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Smiskin Thoroughbred Racing is a professional organisation that concentrates on all facets of the horse racing industry. But in particular, the main source of income is by punting on Australian horse racing, strategically & profitably.

In this section we will attempt to pass on some simple advice on how to make your punting more enjoyable and profitable. We do not profess to know everything, but we are aware there are many of you out there who would like to start punting, but need a little assistance in setting yourself up. Hopefully this will help you.

PUNTING BASICS

Getting to the track as often as possible will assist, as there is nothing more advantageous than actually looking at your selections at the course, making sure they are fit enough to perform on the day. Watching the betting market on track is also an important part of punting. If you prefer to stay at home and punt, it always best to open betting accounts with bookmakers as well as normal TAB accounts, as bookies usually offer better odds and don't have the takeout of the TAB's.

Punting on horse racing can be a most enjoyable pastime. There is no better feeling than backing a winner, especially a long priced winner. The one golden rule with punting is that you should not borrow or steal money to have a punt, punt only what you can afford to lose. If you remember and adhere to this, then you can enjoy punting without complications.

Finding winners of horse races can be just as enjoyable. The best horse usually wins most races that are run. That is, the best horse on that day, in those conditions, at that distance, and under the weight conditions. Therefore, there are a number of factors to consider when trying to assess who in fact is the best horse in any race.

There are a number of factors that must be taken into account when assessing the chances of a horse in a particular race. The main factors are:

  • Distance of the race
  • Track conditions

  • Form of the horse

  • Jockey

  • Trainer

  • Winning Strike-Rate of horse, jockey, trainer

  • Barrier

  • Fitness of horse

  • Track bias

RULES OF PUNTING

There are a few important rules of punting that should be implemented prior to a day on the punt.

  • Do not borrow to bet with, bet only what you can afford to lose

  • Avoid drinking alcohol when punting seriously - too many uneducated decisions are made under the influence of alcohol

  • Avoid taking tips - make your own selections, no one else to blame or congratulate then

  • Avoid giving tips

  • Start with a specific bank that you can afford to lose, and do not bet with any other money other than that bank

  • Ensure you have a tried & trusted staking plan, avoiding having a big bet bet on what you consider a good chance that wins

  • Record every bet you have, without exception, and keep win/loss records on a daily, weekly or monthly basis whichever one suits. You will be surprised once you have recorded your bets for a month, just exactly how well or poorly you are actually going

  • Build a bank slowly and don't try to win a fortune in one bet, as you will invariably lose. Be happy with small wins

  • Make your selections and stick to them, don't stray and have more bets. Avoid chasing your losses. If you have 3 selections and they all lose, go home, don't try to win your money back on a 'get out' bet. There is always another race tomorrow

  • Avoid betting in every race. No-one forces you to bet in every race, and we assure you that another race will be run either this afternoon, or tomorrow for you to bet on

All these rules will help to ensure you have a systematic approach to your punting. It is most important a punter knows how he is going, whether winning or losing at any stage of his punting. It is also most important to minimise losses, and maximise your wins, and a good staking plan will help achieve this.

HORSES

Horses are creatures of habit and are happy in a routine. Routine in their daily habits such as being fed, watered, exercised. Horses also get used to their own surroundings and become comfortable within their home stables.

Most horses will perform on the racetrack at their best when the conditions they like prevail. Some horses prefer sprints of 1000m or 1200m, others prefer longer trips of 2000m or 2400m. Some horses like very hard track surfaces, others prefer wet, heavy surfaces. Some horses perform best when fresh, or early in their preparations, while others take 3-4 runs to get them fit and don't perform at their best until they have had a few runs under their belt.

The key to finding out how a horse will perform a certain day, under certain conditions, over a certain distance, is to inspect its record (form) and see how it has performed in the past in similar circumstances. You should be able to predict whether a horse has a winning chance, just by finding out if it has ever won at the track, over the distance or under the prevailing track conditions.

