakes punters to get involved. Like the Bingo, they are no longer pokey, darkened establishments, instead they are plush bright buildings with a la carte restaurants and champagne popping bars. They often require membership, so again make sure that you have this one covered. It has also been rumoured that there are casino’s overseas, Las, what was it, oh yes ‘Las Vegas’ that’s it. The Nevada gambling capital offers the worlds premier casinos and, if your budget can stretch to it, the Strip is well worth a visit - indeed Stags and Hens from the UK are doing so with more regularity than you would believe these days. Closer to home, with new gambling legislation passed by the government, expect to see more and more casinos cropping up and it could well be that Blackpool could turn into the Vegas of Europe. You need not spend a fortune at a casino to have a good time, and who knows, you might just make a mint.