Hi everyone,

Just found this site and after reading a few pages of threads, it looks like a good place to throw around ideas.

I’ve recently hit the big 60 and retired and putting more time into my racing systems that I started working on when I was 18 years old (some could rightly say “I must be a little slow.”)

Ten years ago I got really serious and brought out all the form guides and results (from up in the roof cavity) dating back to the 1974. The little lady wasn't happy so we made a deal that involved scrapping the papers from 1974 to 1994. We then had a huge bon fire on our 2 hectare block on the Mid North Coast. Most of these were papers wereslightly damaged by cockroach poo and had faded yellow, so that made it a bit easier to part with them. Actually the yellow was partly the old Sun newspaper guide that came out on Fridays many years ago, and were coloured yellow. At the end of the day I figured if I could get a system to show a profit from 1995 to 2013 I was probably on the right track.

Why do I have such a passion for discovering a winning racing system? Good question. I had my first bet in the Weethalle pub, which was near my Dad’s farm, when I had just turned18. The local parish priest was the SP bookie, believe it or not, so I reckoned it must have had Gods blessing. He put all the winnings back into church maintenance so it was a good fundraiser.

It was only three years after decimal currency so I had my first bet with a couple of brand new twenty cents each way… and it won and a punter was born. If my memory serves me right it was a horse called ‘Kiss Me Kate’. Within a week I developed my first basic system, and started dreaming of moving off ‘the battlers’ farm and becoming a millionaire.

This novice and very basic system involved backing the 2^nd and/or 3^rd ‘most favoured’ selection from all the tipsters in Fridays ‘Sun’. Gradually I moved on to eliminating the tips that didn’t have the right form, weight etc, etc, etc. Don’t laugh I was only 18!!

I actually bought a couple of systems back in the late 80s to see if anyone else was thinking similarly. This was encouraging as most were not even up to the one I developed in half an hour when I was a kid!

From there I spent hundreds of hours pouring through years and years of racing form and results. The frustrating thing with systems is you can have remarkable success for up to 2 years and then have a just as remarkable fail for a year or so, that wipes you out. Unfortunately this means if you want to test a system for three or more years it can take hundreds of hours.

I recently added some changes to my most advanced system I developed three or four years ago and consequently spent the first few months of this year going back to see if the changes added or subtracted from the profit. Fortunately it was a good change and my winning percentage has increased.

Being retired I am now a small punter, ($10 each way or $20win) and bet with IAS bet, because they are the fastest at paying out after races, have best tote and best fluctuations. As most would realise, on some occasions best fluctuations can pay huge amounts over best tote. On other occasions (normally in larger fields and in open betting races) best tote sometimes out performs best fluctuations. In particular with horses starting around 7/1 or longer.

Naturally I won’t share my hard earned secrets (even with my wife) but I will give a heads up to anyone who asks, with basic suggestions such as - what tracks I use for my system bets , the maximum starters, grades of races that yield best results, Saturday only races etc etc.

Forgot to mention I went to New Zealand in 1988 and bought a 2 year old racehorse for $15000. She had started once and ran 6th in a maiden. My friends and I flew her back to Auz and over a few years she won 3 races along with many placings. The first win was at a TAB meeting at Gunnedah where she started at 6/1 in a maiden and won by 6 lengths. I have to say when she passed the winning post it was perhaps the most exciting feeling my friends and I have ever enjoyed. The birth of my two kids was beaten in a photo!!

Good luck to everyone

Dave

Welcome Dave, enjoyed reading that. I moved to Queensland from NZ two years ago and am interested in what tracks are best...I have a maiden system that I am still refining and confine the picks to NZ because I don't know much about your tracks here. I use pedigrees plus some race filters to select my qualifiers.

Cheers, Rich

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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Hi Rich

I actually lived in NZ for a year when I was 20 and that was the time the Kiwis were winning all our big races year after year. That's why I ended up buying a NZ horse.

In regard to tracks. I only bet Saturdays at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. I don't bet in a city if the races are at a non-metro track such as Hawksbury in Sydney or Southport in Brisbane. If I have 3 races or more in Sydney or Melbourne in the system I leave Brisbane and Adelaide alone... unless there is a 'special' there.

I normally back 2 horses in each of the system races- my selection and a saver on the favourite or second favourite depending on form and weight. This changes of course if the system horse is favourite.

I don't back Adelaide or Brisbane on slow or heavy tracks. If heavy tracks all round I only bet 'specials,' which normally means only one bet or on rare occasions no bet at all.

I also have an indexed race prize-money rule. No betting in races worth over $125,000 in total prize-money, no weight for age races and no maidens.

Thanks for the welcome Rich,

Dave

Thanks Dave...much appreciated. Just off to bed but will check in again later

Rich

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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Hi Dave,

I too enjoyed the read, i'm only just starting to collect data in relation to a system i'm developing based around pace, speed and form.

Always enjoy reading new thoughts, idea's and just in general more information. I've definitely progressed from where I was 18 months ago but still realise i'm far from being solidly inside the winners circle. Although hopefully its just around the corner.

Always great to hear the comments around here from the guys that have been around the game for an extended period of time and/or are continually successful.

Look forward to more posts from you, you seem very genuine much like some of our other great posters (Chrome Prince, Uselessbettor, TheSchmile, Lord Greystoke, Shaun, SpeedyBen, The Ocho, mattio and more recently Riconpaul). Hopefully I can add you to that list of people who genuinely make an effort to give others some insight and/or a helping hand.

Cheers

Josh

'ouch'

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“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

Hi mate,

Yes, that's why I joined this forum (my maiden racing forum.) There appears to be a majority of members who are actually interested in helping out, rather than just preaching negativity.. which I have noticed reading posts from other forums. The moderators requiring real email addresses is a great idea that obviously reduces the number of w....ers!

Good luck with your system. Hopefully some of my tips might save you a bit of work.

Cheers,

Dave

CosMos. Number of posts 203. Therein lies the problem. You are stuck on 203 and have been for some time. I think you have been of immense value. As has many more. Garyf, for example.

Welcome,

Enjoyed your story, reading your experience before computers is priceless.

Thanks

CosMos, Beton, garyf.... was always going to forget some people, those who help out know who they are. The ones I mentioned are just the ones i've had the most to do with.

Anyhow Dave do you mind sharing generally what your system is based around? I don't expect you to give specifics but you've said you dont bet maidens etc, is it recent form based, historical form based, or a mixture of a number of things?

The way i'm approaching it at the moment is a combination of Pace, Speed, Fitness, Win%, Form, Class and the horses historical ability in the Conditions.

Thus far i've found my allowances towards Fitness, Form and Class have been whats identified the winners along with the Pace settings of course. Specifically I found an equation that estimates the 'energy' horses use by the turn and that seems to be identifying winners too within a specific range.

Cheers