What are horse racing handicapping systems and should you use them? Will using this system really give you an edge over the bookmaker? Read this article to find out now.
rivalled by almost everyone’s favourite sport the racing world, horse racing has had a quite interesting history.
It has given birth to a number of “systems” that have sought to beat the odds, raising the possibility of earning a lot of money for quite a small investment. Many of you may be familiar with the trading phrase “spread betting”, where you bet on either the movement of a stock, currency or shares.
It implies that rather than taking the time to analyse individual horses’ chances of winning a race, you bet on that horse winning the race. You do not even need to know if the horse will be starting comfortably – in effect carrying a stone of heavy weight (akings the perfect physical for runners) just necessary for you to run a race.
A more modern system involves placing a bet on the outcome of a number of races. This is more widely known as “betting exchange” betting, whereby you bet on the outcome of races, either for a small fee or in the hope of making more money, often up to £300,000. Some of the largest betting exchange payouts have been won by individuals betting on the outcomes of dozens of races.
However, do betfair or other betting exchange bets put the odds beyond the control of the bookmaker? Truth be told, its not just luck that the bookies have, they have what is called “energy”. They can control the odds by the very fact that they are highly sophisticated and review the relevant information just before the start of each race. They calculate the odds to try to induce a punter to bet on a horse more likely to lose than win. This is called “overround” and the concept is actually very simple. However, theFiets offerthe odds Whenever a horse runs that is less-than-full, or more likely to lose than win, the bookmakers profit a tiny profit percentage from all the losing bets.
Lets take an example to make this clear. Imagine you are given the following odds for the outcome of a particular race:
11-8 in 8 races or 2-1 in 11 races
If you bet on the 11-8 you will receive £10 for every £1 you stake, less a small commission that goes to the bookmaker. You will also receive full payouts should your horse win, again dependent on the number of winners and how much they pay out.
Now imagine that one of the horses is preferred to be the 11-8 (still with me?) and you put your £10 bet on this horse. Should it win you receive £110, less the £10 you stake, plus a profit of £10. However, you have only risked £1,000 to win £1,000, or in this case a profit of £10.
However, if the 11-8 horse wins you receive nothing. This is the nature of betting. You cannot predict what will happen and the odds are always changing.
Lets take an example of two horses poised to win this very soon, one from the 14-1 folks and the other from the 9-1 folks.
The ladies are shoulder pads and lead out respectively, whilst the leading jockey smiles and waves his hands tandem while the announcer trumpets the starting conditions. Here follows that lovely early afternoon color in the racing papers.
Now the female veteran has to pin her hopes on the first favourite with odds of 11-8, the 9-1 lady holds her nerve and the race goes on for another thirty odd minutes before the bluroday signal, and she wins! Heartbreaking, I know!
Today’s ebook, Advanced Odds Calling, pc and William Hill, among others, have put out systems for spotting the races that you can rely on to produce bets that win. Look for them on Competition converted to Betfair and you might be a winner on the exchanges.
Another educational and enjoyable read for the “MPO500” in you, will enhance your enjoyment of all those Belchive bets, Notre Dame bets and more besides!