Alias: Ian "Ian Davies" Davies
Reason behind alias: My dad liked the sound of it.
So this betting thing then. Why? Why not?
How did you start? As a kid, I used to run school cross-country races in Sheffield on Saturday mornings. Coming home knackered, I looked for something on Grandstand I could relate to. Jump racing seemed the nearest equivalent as it's a race and horses, like humans, have finite energy. Having a maths teacher who was into racing helped, moving to Hull in 1976, with Beverley racecourse on the doorstep helped even more. One visit, aged 14, in 1977, and I was hooked.
What are you betting on now? Big Brother, Royal Ascot, World Cup.
Your finest bet: Tote Jackpot Lingfield 1989 in the days when big carryovers (it's all about lots of carryover money being chased by not too much new money) got less publicity. A £576 perm netted me just over £40,000 - paid off most of my mortgage with it - and was something like eight (or was it 80 - my aging memory is playing me up) times the SP acca.
Your worst bet: As an 18yo in 1981, four days before the race, I lumped on Shergar at 8/13 (£400-£650) for the St Leger. Totally out of character, I'm normally value-driven but I had this childish desire to have my first four-figure return over the counter. Shergar started shorter but got stuffed and I lost my entire summer's earnings from betting/working for a bookie.
Where do you see betting going in the next 10 years? Football is the future
Best piece of betting advice you've ever received: 'Whenever you have a big win, withdraw it and spend it, buy a big consumer durable or something with it. Otherwise you just recycle it and never really profit from your success.' Bookie in Hull called Nigel Culbert.
Best piece of betting advice you can give: 'There’s no such thing as a bad profit.' (something else I got told).
Best bookmakers: They're all the same - if they bet to tighter margins than others, they won't last, if they let you carry on betting if you're winning, they won't last.
Worst bookmakers: Avoid - or at least empty your account daily - the fly-by-nights making unsustainable offers.
Name one thing that would most improve the quality of your betting life: Racing being straighter.
What's your vision of Paradise? Everyone on the planet betting at a website called www.backandlay.com.
Marlon Starling once said "I'll fight Lloyd Honeyghan for nothing, if the price is right". Who would you fight for nothing? I'm a lover, not a fighter. That said, I'm not averse to the idea of paying someone else to sort out anyone who ever crosses me. As Vic Reeves would say: 'Only joking, or am I?'
Will you still be betting in 10 years' time? For sure.
The worst thing about betting: Losing.
The best thing about betting: Winning
Any last words? If you have a house, mortgage it to the hilt, if you have cards or an overdraft facility, max them out, take the net lump and deposit it at www.backandlay.com. And then spend the rest of your life betting there. Basically, please help me become a billionaire and, if you do, I promise to less marginally less of a tosser than all the other billionaires out there.
BBC
