John Francome's Day at the Races

John Francome's Day At The Races is a family DVD game based on betting on the outcome of pre-recorded real horse races it is very similar to John Francome's Night At The Dogs

The game comes in a box which contains a DVD in a keep case; £80,000 of 'fun money' money in four denominations, a pad of betting slips; four pencils; a wipe-clean bookmaker's slate and a wipe-clean pen; and a manual. The DVD contains sixteen races all filmed at UK race courses.

At the start of the game players nominate the most capable of their number as the bookie, this person accepts bets, hands out winnings and has the final word in any dispute. Players are given £6,000 in game money to bet with, they then load the DVD and watch John Francome introduce the game and optionally explain it in detail for those who have not played it before.

When a race is selected from the race menu the DVD shows a race sheet with the names of the runners, their odds and their form or previous race history over which John Francome's voice can be heard giving his tips for the upcoming race. The nominated bookie writes the names and the odds on the bookmaker's slate and takes bets from the players.
Players are allowed two bets per race, the minimum bet is £100 and all bets are in multiples of £100 to keep the maths simple. There are eight runners in each race and just two types of bet are allowed, betting on a horse to win or an each-way bet where the punter bets that a horse will finish first, second or third.
When all bets have been made the DVD remote is used to press the on-screen 'Ready To Race' button and the film of the race is shown with full commentary and a replay of the last few seconds as the winner crosses the line. The game then announces the winners and, as an aid to the bookie, it states what the return of a successful £100 bet would be.

Also on the DVD are;
- Extra betting slips - there's a .pdf file on the DVD which can be printed when the betting slip pad is exhausted
- John Francome's Racing Funnies - a selection of anecdotes
- A summary of racing terms