The Housewives Choice

Many years ago there was a well known bit of racing folklore called The Housewives Choice. It is not a phrase we would use today, but it did show something interesting about how ordinary people bet.

On the big race days, Epsom Derby, the Grand National, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and many others, the commentator would read out the odds for each runner. As the start time approached you would sometimes see the price of a total outsider begin to fall. If you follow racing seriously you know that when a horse’s odds suddenly shorten near the off, people start wondering if something is happening behind the scenes.

Back then, when the price of a hopeless outsider started dropping, the commentator would smile and say, here comes the Housewives Choice. By this he meant people who did not usually bet were seeing a horse at one hundred to one and could not resist putting a pound on it for the chance of a big return.

Of course the reason a horse is one hundred to one is that it has no chance. Yet people still do it. There is a fourteen million to one chance of winning the lottery and millions take a chance every week.

The old assumption was that only a housewife would be silly enough to back a complete outsider. Yet in the 2009 Grand National Mon Mome won at exactly one hundred to one. A lot of casual once in a while punters had a very good afternoon. It just shows how wonderfully random horse racing can be.

What it also showed me is how many people enjoy a small flutter but do not have the time or the inclination to study form, check the going and watch the betting market move before the race. Most people just want the fun part.

For the bit of fun punter the ideal situation is simple. You want your selections sorted in the morning. You want to place your bets and then sit back with a cup of tea waiting for the excitement to build.

That is exactly what I aim to offer with my Honest John Three Horse Dutch system. Clear choices, small stakes and a sensible chance of a return without any stress.