Easily one of, if not the most popular racehorse in UK horse racing history, is undoubtedly the great grey, Desert Orchid, who was affectionately known as 'Dessie".
There's something about a grey horse that stands out amongst others. I suppose its that although not rare, they are not as popular as bay, chestnut etc, and so stand out as a white knight in a blur of dark horses. And Dessie was exactly that, a white knight.
How It All Started
Desert Orchid was born on 11 April 1979 to the aptly named Sire (father) Grey Mirage, and to Dam (mother) Flower Child.
His horse racing debut was in 1983, but did not exactly start as planned, as he fell at the first fence at a race at Kempton. The fall was a heavy one and many wondered whether he'd recover to race competitively again, but despite this early setback, Dessie was already showing the courage that would adorn him to millions of fans.
I must admit that I did not see his first race, but what would ensue was something that I did witness, and boy am I glad that I did.
Dessie Gets Off The Mark
At the start of the 1983/84 season, Dessie was up and running, winning his first race of the season by 20 lengths at Ascot. In fact the season proved to be a successful one for Dessie and got him the attention that he would keep for the remainder of his career, as he would rack up six wins from eight starts in that season.
But the following season saw him struggle once again. After the success of the previous season, he was no longer eligible for running in novice races and the step up in class showed.
He would go on and win only one of his eight starts that season, at Sandown in the February, but as many horses do when stepping up amongst a better class of horse, Dessie struggled to aclimatise.
A Change Worked Wonders
After that season, trainer David Elsworth decided to switch Dessie to the bigger obstacles, this time racing in steeplechasing races, rather than hurdles, and he immediately looked and felt more at home.
He would run up a sequence of four wins at Exeter, Sandown and twice at Ascot, and his famous front running style was proving hard to beat, but proving to be hugely popular with horse racing fans.
At the start of the 1986 season, he would feature regularly in the top three places, but failed to win a race until the November, when he would win at Sandown.
He would also taste success twice in December, winning a two mile handicap chase at Ascot, followed up by victory on Boxing Day at Kempton by a massive 15 lengths, against a hugely impressive field, that included Door Latch, Forgive 'n' Forget and Wayward Lad.
Dessie Starts A Rich Vein Of Form
This impressive and consistent form would lead Dessie nicely into the 1987 season, with wins at Sandown and Wincanton in February, followed by a decent run at Cheltenham in the two mile chase, where he finished 3rd.
Dessie would then win three out of his next four runs, tasting success at Ascot again, Wincanton and Kempton, but he would miss out in the December, where he had been so successful the previous year, achieving two second places. This was a measure of the horse, as second places were now considered disappointments.
Over the course of the 1988 and 1989 season, Desert Orchid would run riot, producing a winning run that would begin to create the legendary status that he go on to enjoy.
From 7 April 1988 until 16 March 1989, the beautiful grey would win eight races on the spin (consecutively), starting with victory in the Chivas Regal Cup Chase at Liverpool over three miles and a furlong. This impressive run of wins would take Dessie through Sandown, Wincanton, Sandown (again), Kempton, Ascot and then Sandown (yet again!).
The run of eight wins culminated, perhaps fittingly, with Dessie's magnificent victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, infront of a packed crowd at Prestbury Park. In heavy conditions, Dessie would prevail by one and a half lengths, ahead of Yahoo, with Charter Party a further eight lengths back.
Dessie's Record
In all, Dessie's record was impressive, leading Time Form to rate him as the fourth best national hunt horse of all time.
He won almost half of his 70 races, achieving 34 victories whilst accumulating over half a million pounds of prize money - a lot of money in those days.
Dessie's last victory came on 2 February 1991, fittingly at Sandown, the venue for many of his successes.
His last two races were later that year. In November where he showed the kind of professional style that was his hallmark, finishing 3rd in the Peterbrough Chase at Huntingdon.
Dessie looked a tired horse in his final race on Boxing Day however, and after struggling throughout, he fell three fences out.
And so his career ended as it had started... with a fall. What had come in between however, was a spectacular, glittering and thoroughly entertaining career that spanned 8 years.
He had captured both the attention and the imagination of the horse racing public at large, with horse racing fans, horse racing experts, broadcasters and everyone involved directly in the industry, all seemingly hypnotised by this great horse.
