Here's another Q&A from my Betting Surgery column in the "unpublished" final edition of The Winning Report...
Q. Please can you settle an argument with a neighbour? He claims that, in a room of 26 people, the chances are at least two will have the same birthday. I can’t believe this is right. Can you settle our dispute and show how the answer is worked out? There’s a tenner riding on this.
Michael Waters, Blackpool
A. We can settle your bet, but you won’t like the answer! Your neighbour is quite right. The probability of two or more people from 26 sharing the same birthday is 63 per cent, or almost 2/1 in favour.
The way to work this out is to establish the probability of no birthdays matching. The chance of the second person’s birthday differing from the first is 364/365, the chance of the third person having a different birthday again is 363/365 and so on, until the chance of the 26th person not having a matching birthday is 340/365.
All of these conditions must be met for no-one to have matching birthdays – so for the bet to fail you must multiply these fractions together. That gives a figure of 0.37. Subtracting this from one gives a probability of 0.63, or 63 per cent, that two or more people WILL have matching birthdays.
As a matter of interest, with 23 people in the room the chances of a match are just over even; with 34, the chances are 80 per cent. Why not try offering this as a bet at the next party you go to? You might just win your tenner back!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
Last day to enter 7 Stars Competition!
Just a quick reminder that today is the last day you can enter Godolphin's free 7 Stars competition. Go to www.godolphin.com for full details and to sign up. If you don't have the time or inclination to pick seven horses today, they will do a 'Lucky Dip' for you!
Good luck!
Good luck!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
ISA and VCT Deadline Looms!
If you've got any money to save for a rainy day, just a reminder that you have less than a fortnight (5 April) to take advantage of your tax-free ISA and VCT allowances.
Most people nowadays know about ISAs. They allow you to save up to £7,000 a year in cash, shares and/or insurance, in a tax-free wrapper.
The ISA rules allow you to save up to £3,000 a year in a cash mini-ISA. You can also have a shares mini-ISA with investments of up to £3,000 and an insurance mini-ISA with up to £1,000 (though only a few providers offer these).
The alternative is to buy a maxi-ISA. You can have up to £7,000 invested in one of these. This can either be all stocks and shares, or you can mix-and-match with up to £3,000 in cash and up to £1,000 in insurance. Only a few maxi-ISA providers offer all three components, however, so if that is what you want, you may be better off buying three separate mini-ISAs.
VCTs are a lesser-known tax break. They were introduced by the Government in 1995 to encourage investment in new and smaller companies. This can obviously be riskier than investing in well-established businesses, but to make up for this the tax benefits are considerable.
For one thing, all dividends on VCTs are paid tax-free and don't have to be declared on your tax form. In addition, all taxpayers, even those who only pay the lowest rate, get 40% up-front income tax relief. That means if you invest £10,000 in a VCT, your tax bill for the current tax year will immediately be reduced by £4,000 (or you will get a rebate for this amount). Another way of looking at this is that even if your investment only ever returns 60% of its initial cost, you will still have broken even.
One drawback with VCTs is that you have to keep your money invested for at least three years, or you will have to repay the tax rebate. There is also a limited market if you want to sell your shares, though most VCTs will buy them back for a small discount on the market value.
The maximum you are allowed to invest in a VCT this year is an eye-watering £200,000. The minimum investment is set by the VCTs themselves - the lowest I have seen is £2,000, but £3,000 to £5,000 is more common. Some VCTs invest in specialist fields such as wind farms and music concerts, while others are more generalist in their approach. Gordon Brown announced yesterday that the tax breaks for VCTs will continue next year but in a reduced form - so if you want to take advantage of the generous tax incentives in the current year, you do need to move quickly.
If you'd like more info about ISAs and VCTs, there are many websites that can help you. Personally I like Best Invest. They act as independent financial advisers, and if you register through them you will get a discount on the fees charged for any investments you make. Their website has in-depth info and recommendations for current VCTs. And no, I don't get any kickbacks for recommending them! I just use them myself and think they provide a very good service.
Finally, all of the above is for information only. ISAs and VCTs may not be suitable for everyone. If you are in any doubt as to how best to proceed, I strongly recommend consulting an independent financial adviser.
Most people nowadays know about ISAs. They allow you to save up to £7,000 a year in cash, shares and/or insurance, in a tax-free wrapper.