If a horse has never won over a similar distance, or performed on prevailing track conditions, or performed on the track, then you should eliminate the horse from your calculations.

Consistent horses will mostly perform consistently, whereas inconsistent horses will continue to baffle us all with form reversals. It is always more difficult to predict a form reversal, than it is to predict that a consistent horse will again run well.

Remember, horses are creatures of habit and will perform accordingly.

THE RIGHT & WRONG RACES

There are right and wrong races to bet in. Some people enjoy betting in every race, at every track in every state. If you can afford to lose all that money, then go right ahead and enjoy the day. But the majority of punters, who bet in every race, will lose, and some quite heavily depending on how good or bad your selections are. No one can back the winner of every race, not even the professionals. Only the foolhardy or the very rich can afford to bet in every race.

There is much conjecture as to which the right races are and which the wrong races on which to punt are. Without trying to be specific, here are some things to think about.

RIGHT RACES

The best races to bet in are those where the form is well exposed, where horses are fit, and there are only a few winning chances in the race. For example, most Weight For Age races, other than the ones early in the Spring and Autumn Carnivals, provide good punting opportunities. Open 3yo Handicaps or Set Weight races, Flying Handicaps, Welters, Class 6 Plates are further examples of good betting races.

Smiskin always likes punting on late 2yo/early 3yo races where the form is well exposed, or there is a fit, proven horse, running against horses who are first up from a break, or having their first start in a race.

WRONG RACES

Avoid betting in races where the form is not well exposed. Especially when there are alot of first starters, or alot of horses first up from a spell. There are too many unknown factors in these races, especially when some trainers train their horses in private. The punter really has no idea how these horses are going and are really guessing as to their real chances. For example, early 2yo races where all horses have never had a start, 1000m races where 6-7 horses are first up from a spell, and fillies and mares races where the same horses runa round week after week achieving a different result, are examples of races to avoid.

A good example of a bad race to punt on is the Melbourne Cup. There are numerous chances, most untried at the distance, not to forget the many overseas trained horses that enter, whose form we are unsure of and there is the unknown question of how they have travelled to Australia. Some horses travel well, others lose weight and really start on the back foot as they have to try and regain fitness. Have an each way double, but don't put your hard earned here.

FORM

Assessing form is also a process of elimination with this probably the most subjective part of trying to find that elusive winner. Again without being too specific, here are a few pointers to remember.

1. Class

Ensure the horse is running in the right class, and is not jumping grades too quickly. Horses who win a Maiden rarely win a Class 1 at their next start, unless of course, if they are above average, and even more rarely win Class 2, Class 3 or Open Handicaps. The law of averages is against this form happening. The same applies to horses jumping to Group races for the first time. Consistent performers in this grade will usually continue to perform well. It is also rare for a horse to come from winning a provincial or country race, to winning a Saturday race at their next start. Midweek city assignments are usually an easier task for these gallopers.

2. Strike Rates

Win and place strike rates are a valuable asset to the form analyst. Horses that produce a winning SR of over 50% can usually be relied on to perform well, as can horses with place strike rates of over 75%. Most horses can maintain a good SR until they get through their grades and end up in open handicaps. Here they will find a number of horses of similar ability, so many other factors will decide the result of the race. Horses with a good SR, who have had say less than 20 starts can usually be relied on to perform well.

3. Recent Form

This is a most important factor when assessing a horse's chance in a race. Generally speaking, in form consistent horses will continue to perform well, whereas out of form horses only rarely stage form reversals and improve enough to win. Last start winners are an excellent guide, as are placegetters at their most recent runs. These horses are obviously fit and in form. Even those horses that may not have finished in the first 5 or 6 at the most recent run may still be considered to be in form, if they were only beaten by a small margin ie less than 3 lengths. There is a school of thought that races where the first 8-10 runners have finished within 3 lengths of each other will prove very good form races for the future. But races where a large winning margin has occured, say more than 3 lengths, will not prove good form races for the future. It may, therefore, be preferable to back a horse that finished 8th beaten 2.4 lengths in a 1200m welter, than a horse who ran 3rd beaten 3.5 lengths and 4.5 lengths, in a similar class welter at their next start.