Dessie Retires And Shows Courage ... Yet Again
After that final race in 1991, Dessie went into a well deserved retirement, and no one could deny that he'd earned it.
He continued to show his bravery by surviving a potentially life threatening operation for colic in 1992. But in true Dessie style, he battled through it and he would go on to make many public appearances, raising money for charity through a variety of appearances, and through the selling of Dessie merchandise.
In fact, when his trainer David Elsworth relocated from Whitsbury, to Egerton House Stables in Newmarket, Dessie went with him as if he was part of the family. In fact, just after the move, Newmarket racecourse held their annual press day, which happened to fall on Dessie's 27th birthday in April 2006. He was greeted by a huge crowd and in typical fashion he acknowledged and appreciated the attention that he got.
As Dessie got older, naturally his public appearances became less and less, and he spent more and more time relaxing at his new home. In fact his last public appearance was on 1 October 2006 at his fan club open day. The great horse was determined not to let down his fans for one last appearance.
In the coming weeks, it appeared that Dessie was becoming more and more frail, but he never complained and his fighting spirit kept going and going. On 6 November 2006 he appeared to be losing coordination, and all around him feared the worst, but the great horse kept on fighting.
He was last seen by someone in the early hours of 13 November 2006, lying down nibbling on some hay, determined not to make a fuss. Just about one hour later, at around 6am this magnificent horse had passed away, as quietly and as gracefully as he had jumped fences for most of his career.
Always Remembered
Dessie's ashes were buried at Kempton racecourse in a private ceremony. Fittingly, they were buried near to his statue and now anyone that visits the racecourse can see the legend for themselves.
All in all I shall remember him for the fact that as a grey, he stood out amongst the other horses. But one shouldn't under estimate that if he had not had class and ability, then despite his striking colour he would not have stood out at all.
He was truly one of the greats, both on and off the race track. The appearances that he made in public to raise money are a testament to this most fabulous of horses.
Dessie, you're on in a million and will forever be remembered :)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Famous Race Horses - Best Mate
I don't know if you've noticed, but words like 'special', 'great', 'class' and 'legend' tend to be overused in sporting circles these days.
With Best Mate however, they all apply... in abundance.
Before I talk about his career, his achievements and the factors that made him great as a racehorse, I'd like to just give my own personal views first, as this truly was a special horse to me.
Best Mate - 1995 to 2005
And it is with a lump in my throat that I use the word 'was', because unfortunately for his owners, his trainers and stable hands, the jockeys that rode him, the racing public and me, Best Mate is no longer with us.
Best Mate was born on 28 January 1995 to his Sire (father) - Un Desperado and his Dam (mother) - Katday. This in itself makes him special to me as he shares his birthday with my son, who was also born on 28 January.
He was a beautiful, majestic bay gelding who really had a lot of character about him, and whenever I saw him at the racecourse he always seemed to be enjoying himself.
He also brought me a lot of luck at the course, winning for me on more than one occasion. Best Mate seemed to have a certain style, and certain elegance about how he did things too, and he stood out amongst his fellow horses.
Best Mate's Career
His record is one to admire and shows just how classy a horse the Jim Lewis owned gelding was. The first statistic that stands out is his three consecutive victories in the challenging and gruelling Cheltenham Gold Cup.
To win this great once is no mean feat, but to win it three times, and consecutively (2002, 2003 and 2004) is quite remarkable and has only ever been done once before, by the great horse Arkle.
In all of his races, Best Mate was never out of the first two places. This is an amazing statistic and outlines the standard that the he set. Trainer Henrietta Knight is understandably very proud of his career and she should be.
In all, he won 14 out of his 22 starts and came second in seven. His impressive 14 victories are listed below:
• Martell Mersey Novice Hurdle, April 2000
• Independent Novice Chase, November 2000
• Scilly Isles Novice Chase, February 2001
• Peterborough Chase, November 2001
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2002
• Peterborough Chase, November 2002
• King George VI Gold Cup, December 2002
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2003
• Ericsson Chase, December 2003
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2004
• William Hill Chase, November 2004
You will no doubt have noticed, that I mentioned that he'd never finished outside of the top two in any race, yet 14 victories and seven second place finishes equals 21 and not 22 right?
