Punters trying to 'turn a healthy profit by the end of a year's punting' are legion and some have been trying to do just that for 40 odds + yrs. unsuccessfully. You'll make more money in a fixed term deposit bank account than you ever will punting. Only about 5% of punters ever make a profit and they never did it in their first year that's for sure. A first year of Laying is just as hard as most layers lose.

There are some services that will/might turn a profit for you by following their tips [this site is supposed to be good] but remember that paying for a profitable service requires reasonable bets [around $100 a bet] to make it so because costs have to be deducted from payouts before calculating any profit.

There is plenty of info. on the net that will fill you in on the horse racing basics of selection, money management etc. for free without buying any books.

Good luck!