Punting becomes very difficult, and very costly if a punter tries to predict form reversals. Form reversals usually only happen if a horse returns to a track or a distance that it prefers above all others. Rain effected tracks, for example, usually create form reversals if the runners have recently been performing on dry tracks.

HANDICAPPING/WEIGHTS

There are a number of types of races:

Weight For Age (WFA)
Handicaps
Set Weights with penalties
Set Weights
Special Conditions

In WFA races, horses are allocated weights according to their age and the time of the year. So, the older horses will receive more weight than the younger horses. The WFA scale can be viewed in most publications.

Each race club has a handicapper who allots weight to every horse in a handicap race. Theoretically, the best horse in the race gets the most weight, and the others are weighted down from there. Most professional punters use these handicaps to rate the chances of every horse in the race. They combine all possible variables to rate each horse, starting with the weight, barrier, distance, track conditions, jockey, trainer, strike-rate, etc. They begin by allocating a weight to the type of race, then give bonuses and penalties to each horse in each of the variables. For example, if a horse draws barrier 20 in a field of 20, then they may give the horse a penalty of 5kg. Alternatively if a horse draws barrier 1, and has Damien Oliver as its jockey, then they may allocate a bonus of 5kg to that horse. Then they come up with a rating for each horse that is measured in kilograms. And using these weighted ratings, compile a phantom market for that particular race. Using this market, they will attend the races, and only back horses that they have rated 'over the odds'. For example, if they rate the favourite at $2.5, but bookies are offering $3, then that would constitute 'overs' and they would back the horse. Alternatively if the favourite they rated at $2.50 was actually $1.80 with the bookies, this horse is 'under the odds' and would not be backed. Most professionals look for value in longer priced runners. For example if they rate a horse a $6 chance, but the bookies are offering $12, then this would be a nice bet.

That is a pretty simple explanation, and we could spend alot of time on this part of the selection process. It is probably advisable, if you wish to delve deeper into this, then read books written by the late Don Scott "Winning" or "Winning More", as he pioneered this thinking in the 1970's. If you would like more detail, please contact us, and we can expand further.

BARRIERS

When we sit down to study the form, there are of course many different facets we must consider before we decide to have a bet. What meeting to bet on, what race to bet on, prevailing track conditions, distance of the race, jockey, weight class etc etc, the list goes on. It is not an easy task, and if we consider ourselves good form students, it will always be very time consuming. But as good form students, we enjoy the challenge.
 
But the further down the 2006 track we head, it is becoming increasingly evident to me, that one major facet is standing out in every race we study. Not only should you do your homework prior to the race, you should also analyse the result after the race so you can work out if you truly did make the right decision. And this analysis has led us to the conclusion, that the single most important part of form study is the barrier draw. We have all seen the look of anguish on the owner/trainers face, when the television cameras show them drawing barrier number 16 in the Golden Slipper. And the look of dismay when the owner/trainer pulls out barrier number 24 in the Melbourne Cup, they feel like melting into the ground and disappearing. Then not long afterward they are spruiking "Well, he has the speed to overcome the draw" or this "Oh, she gets back anyway, so the draw doesn't really matter" What balderdash !!!  Deep down in their heart of hearts they are crying tears of blood, green with envy of the people who drew barrier 1. Aren't they? If you were drawing a barrier for your horse in a big Group 1, or a Wyong Maiden for that matter, what barrier would you want to draw? Barrier No1 of course, wouldn't you? Yes, of course you would. Speak with any trainer when their horse draws a double figure barrier in any race. They will always tell you the horse will struggle from the barrier.
 