Tragedy For Best Mate
Well, the 22nd race of his career is one that I would rather forget (along with all of the horse racing loving public) as it was the race where unfortunately Best Mate lost his life. The only consolation is that he died doing something that he loved, and it showed the bravery of the horse.
He was known to have had a big heart, being a generous horse and always giving 100 per cent. The tragedy happened at Exeter racecourse on 1 November 2005, during the running of the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup race.
Jockey Paul Carberry knew part of the way around the course that the horse was not quite right, and as a precaution pulled the horse up (withdrew from the race). However, in negotiating a way to get off the race track, Best Mate collapsed and though vets fought as hard as they could to revive him, he died moments later.
A True Star
But in the end he went doing what he enjoyed and what he did best. It is a sad reality that we all have to go sometime, but right to very end he did what he did so very well.
A measure of how much he is respected in the horse racing fraternity is the fact that he has a bronze statue of him at Cheltenham racecourse, where his 3 consecutive victories in the Gold Cup are an achievement that may never happen again in my lifetime. He was also voted in to Cheltenham's elite 12 Hall of Fame - another appropriate accolade that this horse fully deserved for his achievements.
Indeed, his ashes are also scattered at the winning post of the same racecourse, and were done so at the request of owner Jim Lewis. The ceremony was held on December 10 2005, even though Lewis' wife had tragically died not two days before that, after a seven month battle against cancer.
The Legend Lives On
And so the legend of Best Mate lives on, with his ashes and the statue standing as majestically as he did at the winning post at Cheltenham. In fact, Best Mate has a brother who is still running.
He is called Cornish Rebel and is right out of the Best Mate mould, a talented horse with a bright future ahead.
I've never felt so attached to a horse, nor a shocked to hear the news of his passing. But he truly was a great horse and his spirit will live long in the heart, even though we will not see him grace the race track again.
I write a lot about my interest in horses and some would even call me a horse racing expert, but I'm really a big fan of the sport and very passionate about it, so I'm not sure if that classes me as an expert.
Which just leaves me to say thanks Best Mate for sharing yourself with the horse racing world. It wouldn't have been the same without you.
With Best Mate however, they all apply... in abundance.
Before I talk about his career, his achievements and the factors that made him great as a racehorse, I'd like to just give my own personal views first, as this truly was a special horse to me.
Best Mate - 1995 to 2005
And it is with a lump in my throat that I use the word 'was', because unfortunately for his owners, his trainers and stable hands, the jockeys that rode him, the racing public and me, Best Mate is no longer with us.
Best Mate was born on 28 January 1995 to his Sire (father) - Un Desperado and his Dam (mother) - Katday. This in itself makes him special to me as he shares his birthday with my son, who was also born on 28 January.
He was a beautiful, majestic bay gelding who really had a lot of character about him, and whenever I saw him at the racecourse he always seemed to be enjoying himself.
He also brought me a lot of luck at the course, winning for me on more than one occasion. Best Mate seemed to have a certain style, and certain elegance about how he did things too, and he stood out amongst his fellow horses.
Best Mate's Career
His record is one to admire and shows just how classy a horse the Jim Lewis owned gelding was. The first statistic that stands out is his three consecutive victories in the challenging and gruelling Cheltenham Gold Cup.
To win this great once is no mean feat, but to win it three times, and consecutively (2002, 2003 and 2004) is quite remarkable and has only ever been done once before, by the great horse Arkle.
In all of his races, Best Mate was never out of the first two places. This is an amazing statistic and outlines the standard that the he set. Trainer Henrietta Knight is understandably very proud of his career and she should be.
In all, he won 14 out of his 22 starts and came second in seven. His impressive 14 victories are listed below:
• Martell Mersey Novice Hurdle, April 2000
• Independent Novice Chase, November 2000
• Scilly Isles Novice Chase, February 2001
• Peterborough Chase, November 2001
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2002
• Peterborough Chase, November 2002
• King George VI Gold Cup, December 2002
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2003
• Ericsson Chase, December 2003
• Cheltenham Gold Cup, March 2004
• William Hill Chase, November 2004
You will no doubt have noticed, that I mentioned that he'd never finished outside of the top two in any race, yet 14 victories and seven second place finishes equals 21 and not 22 right?
