The problem with value

The problem with the theory of value is that so often the horses where you find value starting prices are not the horses that realistically stand any chance of actually winning the race. If you look on Betfair you will frequently see exceptional value around many of the horses outside of the top 3.

This is great if you believe that one of these outsiders can actually win the race based on some aspect of historical form.

The art of course is to find a likely winner which is also at a value price.

How to get the best price

The excellent RacingPost collects all the major bookmakers betting shop prices in a handy online resource – Bettingsite.co.uk. It shows the odds changing in real time and provides links should you wish to visit and place your bets at any of the online betting shops.

You will of course need multiple accounts with the different betting shops. The RacingPost will also show you the betting exchange prices which are usually more generous than the starting prices of the betting shops as they eliminate the bookmakers cut, and also allow you to ask for other punters to lay the price that you offer up as your value back to win bet.

Many great starting price deals can still be struck on course where there were concerns about the future viability of the betting rings on-course due to the boom in internet betting and Betfair.

But due to the popularity of UK horse racing, traditional bookmakers are still going strong and on course betting goes from strength to strength with great prices struck that the punters sitting at home on the Internet will never even see.

On-course the best prices can be struck 3 to 4 minutes before the off when the early action has settled down and horses that were going to drift will have done so.

Back to win or back each way

These are probably the 2 most common types of bets that you will see. Each-way betting is regarded as a fail safe against the win portion. There is much debate around the mathematical and statistical benefits and disadvantages of bet to win versus bet each way. Many books on betting favour single horse back to win strategies over any other type of bets.

Most anti each-way strategists cite the valid concept that if you are not convinced a horse is going to win – is it sensible to bet on it in the first place? And if you do think it is going to win – why dilute the chance of profits from the win portion of the bet.

To the contrary pro each-way strategists cite many examples of horses who run a lot of races but simply cannot win a horse race while regularly placing. Again a highly valid theory as horses are not by nature front runners in a pack – they are herding animals.

This means that some race horses while very fast gain a strong sense of security from running in the pack with other animals around them. They may be near the front, but not actually at the front.

Also examine races with long odds on favourites where the price is ridiculously short – if you then check the place prices for the next 2 horses in the betting, starting prices and each way prices can be really very generous.

Of course we can apply the theories of value to each way betting exactly the same as we can to back to win betting. Other each way strategists place each way bets in multiples. For example finding three 6/1 shots that may place frame on the same card.

Again it is all about spotting the right opportunities on a race card.

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