One of our old hero's, Keith Noud, used to appear on radio every Saturday morning and spruik. "There is only one decent barrier, No1, and then they get progressively worse" True in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and still true today in 2006. Look at the statistics of the race clubs who provide barrier winning statistics. The best barriers usually provide the winner of the race. Barriers 1-5 invariable provide the winner. With the breeding lines of the thoroughbred racehorse being so wide spread these days, the thoroughbred racing are much more evenly matched than in years gone by. So to win a race, the horse must get as many favours as possible, because there are probably 3-4 in the same race with similar ability. Therefore, the horse with the best run in the race, will usually win. The horse who gets a lovely sit in behind the leader, not too far off the pace, on the fence covering the least amount of ground, with plenty left to give at the finish. There's your winner. Now other factors of course, do play a part, however, if the horse has good form, is fit and sound, with a decent jockey and it gets the best run in the race, then it is safe to assume the horse will be in the finish.
 
Why is this? Why can't a horse speed to the front and break the track record and win? Why can't a horse drop out to last and finish like Bernborough  down the outside and win? Think about it.
 
A horse starts from barrier 12 in a 12 horse field over 1200m and he is a leader. What is the jockey going to do? What will the trainer advise him to do? Use the horses natural speed and get to the rails as quick as you can and lead them. Right, easy, barriers open, jockey does exactly as he was told, burns across from the outside, gets to the front on the rails after 250m. Great, we win. Wrong. The horse probably broke a world record for the first 250m to ge there, and no horse can spend all that petrol and have enough gas left for the final 200m. Sectional times tell us, a horse can do it either early in the race, or late in the race, never both. This can be accentuated if there are are than 1 or 2 horses that like to lead in the race. Imagine our jockey tearing out of the barrier only to find two other jockeys, drawn closer to the inside had been given exactly the same instructions as him. After 250m, not only has he spent plenty of gas, he is 3 deep and stuck there because the two on his inside are not giving up their positions, and the horse who drew barrier one is smoking his pipe in behind the three of them just waiting to blouse them away in the straight. So what happens is our speedster from the outside barrier, because  he used up all his petrol at the start of the race, has nothing left to give in the straight and weakens to finish back in the ruck.
 
Let's take the other tack. You fancy a horse drawn barrier 14 of 14 in a 1400m race. Well, that's okay, he gets back anyway, and always comes from behind to win. You have been listening to trainer speak, haven't you? So, the race begins, and as you suggested, your horse drops back to last from his wide draw. Now, one of two things can happen, fast pace or a slow pace in the race. If the pace of the race is slow, sectional times again tell us it is a mathematical impossibility for your horse to finish over the top of the front runners who have have an easy first 600m. Because the horses are so evenly matched nowadays, one cannot run 2 seconds quicker over the last 400m, when the leaders burnt up little or no petrol at the start of the race. So what happens, your horse comes from last, plods to the line, with a faster sectional than the leaders only to finish just out of the placings. And how many times have you seen a horse back last on the turn, on the inside, and the jockey rides him for luck looking for rails runs? Yes, sometimes they win, if there has been plenty of pace in the early and middle stages of the race, and if all the gaps appear, and if one of the leaders don't collapse and interfere with your Bernborough and if ........  Gee, plenty of ifs there, isn't there. And astute profitable punters don't rely on ifs and buts, they rely on facts and making all the right decisions.
 
Here's another example of what could happen from a wide barrier. You draw 20 of 20 in the Doncaster Handicap. No problem, 600m run to the first turn, always pace on, doesn't matter if we get trapped wide, we can get cover. Again, balderdash !!! Trainer speak, who are you fooling? Only yourself. Only three choices form this barrier draw. Either the jockey leads, which will inevitably mean the horse won't have enough petrol at the end of the race, because there is always pace on in a 20 horse field. The horse goes to the rear and has 19 other rump steaks in front of him, and he has to go 6-8 wide on the turn, or ride for luck on the inside through plenty of traffic. Or, the horse gets trapped 3,4 maybe 5 deep for the entire 1600m, and you cannot seriously expect a horse to have that type of run and still finish off better than the horse who drew barrier 1 and sat 4th on the fence, got the clear run on top of the rise and hit the front at the 200m, can you?
 