Tragedy For Best Mate
Well, the 22nd race of his career is one that I would rather forget (along with all of the horse racing loving public) as it was the race where unfortunately Best Mate lost his life. The only consolation is that he died doing something that he loved, and it showed the bravery of the horse.
He was known to have had a big heart, being a generous horse and always giving 100 per cent. The tragedy happened at Exeter racecourse on 1 November 2005, during the running of the William Hill Haldon Gold Cup race.
Jockey Paul Carberry knew part of the way around the course that the horse was not quite right, and as a precaution pulled the horse up (withdrew from the race). However, in negotiating a way to get off the race track, Best Mate collapsed and though vets fought as hard as they could to revive him, he died moments later.
A True Star
But in the end he went doing what he enjoyed and what he did best. It is a sad reality that we all have to go sometime, but right to very end he did what he did so very well.
A measure of how much he is respected in the horse racing fraternity is the fact that he has a bronze statue of him at Cheltenham racecourse, where his 3 consecutive victories in the Gold Cup are an achievement that may never happen again in my lifetime. He was also voted in to Cheltenham's elite 12 Hall of Fame - another appropriate accolade that this horse fully deserved for his achievements.
Indeed, his ashes are also scattered at the winning post of the same racecourse, and were done so at the request of owner Jim Lewis. The ceremony was held on December 10 2005, even though Lewis' wife had tragically died not two days before that, after a seven month battle against cancer.
The Legend Lives On
And so the legend of Best Mate lives on, with his ashes and the statue standing as majestically as he did at the winning post at Cheltenham. In fact, Best Mate has a brother who is still running.
He is called Cornish Rebel and is right out of the Best Mate mould, a talented horse with a bright future ahead.
I've never felt so attached to a horse, nor a shocked to hear the news of his passing. But he truly was a great horse and his spirit will live long in the heart, even though we will not see him grace the race track again.
I write a lot about my interest in horses and some would even call me a horse racing expert, but I'm really a big fan of the sport and very passionate about it, so I'm not sure if that classes me as an expert.
Which just leaves me to say thanks Best Mate for sharing yourself with the horse racing world. It wouldn't have been the same without you.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Horse Racing Software - Things To Watch For
I have written several articles about horse racing software products, discussing their reliability, accuracy and how they work.
For those of you who really are adamant that using horse racing software to select winners is the way to go, I am going to discuss the things to loom for - and avoid when choosing which horse racing software product is right for you.
Look For Believable Claims
As a horse racing enthusiast and racing tipster myself, I am constantly looking at anything new that springs on to the market, be it a piece of software, a new horse racing system or a new tipster service.
What is evident by doing a little research, is that some horse racing software systems appear to have slightly exaggerated claims for the accuracy of their system. I suppose this is done in an attempt to persuade you to believe that by buying that particular product will get you rich overnight.
If you see claims of eighty and ninety per cent strike rates then I suggest that should proceed with caution. In my experience, a success rate of this level is really not realistic and so what you could do is dig a little deeper. For example, you could contact the product owner and ask for a list of previous results or maybe even a free trial of the product.
Have Others Used The Same Horse Racing Software Product?
You could also search on the internet for people who have used the very same piece of software and see what they thought of it. Horse racing forums are also very helpful places to ask - these guys are generally very savvy and would have tried most things out, so they should be able to give you an unbiased review of the system.
The horse racing software website may also have testimonials from customers who have used the product. Now whilst it is possible to forge customer testimonials, it may still be worth looking at them to see exactly what they're saying. If all the testimonials are giving rave reviews about becoming millionaires overnight, then perhaps these aren't quite the real deal.
How Easy Is It To Use?
You need to find out about the usability of the product. So for example, do you need to be a computer engineer to use it? I have reviewed many software products in the past and they generally work on an array of past statistics. On this basis, you can expect that a horse racing software product will contain all manner of statistics, such as a horse's age, it's previous form and it's record at each race course.
From all of these statistics, the software then selects the horses that it feels has the greatest probability of winning. All of this should be designed to make your life easier, however I have tried one or two products that did involve a lot of work, so you need to know which one you're using.
Now whilst I am not really an advocate of using horse racing software to select winning horses, if one is easy to use and comprehend then you are more likely to continue to use it and feel comfortable doing so. They should be designed to make picking winners easier for you the punter, and take the studying, the reading of form out of the equation.
