TIPSTAR attempts to give some structure to the art of punting. Since TIPSTAR only tips on merit and isn't forced into giving a certain amount of selections per race you can be confident that what we select has a well supported reason for it being on the page. The reason behind most betting propositions are a number of rules or factors that contribute to a horse being a better betting proposition than its race rivals. Punting (and certainly making money from it) is a dynamic, fluid and ever changing challenge, following some simple rules just may give you the chance to turn a profit in the future.
#1. It runs in 3. It may sound funny to say but you've generally got to pick a horse that runs in 3 to get something back! You might laugh at this but I've talked about "cutting the fantasy" out of your selections in another blog and it will always be true. Punters get carried away by their imaginations, they punt poor horses from bad draws, paying big money because they like the big returns. Making a profit at harness racing means being more disciplined than the next guy and having a good enough reason to back a horse.
#2 Never search for a bet. TIPSTAR assists you through our picks into what horses we believe have chances in the race. You may use this to affirm your own selections or simply use our word as gospel whatever way you do it if you look at the page and have to search for a horse you like a minute out from the race then dismiss it, watch the race and wait for better opportunities.
#3 Ignore the talk. and trust yourself If you get on course and everybody has a different horse they want to tip you stick to your guns. A lot of connections will be told their horse is destined to win today but that doesn't help you alot. If you've done your study then why question it?
#4 The short trip stand. 2000m stand are always won and lost at the start. Front line sling from the gate types are the ones you want to be on. Look for course and distance stats and previous race videos to get a feel for a horses stand start manners.
#5 Set a budget. If your going on course for a day at the races, map out your total spend before you get to the track or place your bets before hand. This will help prevent any excessive or impulse betting that works against you. If you have to use a small percentage of your bank for "condition horses" that catch your attention.
#6 Use condition to affirm only. If you've come to the track to punt a specific horse and like the way it looks then use this to affirm your confidence. REMEMBER condition generally only reflects a horses chances of RUNNING UP TO HIS OR HER POTENTIAL, a 30 start maiden is a 30 start maiden no matter how good it looks.
#7 Race conditions+ horses ability = likely contender. In all races you have to determine what horse is likely to feature by a large amount of factors. Race length, draw, position of likely rivals, condition, driver, number of starts this prep, class of race,likely race pattern. etc... If you can't rule out a number of horses from contending through these factors in a race then the harder it is to accurately assess. Knowledge is power.
#8 The trainer factor. There are a number of stables around that get younger horses up and running quickly while others wait for horses to mature. Watch the age group racing to determine a good juvenile trainer and respect a horse he gets to the track at an early age.
#9 Multiples punting. First fours and trifectas and very hard to get. Short priced favourite runners don't give value overall if you can't narrow down your selections for a race. Generally if you are struggling to leave horses out, don't have enough info to rule runners out or have too many fresh or debut runners in a race then put the multiples betting to the side and go each-way instead.
#10 Try to stay positive. making money at punting should be fun and challenging. Make sure to keep a account of your betting wins and losses and give yourself a challenge to start making better punt decisions.
