A to Z of
punting advice
Back in the 1960's
Tony Arnold, who was the editor of the now defunct Racetrack magazine,
wrote a really good article on the A to Z of punting. The basics
of that article still hold up some 50 years later and some of
it is re-written here.
Adjust
your schedule so you don't have to hurry your selections / betting.
Allow yourself time for careful consideration.
Betting
haphazardly will put you at an immediate disadvantage.
Carelessness
is costly. It's your money so try not to make mistakes with it.
Don't
expect to find a good bet in every race.
Every
race has its share of erratic and unreliable animals. Be smart
and eliminate them.
Find
horses that run consistently.
Good
solid bets are hard to find so don't be disheartened by the time
it takes to find them.
Horses
have good days and bad days - just like humans.
Intentionally
overlooking a fault in a horse's past performance just to have
a bet is a hard and expensive habit to break.
Jumps
races are great to watch.
Keep
a cool head and don't panic when things seem to be going wrong.
Losing
streaks happen to the best of them. If you expect to win every
day you are living in a dream world.
Maybe
horses make bad bets. Maybe they can run the trip. Maybe they
will overcome a bad barrier.
Never
get sentimental about a horse.
Only
by careful analysis can you ever hope to make a profit in ANY
business, let alone horse racing.
Punting
for the sake of "having an interest in the race" is
a mugs game.
Quitters
don't change their spots - just like leopards. If they show no
"fight" in a tight finish today, they won't change tomorrow.
Repeat
winners often have shown in the past they can run and win at a
particular distance - mostly because the race pace suits them
and their ability.
Sprint
races need speed and stamina - speed alone won't carry them down
the straight in most cases.
Trainers
can make the difference between a winner and non-winner, simply
by having better training regimens.
Upsets
do happen but they are rare and they DON"T happen in every
race. Backing horses at $50 + will send you to the poor house.
Very
few people will give you credit for the winners you may come up
with and will call it "dumb luck". You know the truth.
Wishing
for a winner will never work. This is a serious business.
X
- (bit of a cheat here) - don't eXpect to get
rich punting on horses. Trying to stay just a little in front
is a worthwhile aim.
You
can never learn too much.
Zero
is what your bank balance will be if you ignore the time honoured
rules of sensible selection.