And Now For Something Completely Different.

So it’s Saturday. I’m tired after a tough working week - it's too hot out there! I’m home in early afternoon after a morning in Birmingham with Mrs B. This offers a good opportunity to have a decent session on Betfair. But there’s sod all to bet on. At Wimbledon, Serena has the first set in the bag, possibly a lay position? However, Venus looks subdued, so I keep away. I have a small flutter on the Lions in Johannesburg. And then, it comes to me….

My previous attempts at horse racing have been, frankly, flippant. I’ve had a mindset that it’s a game for those with an edge, whether it be solid knowledge and experience, or information ‘from the horse’s mouth’. Today I decided to give it a serious shot. Laying suits my style, as I expect to win more than I lose, and understand that each loss will be a kick in the solar plexus. So I spent a little time opening helpful websites ( racingpost.com, bettingzone.co.uk etc ) and read a few relevant blogs. And away I went…

Simply, I looked for a horse to lose. No complicated rules, just staked to win between £2 and £6, depending how confident I was feeling in my choice. The result, 24 wins, 2 losses, 1 traded out for a small loss after I spotted new information about my selection. I also backed two horses. The first was Sea The Stars – everything I’ve read suggests he’s a superstar. More on my second back in a moment.

My two losses came in consecutive races. Up to this point I was feeling invincible. With hindsight, I’m glad that I had a setback, or I’m sure I’d have thought I had an Elliott Short-style money generating scheme. I was disappointed, but just held my instinct to throw in a big recovery lay, and I made a good (if lucky) decision – try to recover my loss with a back, therefore limiting my losses in the likely event it was unsuccessful. It won! (‘Fingers’ in the 8.00 at Bellewstown).

So an £85.00 result. Even without my fortunate moment, a £55 day is certainly more than I expected. So what now? Was it just beginner’s luck? Maybe I should just trial a few more sessions during July, whilst it’s quiet on the soccer front.

It’s certainly a rollercoaster ride –plenty of my selections came close to winning. I monitored the races on the Betfair screen, and have one solid piece of advice – don’t bet in running unless you’ve got extremely fast pictures. The speed that odds swing is phenomenal.

Sunday’s racing – more lays? I haven’t a clue, I’ll see how I feel in the morning. Unless Mrs B has other plans for the day…