The ISA rules allow you to save up to £3,000 a year in a cash mini-ISA. You can also have a shares mini-ISA with investments of up to £3,000 and an insurance mini-ISA with up to £1,000 (though only a few providers offer these).
The alternative is to buy a maxi-ISA. You can have up to £7,000 invested in one of these. This can either be all stocks and shares, or you can mix-and-match with up to £3,000 in cash and up to £1,000 in insurance. Only a few maxi-ISA providers offer all three components, however, so if that is what you want, you may be better off buying three separate mini-ISAs.
VCTs are a lesser-known tax break. They were introduced by the Government in 1995 to encourage investment in new and smaller companies. This can obviously be riskier than investing in well-established businesses, but to make up for this the tax benefits are considerable.
For one thing, all dividends on VCTs are paid tax-free and don't have to be declared on your tax form. In addition, all taxpayers, even those who only pay the lowest rate, get 40% up-front income tax relief. That means if you invest £10,000 in a VCT, your tax bill for the current tax year will immediately be reduced by £4,000 (or you will get a rebate for this amount). Another way of looking at this is that even if your investment only ever returns 60% of its initial cost, you will still have broken even.
One drawback with VCTs is that you have to keep your money invested for at least three years, or you will have to repay the tax rebate. There is also a limited market if you want to sell your shares, though most VCTs will buy them back for a small discount on the market value.
The maximum you are allowed to invest in a VCT this year is an eye-watering £200,000. The minimum investment is set by the VCTs themselves - the lowest I have seen is £2,000, but £3,000 to £5,000 is more common. Some VCTs invest in specialist fields such as wind farms and music concerts, while others are more generalist in their approach. Gordon Brown announced yesterday that the tax breaks for VCTs will continue next year but in a reduced form - so if you want to take advantage of the generous tax incentives in the current year, you do need to move quickly.
If you'd like more info about ISAs and VCTs, there are many websites that can help you. Personally I like Best Invest. They act as independent financial advisers, and if you register through them you will get a discount on the fees charged for any investments you make. Their website has in-depth info and recommendations for current VCTs. And no, I don't get any kickbacks for recommending them! I just use them myself and think they provide a very good service.
Finally, all of the above is for information only. ISAs and VCTs may not be suitable for everyone. If you are in any doubt as to how best to proceed, I strongly recommend consulting an independent financial adviser.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Godolphin Seven Stars Competition
Just a quick reminder that you only have until the end of this week - Friday 24 March - to enter this free competition with a top prize of US$100,000. The website you need to visit is www.godolphin.com. Here are some more details about the competition from this site:
See also my earlier post about this contest.
Good luck!
You can use our website to check out the form of the horses in training with Godolphin before selecting one horse from each of these seven barns to fly the flag for you in the competition.
Alternatively, if you are a racing novice, why not let the computer make a selection for you by using the Lucky Dip entry form? Remember entry is free and you could win one of the big prizes.
Whenever one of your seven horses is declared to run during the period of the competition - from March 25th to December 10th – we’ll e-mail you and let you know that it is running. And you can visit the Godolphin website at any time to see how you are doing and how your entry is faring in the race for that US$100,000 first prize.
See also my earlier post about this contest.
Good luck!
Betting Surgery Answer
As promised, here is another item I contributed to the last issue of The Winning Report, which as far as I know has not been published. It's a Q&A from the Betting Surgery column.
Q. Betfair have just produced a list of six horses ante-post for the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle. The odds are 16, 10, 14, 16, 15 and 20 respectively, giving a potential arb of around 45 per cent.
Am I missing something here, as it seems too good to be true if I can back all six horses at these odds for a guaranteed profit? How do supplementary entries affect this market? What would happen if all six horses do not appear at Cheltenham? Can other horses be entered in this market at any time or is it a "closed shop"? I would appreciate your views.
[Sent later] Update regarding the Fred Winter Handicap. The six runners declared have now increased to 19. Obviously no arb, but bets stand on the original six. Is there anything to stop the number of runners rising to say 40 or 50? This means the ante-post market is a waste of time. I would appreciate your comments and thoughts.
Mike Sterry, by e-mail
A. Thank you for your question. We must first of all make clear that we do not recommend horse racing for arb (risk-free) betting.