Okay, so only three choices from a wide barrier. Either lead, drop out to last, or sit deep midfield and hope for a bit of luck. As astute profitable punters, we don't punt on ifs buts and hope for a bit of luck. We just don't back horses from poor barrier draws. Even in small fields, you often see a horse drawn 5 of 5, stuck out there 3 deep. It has no hope of winning.
 
Sure, sometimes, your horse from barrier 12 will scoot to the front, get a cushy lead, and sprint clear in the straigh to win. And your Bernborough, will drop out to last and receive a Super Impose like run along the fence to win. And your Doncaster horse will sit 3 deep with cover and still win. Sometimes, but the percentages are very low, again, check the barrier statistics of any race club.
 
So as the astute profitable punter we are now, from what barriers do we back horses. Just keep thinking about our old mate Keith Noud. Personally, we rarely back horses outside barrier 5 or 6, especially in small fields. Horses from wide barriers, especially outside gate 9, rarely win races. Barriers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the best to ensure your horse gets an easy run in the race. And the horse with the eaisest run, will win most races.

 

JOCKEYS

Without trying to state the obvious, there are good jockeys and bad jockeys. There are full fledged (senior) jockeys and apprentices.

Apprentices are usually used to claim their allowance to bring horse weight down. This particularly happens if a horse is weighted very high ie 60kgs. Most trainers these days dislike running horses with weights above 59kgs, no matter what the minimum weight is. But just because a horse receives a 3kg claim from an apprentice has. It is always a good sign if the apprentice has lost some or his entire claim. This obviously means the jockey has ridden a few winners and can indeed ride well.

Some punters prefer a senior rider no matter what the weight, as they believe an experienced senior jockey is worth far more than the 3kg claim the apprentice receives. This is usually the case if you compare a top jockey for example, D. Oliver to a 3kg claiming jockey who as only had a handful of rides without success.

It is important to keep an eye on jockey strike rates, and this can indicate which jockeys are in form. If you find a jockey with a SR of less than 4 (ie a winner every 4 rides), class that as an inform jockey and try to follow him/her. In addition, if an apprentice loses the 3kg claim quite early in his career, it would be expected he would lose the 2.5kg, and in turn the 1.5kg claim before coming out of his apprenticeship. This would be another type of jockey to follow.

Smiskin prefer to stick with top jockeys, say the top ten in each metropolitan area. Make your own list of jockeys, who you believe are the best, and stick to backing their mounts only. Keep an eye out for who is consistently winning the races in the area you choose to punt. You will find the majority of races are won by a small group of jockeys.

TRAINERS

As with jockeys, if you stick to the top trainers, who have good strike rates, then it would be hard to go wrong. All strike rates are published with the trainers premiership in each state for easy research. Again, stick to the top trainers, or follow trainers with strike rates of less than 4 and you won't go far wrong.

DISTANCES

Most horses will only perform at their best at their preferred distances. It is rare to find a horse that can win over 1200m, and also win over 2000m or above. Kingston Town & Sunline are exceptions to the rule, but they were outstanding racehorses, and most of the horses punters back, will not have their ability, or their capability of winning at all distances. Sprinters usually perform best over 1000m to 1200m, while stayers will not perform at their best until they reach distances of 1600m or further. So ensure you are aware what a horses 'pet' distance is.

It is always preferable to avoid horses who are stepping up in distance by 400m or more, and horses who are stepping back in distance by 400m or more. These horses rarely win.

FITNESS

Horses cannot win races unless they are fit. Therefore unless a horse has previous first up form, it is always inadvisable to put money on these horses. As mentioned before, horses are creatures of habit and will perform accordingly. If they like running well first up, then they usually form a pattern of performing well first up. Second up performers will similarly continue to perform well second up from a spell. A good example is Lee Freedman's marvel Le Zagaletta who is a terrific second up horse, and consistently produces second up from a spell every preparation.

