Summary:
Horses are erratic. The jockey may be having an off day. Corruption is a possibility. Huge sums are staked on sporting events, so the temptation is to influence the outcome illegally.
That said, each-way trebles at long odds are a fun way to potentially win a large sum in the long term.
Form guides, and good sense, help narrow the odds.
Article:
First, the bad news:
Horses are bought by the upper classes and wagered on by the lower classes. The aristos make money on stud fees and the plebs … mostly lose.
Week to week, a horse can be on good form or bad. A horse that ran like Nijinsky last year can run like Eeyore this year. The trainer may have marital problems or the nag picked up a disease from nibbling on something it shouldn’t. Horses are extraordinarily vulnernable creatures; their physiology makes them so.
Lester Piggot Junior may have had too many drinks the night before the race and rides like a sack of spuds on the big day.
The weather turns bad near the big day and the ground gets soft.
My point is, the outcome of a horse race is in no way as calculable as whether the guy opposite you at the poker table can beat your three aces, or not. There are too many erratic variables.
Now, the good news:
Unlike the National Lottery or scratchcards, it’s possible to set up a cheap bet that can reasonably result in a big payout. You just have to stop caring about the outcome week-to-week.
An each way treble bet on horses with long odds can result in a large payout at little cost to you. The erratic nature of a horse race can actually benefit you.
Superhorse at 2/1F gets squeezed out of the running while Justaverage at 20/1 has the run of his life, stepping over fallers at the third hurdle and piloted by Joe Amateur who’s got his blessed scapulars on.
– A £2.50 each-way bet …
– On 3 races, with winnings accumulating to the next race bet (a treble) …
– On horses with long odds but whose previous recent form suggests are not donkeys …
– Which horses are not drifting in the odds e.g. from 20/1 – 25/1 …
– At a big race meeting, and race, which big trainers want to win, thus ensuring good horses grace the field …
– On Saturday, or at famous meetings …
– In a field which has 8-10 runners ….
… means a large sum can be won from a initial small bet.
— As your horse is at long odds, if it gets into the top 3, your each-way return gets put on the next race as a decent-size each-way bet.
— If your picks in the 3 races get into the top 3 in each race, you get a reasonable amount back at the end.
— If you get 3 wins in a row, you win the price of the holiday of a lifetime, or, a small house!
The odds of winning go up to 300 – 1 and over, so, for your own peace of mind, you lay your bet, go about your business and log into your account sometime during the week to see if you’ve won.
The key thing is to divorce yourself from the demons of greed and anger, which are the gambler’s nemesis.
Or, you can have more fun by watching the race with a drink in your hand and yelling at the screen!
The worst that can happen is that you lose £20 a month, which you won’t miss.