I have spent the early afternoon blogging and watching the early business in the Epsom Derby.

A TV pundit showed a betting slip where someone had bet £10,000 each way on a horse (£20,000). The horror I felt reminded me of the first race I attended at Goodwood many years ago. The nicest thing I can say about it was that it was an education!

That's not quite fair. I really enjoyed the evening. I was 22 it was my first time at the races and me and my best mate trundled along for a bit of a gander. As a day out (or in this case an evening), it was a genuinely pleasant experience

Goodwood race course sits right on top of the South Downs in East Sussex in full view of Chichester Cathedral. The course is a sort of u-shape with most of the starting gates actually on the other side of a small valley and the horses have to race up a slope round the bend and then turn down the hill to get to the finish and the grandstands. Behind the grandstands you can see all the way to the English Channel.

I had watched racing on the telly and just didn't get it. But at the venue it was a different story. Watching the horses round the paddock, selecting the best horse for a punt then a wander around the on course bookies (who were still doing tic tac in those days) to get the best odds, grab a place in the stands and watch the race unfold, throw the betting slip in the bin and start all over again. On a nice day it was just such a mellow way to spend some time.

There was one aspect though that filled me with a distinct sense of disquiet that stayed with me for a few days after. I felt a little unclean afterwards.

I wasn't prepared for the amount of cash that was being bandied about. I had just started work in the NHS and every penny was sacred (oh well not quite actually, I have an apocryphal tale I might one day tell). but here, on the course people were waving wads of cash around and placing them on the result of a horse race and in some cases it was a whole years wages for me ( I was a student at the time so it is not as grand as it sounds). I just wasn't comfortable with all that money being shoved around.

Still it didn't last long as Black Wednesday occurred shortly after and all these monied yuppies found life a Little harder to forbear. I don't think I ever saw cash money get thrown around like that ever again.