The main problem with ante-post betting, as you have discovered, is that months before a race there is no certainty that any particular horse will run. Indeed, it is not until the runners and riders are declared the night before the race that this is certain, and anyone betting prior to this risks losing their money if the horse they backed doesn’t actually compete.
You might ask why people bet in these circumstances at all, and the answer is that the odds available can be much better. Indeed, there have been one or two wondrous ‘coups’ in ante-post betting.
For example, back in 1967 the bookmakers William Hill gave race-horse owner Raymond Guest odds of 100/1 against his then-unraced colt winning the Derby the following year. Guest staked £500 each-way at this price. The horse was Sir Ivor, and he duly won the 1968 Derby under Lester Piggott at a starting price of 4/5. Guest collected total winnings of £62,500 on his ante-post bet (£50,000 on the win portion plus a further £12,500 on the place).
Betting ante-post is very much a gamble, however, and not advised for risk-free bettors unless you have top-notch ‘connections’ in the industry and/or advanced powers of clairvoyance.
Even in the (unlikely) event of an arb being available on the day of the race, bear in mind that in racing arb bettors can have their plans wrecked by Rule Four deductions, which occur when a horse is withdrawn without coming under orders. In this case a fixed percentage is deducted from all winning bets, the exact amount depending on the price of the withdrawn horse. For these and other reasons, horse-racing is not prime arb-hunting territory.
As regards Betfair, it is important to bear in mind that they do not produce the 'ante-post' market. They simply offer the facility for punters to do so. So, in the case of the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle, we suspect that at the time Mr Sterry first looked, only six of the horses entered had prices offered about them by other punters.
This point is crucial to understand. All 'back' bets on an exchange are simply 'lays' being offered by other punters. Once a race opens up to entries, there are then declaration stages where if a horse's connections want to stay in they pay extra entry fees. If not, they withdraw the horse. Thus, any horse which doesn't have the extra entry fees paid is removed from the race.
So a race might open for entries and attract, for example, 70 horses. In the lead-up to the race 60 of these horses might be withdrawn because the connections didn't want to run (the withdrawals take place at ‘declaration stages’). The final declaration stage comes the night before the contest (two nights before for the highest grade of races). By then no further entry fees are payable, but those already paid are lost if the horse is withdrawn - as are all ante-post bets, including those on exchanges.
A betting exchange will offer the facility for ante-post betting on races where they think there will be sufficient action to make money from their commission on the winning bets or lays. With a high-profile race with 70 entries that would probably be the case, especially if it were a handicap. But exactly how many horses are available to back (being offered by other punters as 'lays') is in the lap of the gods.
This is what we think happened with the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle. Once Betfair offered the facility for a market to be made, only six horses were initially put up by layers. This figure bore no relation to the number of runners actually entered for the race, but explains why it seemed that the number of runners later increased. It was quite simply layers on the exchange offering more and more horses to back.
Note: Many thanks to Vic Knight for his assistance in answering this question.
Note 2: See also my post Non-Runner No Bet for details of an opportunity to bet ante-post and get your money back if your horse doesn't run.
Q. Betfair have just produced a list of six horses ante-post for the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle. The odds are 16, 10, 14, 16, 15 and 20 respectively, giving a potential arb of around 45 per cent.
Am I missing something here, as it seems too good to be true if I can back all six horses at these odds for a guaranteed profit? How do supplementary entries affect this market? What would happen if all six horses do not appear at Cheltenham? Can other horses be entered in this market at any time or is it a "closed shop"? I would appreciate your views.
[Sent later] Update regarding the Fred Winter Handicap. The six runners declared have now increased to 19. Obviously no arb, but bets stand on the original six. Is there anything to stop the number of runners rising to say 40 or 50? This means the ante-post market is a waste of time. I would appreciate your comments and thoughts.
Mike Sterry, by e-mail
A. Thank you for your question. We must first of all make clear that we do not recommend horse racing for arb (risk-free) betting.
The main problem with ante-post betting, as you have discovered, is that months before a race there is no certainty that any particular horse will run. Indeed, it is not until the runners and riders are declared the night before the race that this is certain, and anyone betting prior to this risks losing their money if the horse they backed doesn’t actually compete.
You might ask why people bet in these circumstances at all, and the answer is that the odds available can be much better. Indeed, there have been one or two wondrous ‘coups’ in ante-post betting.
