Comments on Racing and Punting.

Only 2 things are needed, a good scheme for selection, and a good staking method, and it is possible to finds dozens or even hundreds of each.

As for selections, some of the points to be considered :
Class of race, state of track, jockey, trainer, recent form, how long since a spell, and how well a horse performs since a spell, barrier, weight to be carried, time since last start,and many more. (One would think that with some of the experienced and knowledgeable punters spending up to hours on one race, surely someone would have developed a method of winning consistently, and having the bookmakers on their knees.) .Then we have hunch bettors, lucky omen punters, and even those desperate to “get out on the last”, by trying to back the winner of the last race of the day, not considering that tomorrow is another day, and this is often where the head comes off, and the pumpkin goes on !!!

Many have the foolproof system that will never fail, but all systems seem to have a use-by date, and so it is back to the drawing board. Many amateurs are completely bamboozled by the jargon used by members in various racing forums, and compared with the experts they feel almost computer illiterate.

There are many tipsters advertising their wares, but only boast after the odd winning day. Remember that if the system or the tip was really good, they should make more by betting on them, but they prefer to get their money from the gullible. If a person did have “that” system, he would never divulge it till he was a millionaire.

Staking produces just as many alternatives:
Flat stake (with many saying that if a system won’t win on flat stakes, it will never win), progression after a win (cycles have a habit of repeating), progression after a loss (some say, more stake, less steak, or that eventually the punter needs the Bank of England behind him), and then there are those who bet a percentage of the betting bank (even here some bet race by race, state by state, or even having all bets for the day at the same percentage i.e. put on your bets and forget about them till the end of the day). As opposed to this, some claim it is impossible to win unless one watches the market, and places the bet just before start time.

With percentage betting, it takes a long time to go broke, as a 10% stake will give many more than 10 bets, while some experienced bettors recommend even ½ % of the betting bank. Also two alternatives appear here – some during a losing streak keep on with the percentage game, while others want to continue with the highest stake used until another winner crops up.

All the above must make the $1 punter enrich the Government with its take-out before dividends are declared, yet he is not going to invest too much time for such a small bet. Perhaps it is only the challenge and brain exercise that keeps so many of us going !!!