It is now more than seven months since we were able to work on-course and it has become clear over the past couple of weeks, that we are no nearer to staging a return.We understand that the various…

Yesterday we made it back onto the race track for the first time since mid March. Good to be back!!! The news that the revised Tier system enabled limited numbers of spectators back into stadia was…

After another losing meeting at Sedgefield on Thursday, Louise had stayed at ours and we had an early start of 5.15am on Friday to make the three and a half hour journey to Prestbury Park for the t…

The week we work towards all winter had arrived and we made the journey south on Monday with Louise on the team to help us run our two Tattersalls pitches. The journey down was a long winded one as…

Three years ago after this meeting we decided to upgrade our two pitches so that we would have a few more options of where to bet. We used to have picks 91 and 97 and now we have got 69 and 71. It …

Since March 15 2020 we have only worked two days on the racecourse. As it is our livelihood it has been a bitter pill to swallow but we have not been alone in this. While out walking as our daily e…

As is usually the case, we nipped off to Tenerife for a couple of weeks after the new year to recharge our batteries and catch some rays. January is a quiet month for us anyway and not much cop bus…

We had a choice of two meetings on Boxing Day and decided on Sedgefield mainly because we rarely miss a fixture at the Durham track and surely we were due some results there. Paul worked hard on th…

Thursday was the first day of three in a row for us and we kicked off with a shift at our most testing track – Sedgefield. There was plenty of books in attendance and the crowd was slightly d…

The cold snap in mid December meant that in the run up to Christmas we had no work for two weeks. We spent plenty of time in the gym and out socialising as the festive season itself was due to be a…

After a disaster at Carlisle on Monday we were on a recovery mission at Sedgefield yesterday. Mr Bull was on the team and as is usually the case for us we arrived at the track in plenty of time. Ha…

Day two of the Festival and it rained. A lot. All day. The working conditions for us were testing to say the least. The new polymer notes are a nightmare in wet weather as they all stick together a…

After a few days off we were eager to get back on track and we had a choice of three fixtures on Saturday but we elected for Haydock over Newcastle or Wolverhampton. We had Mr Bull on the team to r…

After a testing week previously we had a couple of days off and on Thursday we were Liverpool bound for our Christmas present – an evening at the High Flying Birds gig. 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 It was fantasti…

Today we were off to Northumberland to one of our favourite tracks and we were on a recovery mission as we lost 7-0 at the last fixture here a fortnight ago. Mr Bull was on the team to help us run …

Our working week continued over the weekend with the Lanarkshire point to point which is held at Willie Young’s Overton Farm. The event is usually blessed with glorious weather and this year was no…

After a frustrating weekend at Cheltenham we were back on track at Hexham for a seven race card. We have Dan, who we met on our Busmans to Brighton in September staying for a few days and it was hi…

We decided to swerve Newcastle on Thursday and instead six of us randomly went on a day trip to Blackpool for a few drinks and some entertainment in Ma Kelly’s. There’s never a dull moment 🤣 We had…

Last Monday morning, we journeyed south for the four day Festival followed by the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter. In order to keep the expenses to a minimum we had decided to go just three ha…

We started a busy few days at Hexham on Wednesday and the fixture survived an 8am inspection after the track largely missed the wrath of Storm Barras. The Northumberland venue is one of our favouri…

Our week began at Haydock on Wednesday and it was a 50/50 call whether we would attend or not. Even though our pitches are reasonable numbers in Tatts the midweek one enclosure meetings are usually…

After a quiet week we were back in business yesterday at Cheltenham. We had a 5am start and picked Mr Bull up en-route at Wigan at around 6.30. Despite a diversion because the M6 was closed between…

The decision was made and we attended Aintree rather than Sedgefield on Boxing Day for their inaugural festive meeting. Many thanks to Nicola for stepping in to help as we were stuck. She clerked f…

We arrived home from Cheltenham on Friday night at about half eleven and it was a quick turnaround ready for Newcastle’s St Patrick’s meeting on Saturday. It was a sunny day with a chilly wind but …

It was a weekend of Ladies Days for us and we had Louise and Sara on the team on Saturday for our trip to the East coast. Girl power – Sara and Lou hard at work There was a decent crowd and t…

We opted to attend all three meetings at Haydock Park beginning on Friday evening which was music night starring Ronan Keating. The journey from Penrith to Haydock usually takes about 90 minutes an…

Off to Carlisle to begin with last Thursday with Stuart on the team and it was a game of two halves. Half time refreshments came in the form of ginger cakes supplied by Mick Walsh and I was also gi…

We’ve had five days in a row on the road this week and unfortunately for us it resulted in our worst week in a very long time and quite possibly our worst ever. We have travelled a total of 498 mil…

On Wednesday, we were Hexham bound for a seven race card – a recovery mission after a disaster there at the previous meeting. Chilly but fine at Hexham We kicked off with a cracking result in…

Last week we had three days at Aintree. We were four handed to run our two pitches with Lou and Sara on the team. Blustery Thursday at Aintree Thursday is always quiet on the business front and we …

By our standards we have been on a good run and the month of June has been kind to us. However. All good things come to an end. Our week began at one of our favourite and best meetings of the year …

Our working week began on Wednesday at Haydock Park. The midweek one ring enclosure formula is unfavourable for the Tatts business and with very few runners for the six race card, the odds were not…