For example, back in 1967 the bookmakers William Hill gave race-horse owner Raymond Guest odds of 100/1 against his then-unraced colt winning the Derby the following year. Guest staked £500 each-way at this price. The horse was Sir Ivor, and he duly won the 1968 Derby under Lester Piggott at a starting price of 4/5. Guest collected total winnings of £62,500 on his ante-post bet (£50,000 on the win portion plus a further £12,500 on the place).
Betting ante-post is very much a gamble, however, and not advised for risk-free bettors unless you have top-notch ‘connections’ in the industry and/or advanced powers of clairvoyance.
Even in the (unlikely) event of an arb being available on the day of the race, bear in mind that in racing arb bettors can have their plans wrecked by Rule Four deductions, which occur when a horse is withdrawn without coming under orders. In this case a fixed percentage is deducted from all winning bets, the exact amount depending on the price of the withdrawn horse. For these and other reasons, horse-racing is not prime arb-hunting territory.
As regards Betfair, it is important to bear in mind that they do not produce the 'ante-post' market. They simply offer the facility for punters to do so. So, in the case of the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle, we suspect that at the time Mr Sterry first looked, only six of the horses entered had prices offered about them by other punters.
This point is crucial to understand. All 'back' bets on an exchange are simply 'lays' being offered by other punters. Once a race opens up to entries, there are then declaration stages where if a horse's connections want to stay in they pay extra entry fees. If not, they withdraw the horse. Thus, any horse which doesn't have the extra entry fees paid is removed from the race.
So a race might open for entries and attract, for example, 70 horses. In the lead-up to the race 60 of these horses might be withdrawn because the connections didn't want to run (the withdrawals take place at ‘declaration stages’). The final declaration stage comes the night before the contest (two nights before for the highest grade of races). By then no further entry fees are payable, but those already paid are lost if the horse is withdrawn - as are all ante-post bets, including those on exchanges.
A betting exchange will offer the facility for ante-post betting on races where they think there will be sufficient action to make money from their commission on the winning bets or lays. With a high-profile race with 70 entries that would probably be the case, especially if it were a handicap. But exactly how many horses are available to back (being offered by other punters as 'lays') is in the lap of the gods.
This is what we think happened with the Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle. Once Betfair offered the facility for a market to be made, only six horses were initially put up by layers. This figure bore no relation to the number of runners actually entered for the race, but explains why it seemed that the number of runners later increased. It was quite simply layers on the exchange offering more and more horses to back.
Note: Many thanks to Vic Knight for his assistance in answering this question.
Note 2: See also my post Non-Runner No Bet for details of an opportunity to bet ante-post and get your money back if your horse doesn't run.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Betfair - New Features
Have you visited the world's number one betting exchange Betfair recently? If not, you may be unaware that a number of new features have been introduced.
A number of these concern how information is displayed on betting pages. For example, in horse racing the jockeys' colours are now shown, and if you hover your cursor over a horse's name, further information is displayed, including the horse's form string.
You can also personalise how Betfair displays prices. For example, if you don't like seeing Lay prices displayed with a pink background (the default), you can switch to red, green or yellow.
You can also choose either Full View or Express View. Full View is the standard Betfair display, but in Express View you only see Back prices, and you aren't shown either the amount of money available to stake at best price. It's not clear to me why anyone would prefer Express View, unless they really don't understand exchange betting, and prefer to see prices displayed as they would be at a betting shop.
There are various other innovations, and it's worth dropping by and clicking on Options some time to see what they are. However, one of my favourite innovations has nothing to do with the betting interface.
Betfair are now allowing accounts to be funded using the online payment system Paypal, and you can also withdraw any winnings to your Paypal account. I've had a Paypal account for several years, and found it a very convenient method for paying for things on the net. It's also widely used on the Internet auction site eBay, so you can now use your Betfair winnings to finance your auction purchases, and vice versa!
A number of these concern how information is displayed on betting pages. For example, in horse racing the jockeys' colours are now shown, and if you hover your cursor over a horse's name, further information is displayed, including the horse's form string.
You can also personalise how Betfair displays prices. For example, if you don't like seeing Lay prices displayed with a pink background (the default), you can switch to red, green or yellow.