Usually horses perform at its best at its 3rd or 4th run back from a spell, once they have had a couple of runs and are race fit. Horses can improve after one or two runs back from a spell with fitness on their side.

Be a little wary of barrier trial form as a guide to horse fitness. Barrier trials are just that, trials. Most horses are not extended during these and therefore winning margins in trials can be exaggerated and misleading. Trial distances are usually well short of actual race distances, so times in trials can also be misleading. A horse may be able to go flat out for 700m in a trial, but when they get to a 1200m race, they struggle to run the distance first up from a break. Barrier trials can tell you if a horse has ability to win in the future, and should be viewed as this, nothing more and nothing less.

TRACK BIAS

This is only a new factor in the form study of horse races. With a plethora of racing scheduled these days to appease TAB's, racetracks are overused, and some times wear and tear on the track can cause a bias towards certain parts of the course. For example, if there has been plenty of rain on the track, and there may not have been a meeting there for some time, this track could favour horses that race on or near the lead. Alternatively, especially around carnival times, a track may be well used, and the inside, because of excess use, can cut up, and infringe the chances of horses racing near the fence. Horses come from behind and win, and these tracks are labelled 'swoopers' tracks.

You can usually gauge track bias by watching the first 2-3 races of a meeting, and make an educated assessment then. You can win good money by backing front runners on a so biased track.

It is always good to remember that some tracks are traditionally biased. For example, Caulfield & Moonee Valley in Melbourne, and Canterbury in Sydney are traditionally front runner tracks. Tracks with short straights usually favour front runners, where tracks with longer straights usually give the horses running off the pace a winning chance.

PUNTING RECORDS

It is easy to keep records of your bets. Just use an exercise book, and write down every outlay, whether it be for win, place, each way, trifecta, quinella or whatever. Write down the date, horse, race number, and saddlecloth number if you wish, outlay on the race, and profit on the race. Do this for all races on a given day, and compile a daily summary. Then tally up at the end of the week, or month, and see if you have won or lost. A monthly result may surprise you. Some people, who refuse to keep records, but always claim good winning days, rarely mention their losing days.

These people become quite shocked after spending the time to keep a record of bets for a month. They usually find they are heavy losers overall.

Also record your winning strike rate, and average winning price. For example if your winning SR is 40%, then you only require an average winning price of $2.50 to break even. If you SR is 20%, then you need an average winning price of $5 to break even. Most professionals aim for 35% or better, aiming for at least a 2% return on investment, meaning they require good priced winners, and a huge turnover to make reasonable money. Smiskin averages 44.5% win an average winning price of $2.54 which is a 13% return on investment. However using a 20% increase staking plan, we can improve on the ROI.

Keep you records up to date, and be aware of where you stand on the punting ledger at all times.

STAKING

All too often we hear of the punter who selects a winner and either didn't back it for whatever reason, or only had a small bet on it. And the next bet he increases his outlay, only to find a loser. Or, a punter selects 3 horses on a program, with one of the selections a special. So they have two small bets on winners and have a big bet on the special which gets checked at the start and loses all chance. Two winners from three bets, but a losing day all round. This is poor punting.

These situations can be resolved with a staking plan that maximises your wins, and minimises your losses. There are plenty of good ones, and some bad ones around, but it is important to select a plan that suits your punting and your bank.

Start with a bank, whatever you can afford to lose, no more. Only use that bank to punt with, and if you lose, then start again with another bank.

Easy staking plans are level stakes. Bet the same amount on every horse, and never vary. It is difficult to lose alot with this plan, especially if you have good winning strike rate. When your bank improves by 50% of the original bank, then increase your level stake by 5%, and don't retreat from that mark. Let's say you commence with a bank of $1,000, and you stake each bet at 2% or $20. That gives you one hundred losing bets before you lose it all. If your winning strike rate is good, and you reach a bank of $1500, then increase your stake to $30 or 2%. This still gives you one hundred losing bets before you go broke. You may put the winning $500 away if you wish.

