Late Saturday afternoon I received a text from a colleague who was bemoaning his luck. He'd bet three horses each way earlier in the day at his local William Hill shop, lost his betting slip and then watched in disbelief as two of his selections, Intrepid Jack and Takeover Target, finished a close second in their respective races at Ascot.
I'm sure many of you will know this, but, for the record, the advised course of action in such circumstances is to return to the bookmaker concerned and explain the situation. In all likelihood you will be asked to write out your slip again, exactly as you had written out the original, and you should get paid.
By the way, following this course of action with losing slips, explaining you didn't mean to bet that horse, didn't work for me the last time I tried it...