You can also choose either Full View or Express View. Full View is the standard Betfair display, but in Express View you only see Back prices, and you aren't shown either the amount of money available to stake at best price. It's not clear to me why anyone would prefer Express View, unless they really don't understand exchange betting, and prefer to see prices displayed as they would be at a betting shop.
There are various other innovations, and it's worth dropping by and clicking on Options some time to see what they are. However, one of my favourite innovations has nothing to do with the betting interface.
Betfair are now allowing accounts to be funded using the online payment system Paypal, and you can also withdraw any winnings to your Paypal account. I've had a Paypal account for several years, and found it a very convenient method for paying for things on the net. It's also widely used on the Internet auction site eBay, so you can now use your Betfair winnings to finance your auction purchases, and vice versa!
Friday, March 10, 2006
WorldLPP - Invest today or miss out this time!
Just a quick follow-up to my last posting. The first World Limited Partnership Program project, Vivamin, has just announced its first dividend payment to members of $1.72 per $50 unit purchased. If you wish you can view the Vivamin website by clicking here.
As I mentioned before, the company is now offering the chance to invest in a second project, an IT call centre based in Romania. You can see the new company's almost-finished website now by going to http://www.itconsultinglive.com/site/. Again, just $50 gets you a stake in this company. But you do need to move VERY SWIFTLY now, as subscriptions are closing today (10 March) at 12 noon Pacific Standard Time (that's 8 pm in GMT).
Obviously this is somewhat speculative, so (as with all gambling) don't invest any money you can't afford to lose. But personally I think it's well worth a punt. I've bought a couple of units in the new IT call centre anyway. For more info, please see my other posting below.
As I mentioned before, the company is now offering the chance to invest in a second project, an IT call centre based in Romania. You can see the new company's almost-finished website now by going to http://www.itconsultinglive.com/site/. Again, just $50 gets you a stake in this company. But you do need to move VERY SWIFTLY now, as subscriptions are closing today (10 March) at 12 noon Pacific Standard Time (that's 8 pm in GMT).
Obviously this is somewhat speculative, so (as with all gambling) don't invest any money you can't afford to lose. But personally I think it's well worth a punt. I've bought a couple of units in the new IT call centre anyway. For more info, please see my other posting below.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
World Limited Partnership Program - new sideline earning opportunity
The World Limited Partnership Program, or WorldLPP for short, provides its members with the chance to jointly purchase businesses across the world and share in the income they generate. Back in November I gave details in this blog of the first project available for investment to WorldLPP members, a chance to own a share in a health supplement company called Vivamin.
Now the company have announced details of their second project - an IT call centre based in Romania, where skills are high but salaries are much lower. Just $50 gets you a share in this company. Or even if you don't want to invest any money yet, just sign up as a member of WorldLPP for free. Not only does this give you free access to the members' area, which contains thousands of dollars worth of downloads, scripts, e-books, and so on, but 10% of profits from all projects is shared between all qualified members, not just shareholders. If you'd like to find out more, clicking here will take you to the main information page.
By the way, to purchase units in the new IT call centre, you will need to use either E-Gold or Stormpay. E-Gold is rather a complicated payment system, so unless you have an E-Gold account already I don't recommend it. Stormpay lets you pay by credit card, but there is actually a lot to be said for first opening a Stormpay account, funding it with your credit card, and then using this to pay for units. Once you have a Stormpay account, it entitles you to a range of extra benefits, including free e-mail and web hosting and the chance to make money just by viewing other websites. For more info about Stormpay, click here.
Finally, if you want to buy shares in the IT call centre, don't wait too long. Only limited numbers are available, and according to the WorldLPP website the offer is only likely to be open for the next seven days or so.
Now the company have announced details of their second project - an IT call centre based in Romania, where skills are high but salaries are much lower. Just $50 gets you a share in this company. Or even if you don't want to invest any money yet, just sign up as a member of WorldLPP for free. Not only does this give you free access to the members' area, which contains thousands of dollars worth of downloads, scripts, e-books, and so on, but 10% of profits from all projects is shared between all qualified members, not just shareholders. If you'd like to find out more, clicking here will take you to the main information page.
