Not necessarily so - the following are the results of a purely mechanical system that I back-tested for two years before starting to bet on at the beginning of October 2004 and it is still producing the goods without one change to any of its rules.

WIN PLACE
Races Bet : 87 87
Races Won : 34 55
S.R./Race : 39.1% 63.2%
Outlay ($): 87.00 87.00
Return : 109.50 86.92
$ Profit : 22.50 -0.08
% P.O.T. : 25.9% -0.1%
(1/10/04 to 30/11/05 - Dividends as per NSW tote)

With an average winning price of $3.25 it could hardly be claimed that a high winning price is required.

This month there has been only three selections so far:

12/12/2005 Murwillumbah
R5 #13 Hattie Placed $2.30
02/12/2005 Moonee Valley
R4 #1 Tagine Won $2.60 Placed $1.30
02/12/2005 Hamilton
R1 #8 Fanny Won $3.80 Placed $1.50

Very selective with few rules (all logical) but very satisfying.