*** Please Register - Introduce yourself and get involved ***

[Magpie]

Good to have you here Bulldog, BOH and exotic dancer. Good to have another fellow Magpie on the forum.

[nortonscoin200]

Thought it worth giving this one a bump for new members who want to break the ice.
Welcome to the party everyone - hope you have a great time.

[Turning For Home]

First day as a member today after being a lurker for longer than I dare to say. Looking forward to getting involved and a big thanks to everyone on the forum for helping to make the last few Cheltenhams profitable.

Hopefully I can add something going forwards and help make the forum even more informative.

[Spectre]

Welcome Turning For Home. As a long time lurker you know what to expect, so just dive in. Everything you say and contribute is just as valid as anything from any other member.

[Saxon Warrior]

First day as a member today after being a lurker for longer than I dare to say. Looking forward to getting involved and a big thanks to everyone on the forum for helping to make the last few Cheltenhams profitable.

Hopefully I can add something going forwards and help make the forum even more informative.

Welcome Turning For Home
Look forward to hearing from you.

The more dedicated racing fans we have, the better, means we capture and share info quicker, and have more Members working together for the greater good

[Istabraq]

Great to see some new blood in here, look forward to seeing you all get stuck in….

[TrixieDean]

Hi All.

Registered today after lurkng over Cheltenham.

Will hopefully add some value and opinion over time

[amtrakker]

Hi all - long time lurker on the site, really appreciate the openness and helpfulness of members.
A mug punter who does e/w L15s on longshots (at least double figure prices) for pennies.
Member of Elite Racing Group and also own a nostril hair of half a dozen horses with Owners Group.
Really enjoy attending various stable tours arranged by them, as well as PTP meets at my local track Lark Hill.

In keeping with FJ tradition of sharing info, attended a stable tour with Anthony Honeyball near Beaminster, Dorset last month. His yard is modern and immaculate. He paraded his top horses, along with Elite Racing and Owners Group horses - he focusses (successfully) on large pot handicaps, and will look to take a string of 4-8 horses to Punchestown later this month. Will be keeping an eye on what he sends there.

Have stable tours booked with Emma Lavelle and Nicky Henderson later this month so will report back what I hear.

[Spectre]

Good to see you getting involved Trixie Dean and amtrakker. Welcome to FJ.

[Leman14]

Hi All.

Registered today after lurkng over Cheltenham.

Will hopefully add some value and opinion over time

You must be a fellow suffering Evertonian with a name like that...

[Exar Essay]

You must be a fellow suffering Evertonian with a name like that...

Or Tranmere ...

[archie]

Or Tranmere ...

Now that is really suffering.

[Exar Essay]

Now that is really suffering.

I'm well aware.

[Killiney]

Could be worse - I support Bristol Rovers! Sorry to hear Larry Lloyd died recently- mind you not many remember him!

[Wayward Lad]

After many years of being a lurker I have now been given the opportunity by Kev, in his infinite wisdom, of joining your hallowed group of fellow Cheltenham Nat Hunt enthusiast's.
My interest has always been all around Cheltenham and has been for nigh on 40 years. I well remember the Dickinson five led by Bregawn, with my user name being, in my opinion, the greatest staying chaser never to win the gold cup.
Early ante post interest started with Marten Julian books each Nov/Dec and I have always tried to read as many as possible publications around Cheltenham. When I chanced upon the Fat Jockey Forum a few years back I found the insight, opinion and debate at another level and really enjoyable, so much so that it now fills the winter months for me. By and large I don't bet on flat racing as national hunt holds much more interest, especially when it links to potential Cheltenham winners !
My background is from the bookmaking side of the fence, having worked for a national bookmaker for the majority of my career. I am now long time retired, have no continued contact/s or loyalty towards my previous employer, so integrity with things like the ‘Naid’ won’t be an issue. I believe there is still value within the ante post markets (not as much as there used to be) as I know that most bookmakers lose on their ante post horse markets and only offer the service as a shop window/opportunity in order for them to get customers to bet on more profitable products.
Having been involved with a syndicate a few years back with owning horses trained by Noel Chance and Tim Vaughn I found the downs far exceed the highs with the final straw being when we had the third favourite in the Fred Winter withdrawn the weekend before the Tuesday race and then the race being won by a horse we had beaten previously !
On reflection though I found that Cheltenham was more than just the end result in March, but more around the journey getting there and particularly the reading/hearing discussion, debate and opinions of enthusiasts, devotees of what is a magnificent spectacle. So now it occupies my interest and betting for circa six months of the year with MotoGP covering the majority of the summer.
I look forward to continuing to read the fantastic debates, insight and opinions on this forum, but now with the opportunity of contributing !