A hobbyist is someone who’s prime aim when backing horses is enjoyment. Certainly thy like to win but it is not their prime consideration. A professional will have a betting bank, use some type of system and hopefully maintain accurate records of their progress. A hobbyist will use what spare money they have available, will tend to back on impulse, believe practically everything they read in the racing press and be a fan of multiple bets.

A professional may spend hours finalising their selection a hobbyist rarely spends more than 10 minutes making theirs. As someone who spent many years as a hobbyist punter I know that they are the backbone of the racing industry. Without them the bookmakers would not make their profits so that they can pass on their share of the betting levy to the racing authorities. Because it is a fact that hobbyists lose far more than they ever win unlike the professional who if they cannot generate a regular profit are out of business.

The fact that despite the introduction of gaming machines, virtual racing and other gimmicks into betting shops the mighty William Hill organisation has seen a fall in profits is significant. Does this mean that more punters are adopting a professional approach to their betting? This may be true but also we can’t discount the effects of the Exchanges on the overall market in recent years.

If you want to stop being a hobbyist and join the ranks of the professional the first move should be to visit http://bit.ly/c7Bvng

Yesterdays Selections:
3.45 Redcar Bursary 5.46 Lost
4.05 Perth Grand Lahou 7.60 Lost
Yesterdays Profit +1.9 points

Quite easily, because the hidden trap is something called “liability”. If you back a horse and it does not win all you lose is your original stake. If you get a lay bet wrong and your horse wins then you lose the odds to the amount that you have laid. For instance if you lay a horse at 11.0 for £10, if you are successful after commission you will win £9.50. However, if your horse wins then you have a liability of £100.

Added to this there are two other factors to consider. Firstly Betfair or any of the other exchanges do not allow credit. This means that you have to have the money to cover your liabilities lodged with the Exchange before you can lay your bet. Secondly the Exchange prices tend to be on average about 20% higher than those offered by bookmakers which definitely favours the backers.

This does not mean that lay betting does not offer an opportunity to make a profit from racing but it does require some research and work. It is not only a case of finding a horse that will lose but also ensuring there is at least one, preferably more, who are capable of beating your selection. To learn more about how to study and rate horses CLICK HERE

4.05 Perth Grand Lahou
3.45 Redcar Bursary

These are Lay bets with maximum odds of 8.0. Over 8.0 No Bet.

Yesterdays Selections:
5.40 Goodwood Anhar 5.63 Lost
3.45 Perth Zealous Diktator Over 8.0 Lost No Bet
Yesterdays Profit +0.95

Yesterday I was decrying the poor level of the cards but it was definitely a punters benefit day at Yarmouth with 5 of the 7 favourites coming home. The Galway Festival kicked off last night with many experts suggesting it would be a Dermot Weld benefit night. Sure enough he kicked off with the 5/1 winner Force of Habit in the opener but that was his only success. However, I am sure there will be plenty more Weld winners before the end of the Festival.

Looking at the Goodwood card I could not help notice that one of the runners in the first last ran at my favourite track Market Rasen.
It cannot have happened many times before that a horse runs at this Lincolnshire track directly before going on to the Glorious Goodwood meeting. That is exactly what Australia Day the probable favourite in the opening race has done. Ten days ago the horse won the Summer Hurdle Handicap at that course and today reverts to the flat for the Betfair Apps for I Phone stakes over 10 furlongs. I wish him well and may well risk a shilling on him.

From past experience I have always found it best to avoid betting at the big meetings. They produce some of the very best racing but as a betting medium I find I get a serious case of “seconditis”. Bearing this in mind I would suggest that my best bet at Goodwood for today is Emerging Artist in the final race. He was very impressive in seeing off Con Artist at Newbury eleven days ago.

These are lay bets at a maximum of 8.0. If over 8.0 no bet

There was no selection yesterday

After the Derby Workforces record breaking run was hailed as world class. Last Saturday’s King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes he was made to look very ordinary and Harbinger was being hailed as the new super hero. Quite honestly I do not know what to make of it and I suppose the question will not be answered until after the Arc when we will know if Harbinger will be able to string two good performances together.

I subscribe to a number of racing services and also have a number of racing systems currently under test. Today I am getting the same response from nearly all of them today, no selection. That says a great deal about th quality of racing around the country today but it is what we have come to expect of Monday racing in recent years.

Tomorrow we have the start of Glorious Goodwood and the Gallway Festival meeting across the Irish Sea. There we will be getting some good quality racing although I hope the supporting meetings offer better fare than we had during Royal Ascot.

Those of you who follow the Dee Dee Lays on this site will have had another good week with all of our selections proving successful. Going into the last week of the month we have only had 2 unsuccessful bets this month. Needless to say there is no qualifying horse today.

Saturdays Dee Dee Lays selections:
3.15 Ascot Mass Rally 5.9 Lost
4.05 Newcastle Mr Rainbow 5.4 Lost

Daily profit +1.9

Yesterday I noticed that Frankie Dettorri had only two rides, one in the 2.10 at Epsom and then he was travelling up to York for just one ride in the evening. This was enough to gain my attention and so I thought a small investment in the Epsom runner would not go amiss. To be honest watching the race on television the horse, White Moonstone was hardly mentioned and literally was never in the picture until the last furlong. On television it looked as though the favourite Florestans Match was well clear and would win easily. However, in the last half furlong White Moonstone appeared running against the inner rail well away from the other runners and strode home to win by 1¼ lengths at 15/2.

After the race the trainer Saeed Bin Surour told us that they hoped for a good run from their other horse Copper Beach who was running at York in the 7.30. As they say a nod is as good as a wink to a blind man because surely Frankie was not flying up to York just for the good of his health. As it turned out he was not flying at all, the plan was that he would dash to Kings Cross and catch a train to York. Surely he would not being doing this unless they expected the horse to win.

I have to admit I was tempted to break my level staking rule but in the end I am pleased I did not. Copper Beach trailed in 5th of 7 behind the hot favourite Nouriya ridden by Ryan Moore. Once again it goes to prove there are no sure things in racing.
There are some really good cards today with the highlights being the GeorgeVI and Queen Elizabeth Satkes at Ascot and the SkyBet Dash at York. Not an easy day for punters but I shall be surprised if Workforce gets beaten today. I also like the look of Viewing in the 2.30 at York.

For the Barry Dennis fans will not be surprised that the bookmaker has made Workforce his Bismark. Another good reson for backing the favourite?

These are lay bets with maximum odss of 8.0 over 8.0 no bet

Yesterdays Selection
5.05 Ascot First Post 3.35 Lost
Daily Profit 0.95 points