I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the Group 1 Tipping Comp, Merc and Mills and pay my respects to the winners past and present.
A foreword by Nato:
Greetings to all punting degenerates, recidivists, clients of payday lenders, and purveyors of misery. Welcome to Merc’s G1 Tipping Comp for 2024!
I’d like to start by celebrating (cue the sound of breaking glass) Austin who opened a can of whoop-ass and became the winner of the 2023 competition. Wardy’s class showed through and he finished second, posting a total that would have won any other year; one to keep safe in 2024. Law was quick out of the gates, faded, and desperately held on for third. As good a competition as we’ve had in my opinion, going down to the last day and ably steered by those doing the thankless tasks that keep us going, Merc and Snake.
By your leave, gentlemen, you’ll allow me a bit of indulgence.
It’s been 10 years since I won this comp.
I was an outsider, some mouthy bloke Merc worked with, a dog punter who would tell anyone that’d listen that I once picked the card at Wenty and used the winnings to buy a house full of furniture. Geez, Miss Grub was good in the feature. I love an omen bet and that was an absolute beauty. A story for another time.
I imagine I was viewed as a curiosity by some, a burden by others, and an easy mark by all. Some mug to kick in his entry fee and never be heard of or from again. But once the campaign started I jumped well, settled nicely, took the lead, did a 180 and moonwalked past the post. So imperious was my performance the admins didn’t even run the comp the next year. Bunch of flogs. Might not be how others remember it, but history is written by the victors.
When we saddled up in 2016 I fully expected to saunter in and take the chocolates again, or at least get a return. But to quote Bossy “form is temporary, class is permanent”, and brother, I ain’t got no class. The form was gone and I flamed out, must have finished close to the bottom. Did the same the next year. I’m a pragmatic fella, maybe I just got lucky one time, and if I’m unlikely (and lets be honest, “unlikely is an understatement) to even go close to the glory of 2014 again why do I keep showing up and embarrassing myself? This isn’t the only place I could get my punting fix, though, right? There are other options.
- I’ve got a punters club at my local I could get involved in, see what dogshit plunge Big Kev has doomed us with this week.
- I could start a “betting with flogs” group on a certain platform. I can’t use the proprietary term with the acronym BWM on the blue and yellow platform, we’re trying to get sponsored by a competitor. Sponsorship will never happen, for a multitude of real and valid reasons mostly surrounding the damage we’d do to the brand, but we continue to dream and shitcan the bloke that could make it happen even though we know he’s powerless to do anything.
- The office girls might run a Cup Day sweep, but then I’ve got to listen to Steve from Special Projects tell me his system of colours and numbers is far superior my weight, gate and name plate approach to picking winners. And of course after that Steve gets an invite to see HR after too many Prosecco’s and showing the EAs his short nosed elephant impression.
To be honest I’d rather stick my dick in a pedestal fan than go through all that. Particularly the elephant bit.
So keep coming back here I do. On reflection there’s a few reasons.
- You don’t need to be informed, knowledgeable, self-aware or even sober to share views on topics here, even if you don’t know anything about what’s being discussed! This comp is a broad church, all views are welcome, and not just about horse racing, so go ahead and shit post in the chat, your entry fee is your ticket to do so. Let it out!
- On the group chat I look forward to checking in, seeing 3 members having a vigorous debate (remember: being informed is optional!) and expressing 5 different opinions, mostly non-sensical and far removed from what the original discussion was about.
- I’m a humanitarian, so when I hear one of the members has blown this week’s grocery money on a beaten favourite I’ll subscribe to his wife’s Only Feet, doing my little bit to support them financially during this trying time.
- I mostly enjoy the weekly poll, but I did think the vitriol during the great Angle v Straight Cut Sandwich debate of a few years ago was unseemly. Let’s make sure in future we share the oxygen and keep things respectful. Remember, words can hit as hard as fists. I think the “Is The Dress Blue or Gold?” discussion got very willing too.
- And let us not forget the pinnacle of the carnival; no, not the Everest, but the well-considered and thoughtful reflections on the tangible qualities of various fillies and mares in the racing industry and beyond that is the Ladies Poll.
Bets, bants and bullshit. It’s compelling. That’s why I keep coming back.
Merc on changes to the comp:
We are running with basically the same structure. This year there will be 14 rounds due to Victoria shifting a few races around at the start of the season. We previously had a week off after the Winx Stakes. You can check the full tipping calendar here. Note: we start on Saturday 24 August.
Remember we are pay-to-play. So when you first login you should be prompted to renew the $55 fee. If you are not prompted, look under the account menu and hit renew. Payment is made via PayPal. New entrants can sign up here.
The tipping rules are the same as last year and we are using Betfair Starting Price (BSP). There is a little bit of discussion around applying the appropriate commission for NSW and VIC races, but I’m not sure if I can be bothered and if it would affect the outcome of the comp. Happy to discuss this more on the chat prior to the first week.
Remember tipping for each week closes when the first race on the card jumps. Cutoff will apply to which ever venue starts first. E.g. If there are tipping races on at Flemington (11:15am) and Randwick (11:45am), cutoff will be at 11:15am. Tipping for night meetings e.g. Friday night at the Valley will be the same.
You can enter and/or change your tips as much as you want prior to the cutoff. All tips come through to the site and I just use the most recently submitted version. Submit your tips here. If for some reason you are drunk and can’t enter your tips on the site, you can just DM me or even better post to the group chat for visibility.
Invite anyone who you think would enjoy the comp and more importantly the banter on the group chat. However, it is not mandatory to be involved in the group chat, as it is not a place for the faint-hearted.
and finally, GLTA (good luck to all).
Merc
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