It seems our tipsters are either helping out the bookies or just absolutely hopeless.
Thanks to them, I have found lay gold.
Many are very short prices and get turned over.
I can't say that anything untoward is happening, but I sometimes have my suspicions, as many of these tipsters are exbookmakers.
So before I get into any trouble, let's see if there's any other explanation as to why the performance is simply dismal.
If I am wrong, then they are simply over paid hacks, and any forum anywhere could do a better job.
To be fair, I had a look at their best bets only, and the performance is simply woeful.
What seems to be going on, and even went on in the sixties and seventies according to someone I know who worked for a racing newspaper, is that the best bet is the lay of the day, the value bets and roughies are the actual tips!
There has been considerable "pressure" to be popular and make your best bet something "others" can make a buck from.
As the money streams in for this false best bet, it's a win win situation
To make it look good the occasional "you can't leave it out" best bet sneaks in.
I mean you couldn't leave out a Northerly or a Black Caviar, that would be too obvious.

So let's see how one such harness tipster faired in his last twenty best bets of the day. Incidentally another exbookmaker

20 selections
5 winners
25% win strike rate.

Of course that doesn't look to bad, but wait, the majority of them were odds on favourites

So the win return on these Best Bets was $10.10
That's a loss of $9.90
or a loss on turnover of a staggering 49.50% !!!!!

On even money to odds on Best Bets ( remember these are supposed to be the specials, the very best of the day, the one's earmarked out of all the tips to follow, the cream de la creme, the professional punters banker bet).

Oh dear has it come to this, the tipsters are shafting the little guy who has his $2.00 on the best bet to buy his formguide and coffee the next day.

There is more to this than meets the eye, or I'm totally wrong and they are simply getting paid to pull tips out of a hat.
No wait, that would be more accurate!

So in an effort to prove that I'm talking bollocks, lets follow the Best Of The Best and record the performances.

For recording purposes, I'll record the Herald Sun tipsters best bets on Gallops and Harness and report in that way.
Each tipster is allowed to have his own Best Bet even if a couple agree.
Can't be fairer than that.

The old excuse that the poor old fellas have to tip every race won't hold water here, as this is the fairest way to judge, Best Bet Bonanza.

And here common folk and gentry are the lays today

Kyneton R5 1 Doolam Lover
Kyneton R6 2 Lightenuff
Kyneton R7 5 Rainbow Queen

Terang R1 Keayang Delight
Terang R4 Devilish Smile
Terang R6 Scareed
Ternag R8 Vesper Lynd

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