This is also what most racing tipster services, such as mine do for their customers, but some people are just happier using software due to the technological age that we exist in today.
For those of you who really are adamant that using horse racing software to select winners is the way to go, I am going to discuss the things to loom for - and avoid when choosing which horse racing software product is right for you.
Look For Believable Claims
As a horse racing enthusiast and racing tipster myself, I am constantly looking at anything new that springs on to the market, be it a piece of software, a new horse racing system or a new tipster service.
What is evident by doing a little research, is that some horse racing software systems appear to have slightly exaggerated claims for the accuracy of their system. I suppose this is done in an attempt to persuade you to believe that by buying that particular product will get you rich overnight.
If you see claims of eighty and ninety per cent strike rates then I suggest that should proceed with caution. In my experience, a success rate of this level is really not realistic and so what you could do is dig a little deeper. For example, you could contact the product owner and ask for a list of previous results or maybe even a free trial of the product.
Have Others Used The Same Horse Racing Software Product?
You could also search on the internet for people who have used the very same piece of software and see what they thought of it. Horse racing forums are also very helpful places to ask - these guys are generally very savvy and would have tried most things out, so they should be able to give you an unbiased review of the system.
The horse racing software website may also have testimonials from customers who have used the product. Now whilst it is possible to forge customer testimonials, it may still be worth looking at them to see exactly what they're saying. If all the testimonials are giving rave reviews about becoming millionaires overnight, then perhaps these aren't quite the real deal.
How Easy Is It To Use?
You need to find out about the usability of the product. So for example, do you need to be a computer engineer to use it? I have reviewed many software products in the past and they generally work on an array of past statistics. On this basis, you can expect that a horse racing software product will contain all manner of statistics, such as a horse's age, it's previous form and it's record at each race course.
From all of these statistics, the software then selects the horses that it feels has the greatest probability of winning. All of this should be designed to make your life easier, however I have tried one or two products that did involve a lot of work, so you need to know which one you're using.
Now whilst I am not really an advocate of using horse racing software to select winning horses, if one is easy to use and comprehend then you are more likely to continue to use it and feel comfortable doing so. They should be designed to make picking winners easier for you the punter, and take the studying, the reading of form out of the equation.
This is also what most racing tipster services, such as mine do for their customers, but some people are just happier using software due to the technological age that we exist in today.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Horse Racing Tipster Services - Should You Pay Or Not?
As you may have seen, there are literally hundreds of horse racing tipster services on the internet today. The majority of these tipster services are subscription based, meaning you pay a monthly fee, but are they worth it?
In this article, I aim to help you sort out the good ones from the bad ones, by giving you some pieces of advice that should help you form an opinion of the tipster, either good or bad.
Why Pay For Horse Racing Tips?
Interesting question this one, and one that I get asked a lot, particularly by people who are interested in my horse racing club. Well, the bottom line is, yes I believe that it is worth paying for quality horse racing tips - as long as they are just that, quality racing tips.
The problem is that nowadays anyone can throw up a website, write a compelling, convincing story and have punters subscribing to their 'reliable' horse racing tipster service tomorrow. So how do you determine who is genuine and who is not?
Can You Trial The Racing Tipster For Free?
One thing that you can do is see whether or not the tipster offers or is willing to offer you a free trial of their service. This would give you the opportunity to see how you fare while using their service during the free period.
If the racing tips they were giving you were not very good, simply cancel and look at another service. There is always a chance that the tipster is in fact reliable and that they just happened to have an off week, but this is the chance that you’re taking.
You can repeat this process until you find a horse racing tipster who is both reliable and suits your style of betting. You can also do more homework if you like, such as emailing them some questions.
Do They Have A Track Record?
You could perhaps ask them some questions to determine how long they've been a racing tipster, how they first became interested in horse racing, what their favourite racecourse is, and so on.
These types of questions help you establish some credibility. So for example, if you asked me these questions, I would say that I've officially been a racing tipster since 2003, and that horse racing has been a passion for a very long time - more than 35 years now. I am also lucky enough to live near two of my favourite racecourses; Chepstow and Cheltenham.
Any reputable tipster should also be able to tell you exactly how they've performed each month since they've been advising selections, so this is definitely a question worth asking. If they claim that they never have losing horses, they're probably not being truthful, as the sad fact is that we all do - it's simply part of this great sport unfortunately.
