even if they are not taking part or

even if they are not taking part or watching. british people like to be involved in sport. they can do this by placing bets on future results. gambling is widespread throughout all social classes. it is so basic to sport that the word 'sportman' used to be a synonym for 'gambler'.
when, in 1993, the starting procedure for the grand national did not work properly, so that the race could not take place, it was widely regarded as a national disaster. The 70 million which has been gambled on the result (that's more than a pound for each man, woman and child in the country) all had to be given back.
every year, billions of pounds are bet on horse races. so well-known is this activity that everybody in the country, even those with no interest in horse - racing, would understand the meaning of a question such as 'who won the 2.30 at chester? (which horse won the chester racecourse? the questioner probably wants to know because he or she has gambled some money on the result.) the central role to denote companies and individuals whose business it is to take bets. although these are generally known as 'bookmarkers', they sometimes call themselves 'turf accountants' ('turf' is a word for ground where grass grows)