How easy is it to pick losers?

For quite a few years now some horse racing system marketers having been trying to persuade us that lay betting is easy. Claims that it is easy to achieve a 90% success rate have persuaded many punters to try their hand at lay betting on the Exchanges.
The argument goes something like “in a ten horse race instead of having your money on one horse, you have it on the other nine”.
How can you fail?

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