In Conclusion
I hope this gives you some help in what to look for and what to do in terms of finding a suitable, reliable horse racing tipster service.
Ultimately many people look upon paying for a service as an investment, rather than an expense. I'm sure some people would say that I am bound to say that a I run my own tipster service, but the fact of the matter is that I was once where you are now, so I know the pitfalls.
There are some very good, genuine tipsters out there and although there are some unreliable, not so genuine ones too, the tips in this article should help you sort out who can trust and who you cannot.
In this article, I aim to help you sort out the good ones from the bad ones, by giving you some pieces of advice that should help you form an opinion of the tipster, either good or bad.
Why Pay For Horse Racing Tips?
Interesting question this one, and one that I get asked a lot, particularly by people who are interested in my horse racing club. Well, the bottom line is, yes I believe that it is worth paying for quality horse racing tips - as long as they are just that, quality racing tips.
The problem is that nowadays anyone can throw up a website, write a compelling, convincing story and have punters subscribing to their 'reliable' horse racing tipster service tomorrow. So how do you determine who is genuine and who is not?
Can You Trial The Racing Tipster For Free?
One thing that you can do is see whether or not the tipster offers or is willing to offer you a free trial of their service. This would give you the opportunity to see how you fare while using their service during the free period.
If the racing tips they were giving you were not very good, simply cancel and look at another service. There is always a chance that the tipster is in fact reliable and that they just happened to have an off week, but this is the chance that you’re taking.
You can repeat this process until you find a horse racing tipster who is both reliable and suits your style of betting. You can also do more homework if you like, such as emailing them some questions.
Do They Have A Track Record?
You could perhaps ask them some questions to determine how long they've been a racing tipster, how they first became interested in horse racing, what their favourite racecourse is, and so on.
These types of questions help you establish some credibility. So for example, if you asked me these questions, I would say that I've officially been a racing tipster since 2003, and that horse racing has been a passion for a very long time - more than 35 years now. I am also lucky enough to live near two of my favourite racecourses; Chepstow and Cheltenham.
Any reputable tipster should also be able to tell you exactly how they've performed each month since they've been advising selections, so this is definitely a question worth asking. If they claim that they never have losing horses, they're probably not being truthful, as the sad fact is that we all do - it's simply part of this great sport unfortunately.
In Conclusion
I hope this gives you some help in what to look for and what to do in terms of finding a suitable, reliable horse racing tipster service.
Ultimately many people look upon paying for a service as an investment, rather than an expense. I'm sure some people would say that I am bound to say that a I run my own tipster service, but the fact of the matter is that I was once where you are now, so I know the pitfalls.
There are some very good, genuine tipsters out there and although there are some unreliable, not so genuine ones too, the tips in this article should help you sort out who can trust and who you cannot.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Does Horse Racing Software Really Make Betting That Easy?
As someone who is interested in betting on horse racing, no doubt you've looked at different methods in which to get quality racing tips. Horse racing software products are designed to enable you to pick winners quickly and easily, but is it really that simple?
I have been backing horses for the past 35 years, so without wanting to come across as big-headed I do my fair share about betting on horses.
As I run my own horse racing club (or horse racing tipster service) I am always intrigued when I see technology being used to predict the outcomes of sporting events and so I'd like to write about my experiences with horse racing software, both from a punters perspective, and an experts view point.
What Exactly Does A Horse Racing Software Program Do?
We'd all like to consistently back winning horses, of that there is no doubt. What horse racing software products can do for a punter, is provide you with predictions or percentage outcomes based upon a vast database of statistics, factors and laws of probability.
Some of these products are really complex in their make up, containing a library of horse racing statistics, information and detail dating back five years or more.
They really are very sophisticated in the main, some are better than others but then that's the same when comparing any product or service. The one thing that they are designed to do however, is give you the outcome of any given race. At least that’s the theory.
I Know As I Have Tried Several Of These Products
From my own personal experience of using horse racing software, picking a horse that the program has selected as a sure fire winner is not always as easy as you'd think.
Of course, anyone can look at the favourite of any particular race and say that it has a good chance of winning - that'll be why it’s the favourite.
But if you've read some of my other articles, you'll know that back favourites really is a mug's game.
