Sport is made for betting

International racing fans might not have heard of the Darwin Cup, but it is a racing event to be cherished. Darwin, at the top of the Australian continent, has a rather unique culture (some might just say it's 20yrs behind) but that's part of the charm. At this time of year, there won't have been a drop of rain for three months and it will have been 32C every day in that period, give or take two degrees. Rather than a traditional turf track, the racecourse is an oil-based sand surface which suits local conditions perfectly - it handles the heat and also the heavy rains of the wet season. When I arrived in Darwin to work for a bookmaker, there were two days of rains which led to heavy flooding in Katherine, a couple of hours south of Darwin. The racetrack had no problem handling the torrential downpours - they were still running 1:23 for 1400m! 20,000 people squeeze into Fannie Bay Racecourse for the Darwin Cup, which is traditionally held on the first Monday in August. 2...