We kicked off another four days in a row at Cartmel on Wednesday for an evening meeting. There was a disappointing crowd despite the glorious weather and we aren’t sure the Lake District track is r…

We had four days in a row on track this week and have travelled a total of 820 miles up and down the M6. Haydock was our first port of call on Wednesday and it turned out to be a student day. The b…

We began our working week at super Sedgy on Thursday. There was a typical midweek crowd but we got a couple of good results to enable a winning day and we went into the weekend in a positive mood. …

After two disappointing days work at Wolverhampton we headed to Haydock on Thursday for the Final Fling meeting. There’s not much to report except that it was persistently wet all afternoon, very q…

We have now had a couple of days to ponder the governments ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown and what it may mean in terms of our return to something more like normality. For us, this is mainly measured by…

It was the first flat fixture of the year at our local track on Monday. We were hoping that the weather would be kind but on arrival at the track and for the first three races it was like a monsoon…

It’s been quiet on the blog front for the past three weeks as we have been away in Tenerife for our annual break. A great time was had as usual and it seems like there were more fellow bookmakers o…

The day we have all been looking forward to all winter especially after an enforced absence last year because of the pandemic and the famous Cheltenham roar rang out around Prestbury Park and it wa…

Having got the gear, coats and footwear dry as best we could we had a quiet one and went to bed early because to be honest we were all knackered. We were up bright and early to repack the van and i…

After a losing week previously, we were raring to go on Thursday and headed off to our local course with high hopes of kicking off a recovery mission. Ann Marie was clerking for Paul and the busine…

Four days in row began on Wednesday on the Roodee for the opening day of the May festival. Louise was on the team to clerk for Paul and we set off early to drop our bags off at the B&B where we…

After a Sunday off spent socialising, we were back in action on Monday at our local track, Carlisle for their first flat fixture of the season. There was a fair crowd in attendance and it was lovel…

Two shifts on-course on Friday and Saturday and they were two very different experiences. Friday was Blinkers student night at Newcastle. Mr Bull was on the team and we also had Kevin travelling wi…

After a few days off we were back in the saddle today at the point to point near Morpeth. The forecast was for it to be cool but fine and it was actually quite nice in the sun if you were well wrap…

After a day off on a Friday, we had a double header in the North East at the weekend, kicking off with the Eider Chase meeting on Saturday which didn’t look to have a lot going for it. The expected…

After two tortuous days watching Aintree on the tv instead of actually being there we were delighted to be able to attend the point to point at Hornby Castle near Catterick yesterday. It was our th…

After all the excitement of Cheltenham, we had another busy week beginning at Haydock last Wednesday. It was a one enclosure meeting and business was just steady but there was a bus trip of lads fr…

After a rather later night than planned on Sunday (we went out at teatime to watch the cup final and ending up staying out with Michael) we shook off our fuzzy heads this morning and headed to our …

After a couple of days off, we were back on-course today at Haydock Park. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful afternoon. It was a six race card but there were only 33 runners in total all af…

The first blog for the best part of a month as we spent much of January in Tenerife. We take full advantage of the post Christmas quiet spell and rather than battle the wind, rain, frost and snow, …

A six race card at sunny Sedgefield and it looked a moderate one to say the very least. There were 17 books in attendance and business was slow. In the opener, there were four runners and we ended …

Firstly apologies for the lack of blogs this month, it’s been a crazy busy time with one thing and another. We attended three meetings last week and the first was a welcome return to Sedgefield aft…

With an inspection planned at 8am on Monday morning, we thought the meeting at Carlisle yesterday was looking doubtful to go ahead and so we went out on Sunday for an afternoon on the drink with th…

Yesterday we were due to stand at the Duke of Buccleugh point to point at Friars Haugh, Kelso. There was a 9am inspection due to the freezing overnight temperatures and being inconclusive this led …

We lead up to the festive season with several Christmas jumper fixtures. The first one took place at Hexham on Wednesday after a fantastic effort by Robert and his team to get the ground race day r…

We were in two minds whether to give this meeting a try but decided to go for it on the grounds that the weather forecast looked ok and we thought with it being Easter it might also help the crowd.…

After back to back wins at Haydock and Carlisle, we were back in action at Super Sedgy on Friday. It was fine weather but absolute Baltic. The mood was instantly boosted with the arrival of Keith a…

After a quiet week we were back in action at Duncombe Park at Helmsley yesterday for the Sinnington hunt point to point. It was our first point outing of the season and we really enjoy working them…

After stopping the rot with a reasonable day at Carlisle on Thursday we set off down the M6 on Friday morning for three more days on the road. The sun was shining and we were full of anticipation f…

Our original plan for this meeting was to attempt a smash and grab and only attend on Saturday. But at the beginning of last week, when Carlisle was abandoned due to water logging and Sedgefield’s …

Last Wednesday was an all hurdle/bumper card at Hexham. The conditions weather wise were blustery to say the very least and there were constant passing showers. Common sense prevailed and many than…

It’s been a full on few days for the Garritty team since the middle of the week. On Wednesday I did a spot of moonlighting and assisted the Mick Walsh organisation at Kelso while Paul had a hard sh…

We haven’t blogged for a while because the winter Northern National Hunt results have been predictably rubbish and we didn’t feel like boring your pants off every other day with our sob stories and…

After Fridays flapping shift at Langholm, on Saturday we were Yorkshire bound for Thirsk’s best fixture of the year by far in the silver ring. Sarah was on the team to help us run our two pitches a…