You need to look for value horses, and whilst these horse racing software programs analyse the statistics, trends and previous form methodically, I am not sure that it factors in to the equation the aspect of value.
Intangible Factors Are Critical Too
I've also had experience of other key aspects of a horse race not being used within the algorithms of a horse racing software product - factors such as taking into consideration (or changes to) jockeys. This is an absolutely key piece of information that must be used when assessing a horse’s chance of winning a race.
Whilst I found that many of these products took into account the racecourse and whether it is a left-handed track (meaning that the horses run around it anti-clockwise) or a right-handed track (horses run clockwise), they did not appear to consider the going (racing conditions under foot) which is once again, one of the critical issues to use when selection suitable horses that have a chance of winning.
I suppose that there are only a certain number of factors that can be used when considering statistics, trends and laws of probability, and so this is why I prefer to utilise (up to date) information that I can obtain myself when choosing horses for me and my members.
There is no doubt that these programs do hold a wealth of information that is literally available at your fingertips, but I would be a little concerned at some of the gaps in the information that a horse racing software program cannot provide, but then that's just my opinion.
I have been backing horses for the past 35 years, so without wanting to come across as big-headed I do my fair share about betting on horses.
As I run my own horse racing club (or horse racing tipster service) I am always intrigued when I see technology being used to predict the outcomes of sporting events and so I'd like to write about my experiences with horse racing software, both from a punters perspective, and an experts view point.
What Exactly Does A Horse Racing Software Program Do?
We'd all like to consistently back winning horses, of that there is no doubt. What horse racing software products can do for a punter, is provide you with predictions or percentage outcomes based upon a vast database of statistics, factors and laws of probability.
Some of these products are really complex in their make up, containing a library of horse racing statistics, information and detail dating back five years or more.
They really are very sophisticated in the main, some are better than others but then that's the same when comparing any product or service. The one thing that they are designed to do however, is give you the outcome of any given race. At least that’s the theory.
I Know As I Have Tried Several Of These Products
From my own personal experience of using horse racing software, picking a horse that the program has selected as a sure fire winner is not always as easy as you'd think.
Of course, anyone can look at the favourite of any particular race and say that it has a good chance of winning - that'll be why it’s the favourite.
But if you've read some of my other articles, you'll know that back favourites really is a mug's game.
You need to look for value horses, and whilst these horse racing software programs analyse the statistics, trends and previous form methodically, I am not sure that it factors in to the equation the aspect of value.
Intangible Factors Are Critical Too
I've also had experience of other key aspects of a horse race not being used within the algorithms of a horse racing software product - factors such as taking into consideration (or changes to) jockeys. This is an absolutely key piece of information that must be used when assessing a horse’s chance of winning a race.
Whilst I found that many of these products took into account the racecourse and whether it is a left-handed track (meaning that the horses run around it anti-clockwise) or a right-handed track (horses run clockwise), they did not appear to consider the going (racing conditions under foot) which is once again, one of the critical issues to use when selection suitable horses that have a chance of winning.
I suppose that there are only a certain number of factors that can be used when considering statistics, trends and laws of probability, and so this is why I prefer to utilise (up to date) information that I can obtain myself when choosing horses for me and my members.
There is no doubt that these programs do hold a wealth of information that is literally available at your fingertips, but I would be a little concerned at some of the gaps in the information that a horse racing software program cannot provide, but then that's just my opinion.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Racing Tipsters That Can Make You Money Have These Skills
If you look online or in the newspaper, you will see adverts for racing tipsters all claiming that they make you some money, fast.
You may even receive postcards and fliers through the mail demonstrating the very same claims. Yes, the niche of horse racing tipsters is becoming extremely popular, however I would like to offer some words of advice; proceed with extreme caution.
Although finding information and tips for betting on horses is not an issue, the key and more pressing issue is who you should listen to. Just how do you spot the tipster who is giving genuine, quality advice from the one who is simply looking to take your money and run?
What To Look For In A Skilled, Honest Racing Tipster
Most of my insight within this article is going to lean towards the internet, rather than paper-based publications, as this appears to be the medium of choice these days for the majority of horse racing tipster services, mine included. It’s a cheaper, more efficient way to service clients and therefore these savings can be transferred onto the members who subscribe to the service; well that's my mantra anyway.