A couple of other easy plans are:

Bet in units 2,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,7,7. Win only and you have a 50 unit outlay. If your strike rate is good and you back 4-5 winners, you should win on this series.

One unit a win, three (or even four units) for a place. This is a good plan for horses backed that are in the market.

Select an amount you wish to win, say $50 per winning bet. Then adjust your outlay to ensure you collect your stake, your $50, and whatever else you have outlayed since your last winning bet. Say you have $10 on a $6 chance to win your $50, the horse loses, so the next $6 chance must have $12 on it to regain your original $10, plus the $50 you wish to win. Every winner you back, you will be $50 in front. As long as your winning strike rate is okay, you should not need to outlay huge amounts. However if your SR is low, say 10%, this plan may use a fair whack of you bank, unless you rely on long shots.

Select a percentage you wish to win in one series. Say 10% of your outlay. First bet is $10, and if you win 10% or more of your outlay, your next bet is $10. But if selection loses, then you increase your stake by 10%, or $1 to $11, until you return your outlay plus 10%. Then you start again at $10. You can select any percentage you wish (Smiskin uses 20%), but remember the higher the percentage, the higher the risk of a huge bet, so ensure your bank can handle the higher wagers.

Please contact us if you require any further information on these, or you wish to try a few more intricate plans.

TYPES OF PUNTING

There are many different bet types. They include win, place, each way (both win & place), quinellas (first two in any order), exacta (first two in running order), trifecta (first three in any order), as well as superfectas & quadrellas in some states.

It is important to find out which bet type suits your punting. You can use your bank as a guide here. A small bank of say $100, might mean you concentrate on quinellas & trifectas. Either that or you place small win bets only. A larger bank of say $1000 would suit a win/or place bet type as you can survive alot longer without a big win.

AT THE TRACK

On arrival at the track you should have all your selections written down in a book or notepad. Ensure you inspect your horse prior to the race, and before placing your bet. It is simple to tell if a horse is fit and well. If the horse's coat is shiny, and the girth of the horse looks trim and without overlay you can be fairly certain your horse is ready to run. Some horses get up on the toe, like marking time, this could mean they are agitated, however usually means they are ready to run. If a horse sweats up, around the breast plate or between the hind legs, it usually means the horse is not quite fit yet, and may need the run. After a few visits to the races you will become aware of the good signs and bad signs, and some horses that always look ordinary but still perform.

Once you have looked at the horse and decided to bet, make your way to the betting ring and check out the fluctuations. A good sign is that your horse has firmed in price in the market. Some horses don't win when backed, however most do. A poor sign is a betting drift in the market. Some horses do win when suffering a betting drift, but most don't. Follow the market, it is indeed a very good guide.

Remember favourites win an average of 33% of all horse races, and 60% of all races are won by horses under 5/1 ($6). It is much better to back a winner that is in the market, rather than risk backing an outsider in the faint hope they might win.

Most professionals spruke that you can only win on the punt if you get value for your bets. That is true to a point, but the fact remains, that unless you back winners, you will always lose on the punt. Value is no good unless the horse wins. Find the winner, and then find your value, which is the best price about a winner. If your winning strike rate is good, then you average winning price can be lower.

SUMMARY

In summary:

  • Only bet what you can afford to lose

  • Commence with a bank, and only use that bank to punt with

  • Make your own selections, try not to listen to other people or radio or television tipsters

  • Avoid drinking alcohol when punting seriously

  • Keep detailed records of your bets, and use a premeditated staking plan

  • Try to build a bank slowly, as it is almost impossible to win a large amount of money in one bet.

The main objective is to enjoy your punting. And the best way to enjoy your punting is to win money. Hopefully our suggestions have helped point a few of you in the right direction. Feel free to contact us here at Smiskin if you have any questions or you would like a more detailed explanation of anything to do with punting and how to get the most out of your punting dollar.