The Common Sense Crusade with Tom Biddington

AS a racing person, this is my favourite time of year but there's one thing that I dread... and that's people asking for tips.

AS a racing person, this is my favourite time of year.

The big races, the best horses, the drama, the excitement, the colour, the parties, the fact people care about the sport. It's all great.

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But there's one thing that I dread - people asking for tips.

The dread doesn't come because I'm trying to protect any mail, or get a better price. I don't bet big enough for that to matter.

My tips are in the paper every Friday, my best bets are on the SuperRacing website during the week. (And yes, they're my real tips I actually want to get as many right as possible.)

The dread comes from the response of (some) people when I give them a tip and it doesn't win.

I don't need to cop abuse when a horse loses. If you're going to do that, I'm not going to give you anything. (And if you really piss me off I might deliberately direct you towards a loser.)

You don't need to make me feel any worse about it, I've probably backed it too.

I have no control over what actually happens on the track, I'm just telling you there's some confidence around the stable of the horse running a nice race and/or the form suggests it has a chance/is over the odds.

That's all.

It doesn't mean I should give you your money back, buy a drink or owe you a thing.

This needs to be made abundantly clear so that my brothers and sisters in similar 'inside' situations, don't get used and abused by once a year punters.

So when it comes to gambling etiquette, here's a few points that everyone should know.

- A person who gives a tip (when asked), takes no responsibility for how that horse performs. You cannot give them a hard time if it loses. They don't have any control.

- Everyone loves to win, but when you do, have some class and act like you've done it before. Don't go screaming from the rooftop, particularly if you only had $5 of $10 on it.

- If someone in your group enjoys a good win, it is not appropriate to tell them - 'it's your shout for the rest of the day' or 'you can buy me dinner' etc. Generally people who get a nice result are happy to buy a drink or something, but if you're not sharing the losses, don't expect to profit from someone else's win.

- If a regular punter has a bad run, don't tell them they have a problem, or need to go to gambler's anonymous. I promise you it doesn't go down well.

- THE GOLDEN RULE; only bet what you can afford to lose.

Follow these simple points and everyone will have a better time. And if you ask nicely I might try and steer you into a winner.

Good luck and good punting.

Follow @TomBiddington on Twitter - he likes Fiorente in the Melbourne Cup.