But of course we live in the real world and all is not what it seems at times. Unfortunately there are scams and not so honest folk out there, and you really do need to be wary of them. But how do you tell them apart from the honest tipsters out there who have many happy customers? Well, a little research is required, but its easier than you'd think.
The first piece of advice that I can give you is to communicate with this person. This instantly gives you an opportunity to form an opinion of them before you pay any money. You could simply email them with one or two basic yet important questions, and guage their response.
You can monitor their efficiency in getting back to you, their manner, their style of communication. Do they welcome an enquiry or are your questions an inconvenience to them?
Assess Their Credentials Further
You can also do an online search under their name, or the name of their tipster service, and see what comes up. You can bet that if they've upset someone previously that there will possibly be details of this online, such is the ease for publishing almost anything on the internet these days.
Equally though, this means that you have to apply a degree of scepticism, as its also easy to fake complaints and accusations, just as it is to create fake recommendations and testimonials. This is why contacting the racing tipster himself is all important.
You could also ask how he arrives at his selections. Sure, you would not expect the racing tipster to reveal his master plan, or his sources in their entirety, but he ought to be willing to at least give you an idea.
What About Previous Form?
You could also ask to see previous results, to prove or back up any claims. Any tipster worth his salt ought to be able to provide these for you, and those that do not may well have something to hide.
Even if they cannot give you a detailed list of all the winners (and losers) that he's had previously, the tipster should be able to give you an indication of how much profit he has earned during the past twelve months or so.
These pointers should really help form an initial opinion of who you could trust and who you should avoid. At the end of the day, even the most reliable and successful racing tipsters can get it wrong, so it is always worth staying with one for at least a month to establish the quality of the tips that you are receiving.
If they are not particularly reliable, then its back to the drawing board and more research, but it is worth your time I can assure you.
You may even receive postcards and fliers through the mail demonstrating the very same claims. Yes, the niche of horse racing tipsters is becoming extremely popular, however I would like to offer some words of advice; proceed with extreme caution.
Although finding information and tips for betting on horses is not an issue, the key and more pressing issue is who you should listen to. Just how do you spot the tipster who is giving genuine, quality advice from the one who is simply looking to take your money and run?
What To Look For In A Skilled, Honest Racing Tipster
Most of my insight within this article is going to lean towards the internet, rather than paper-based publications, as this appears to be the medium of choice these days for the majority of horse racing tipster services, mine included. It’s a cheaper, more efficient way to service clients and therefore these savings can be transferred onto the members who subscribe to the service; well that's my mantra anyway.
But of course we live in the real world and all is not what it seems at times. Unfortunately there are scams and not so honest folk out there, and you really do need to be wary of them. But how do you tell them apart from the honest tipsters out there who have many happy customers? Well, a little research is required, but its easier than you'd think.
The first piece of advice that I can give you is to communicate with this person. This instantly gives you an opportunity to form an opinion of them before you pay any money. You could simply email them with one or two basic yet important questions, and guage their response.
You can monitor their efficiency in getting back to you, their manner, their style of communication. Do they welcome an enquiry or are your questions an inconvenience to them?
Assess Their Credentials Further
You can also do an online search under their name, or the name of their tipster service, and see what comes up. You can bet that if they've upset someone previously that there will possibly be details of this online, such is the ease for publishing almost anything on the internet these days.
Equally though, this means that you have to apply a degree of scepticism, as its also easy to fake complaints and accusations, just as it is to create fake recommendations and testimonials. This is why contacting the racing tipster himself is all important.
You could also ask how he arrives at his selections. Sure, you would not expect the racing tipster to reveal his master plan, or his sources in their entirety, but he ought to be willing to at least give you an idea.
What About Previous Form?
You could also ask to see previous results, to prove or back up any claims. Any tipster worth his salt ought to be able to provide these for you, and those that do not may well have something to hide.
Even if they cannot give you a detailed list of all the winners (and losers) that he's had previously, the tipster should be able to give you an indication of how much profit he has earned during the past twelve months or so.
These pointers should really help form an initial opinion of who you could trust and who you should avoid. At the end of the day, even the most reliable and successful racing tipsters can get it wrong, so it is always worth staying with one for at least a month to establish the quality of the tips that you are receiving.
If they are not particularly reliable, then its back to the drawing board and more research, but it is worth your time I can assure you.
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