How to make money at the races

Read all the latest racing news

Betting DOs

• Do find the best bet, not necessarily the winner
• Do study the form carefully
• Do get the best odds
• Do use multiples and each-way bets
• Do improve your maths
• Do keep a meticulous record of all bets

Betting DON’Ts

• Don’t chase your losses
• Don’t back odds-on
• Don’t exceed your pre-decided maximum stake
• Don’t bet on every race
• Don’t be romantic aboutthe horses
• Don’t have an amateur’s mindset

Punter-speak – how to sound like a professional

• “Drawn out in the car park”– an unfavourable starting-stall position
• “Couldn’t get the trip in a taxi” – horse does not have required stamina for race distance
• “Stays longer than the mother-in-law” – opposite of the above
• “Drifted like a barge” – horse’s odds lengthened considerably before the off
• “Couldn’t tip a wheelbarrow” – unable to pick winners
• “Should’ve started yesterday” – horse insufficiently swift
• “Couldn’t find the winning post with a search warrant” – horse with poor racing form
• “Any horse looks fast running past trees” – a put-down originally uttered by Vera Duckworth!
• “Couldn’t train ivy up a wall” – recently said of Sir Henry Cecil, to imply that he might not get the best out of Frankel (now rated among the best middle-distance horses of all time)

To read the full article about better betting see the current issue of H&H (22 December 2011)

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