By the way, to purchase units in the new IT call centre, you will need to use either E-Gold or Stormpay. E-Gold is rather a complicated payment system, so unless you have an E-Gold account already I don't recommend it. Stormpay lets you pay by credit card, but there is actually a lot to be said for first opening a Stormpay account, funding it with your credit card, and then using this to pay for units. Once you have a Stormpay account, it entitles you to a range of extra benefits, including free e-mail and web hosting and the chance to make money just by viewing other websites. For more info about Stormpay, click here.
Finally, if you want to buy shares in the IT call centre, don't wait too long. Only limited numbers are available, and according to the WorldLPP website the offer is only likely to be open for the next seven days or so.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Tipsters Update
As promised, here is my latest Tipsters Update column, as no longer published in The Winning Report...
Every month we bring you details of Britain’s best performing tipping services, by courtesy of RID (the Racing Information Database). RID monitor over 150 services and issue monthly printouts showing the net profit/loss accrued by them over the last month and year.
Last month was generally a better one for the services. The highest winning SP was 20/1, given by both Sport4Profit’s sports betting service and Phoenix Racing. The longest winning run was 34, given by the laying service Losers4U (formerly On The Gallops Lays). The best strike rate of 92 per cent came from another laying service, Streakahead Lays.
The top three in RID’s rolling annual table is the same as last month. Sport4Profit sports service stays in first place, with SportOnlineGambling.com in second, and Hallmark Racing in third. Contact details for all three services are shown below.
1. Sport4Profit sports service (08700 505 022 or www.sport4profit.com)
2. SportOnlineGambling.com (0161 282 2635 or www.sportonlinegambling.com)
3. Hallmark Racing (www.hallmarkracing.co.uk or e-mail: hallmarkracing@hotmail.com)
These are all subscription-based services. Sport4Profit charges £67 a month, Hallmark Racing £83 a month, and SportOnlineGambling.com £58 a month.
Note that all prices quoted are based on one-twelfth of the service’s annual charge. Some services also allow you to subscribe for shorter periods, but pro rata this almost always works out more expensive.
Betting £100 on all of their selections over the last twelve months would have produced a net profit after all costs are taken into account of over £19,000 for Sport4Profit sports service, over £15,200 for SportOnlineGambling.com, and £11,600 for Hallmark Racing.
The most profitable tipping services monitored by RID over the last month are as follows:
Premium rate phone lines – FBI Raceline (0906 664 6600 – £1.50 a minute) was the most successful service in this category. Their tips generated a net profit of nearly £400 after all costs are deducted.
Subscription and ‘to the odds’ services – The most profitable service in this category last month was Phoenix Racing (email: racingphoenix@ntlworld.com). Their tips generated an overall profit of nearly £2,900.
Services providing 12 or less selections per month – The best performer in this category was Hallmark Racing (www.hallmarkracing.co.uk or e-mail: hallmarkracing@hotmail.com). Five successful tips out of ten given produced a net profit of over £700.
Sports betting services – The most profitable service in this or any category was SportOnlineGambling.com (0161 282 2635 or www.sportonlinegambling.com). Their happy subscribers enjoyed a net profit of nearly £3,400 after all costs are deducted.
RID’s statistics cover both backing and laying services. Rather than tipping winners, laying services tip horses or other selections they expect to lose. Subscribers can then lay these selections at exchanges such as Betfair, and collect the backer’s stake money if the selection does indeed fail. Laying services normally have a high strike rate, but bear in mind that the amount you will win from a successful lay will be less than the amount you lose if the lay fails (unless you are laying at odds on).
All tipster information comes from the Racing Information Database, an independent proofing service. Profit figures are calculated to £100 level stakes or £50 each way. Only doubles or trebles are accepted for multiple bets and are calculated to £100 win or £50 each-way level stakes. All figures are calculated according to SP (starting price) unless a specific early price was advised and that price was available from at least one high street bookmaker. The figures quoted represent the net profits (or losses) after deduction of all losing bets and the costs/expenses of receiving the services.
If you would like to receive RID’s full monthly printouts, which include detailed profit-and-loss figures and lots of other useful information (including longest winning and losing runs for each service), write to them at Racing Information Database, PO Box 3336, Sheffield, S14 1WY. You can also e-mail them at racingdatabase@hotmail.com. A subscription to RID currently costs £99 a year and a sample issue is £10.
Every month we bring you details of Britain’s best performing tipping services, by courtesy of RID (the Racing Information Database). RID monitor over 150 services and issue monthly printouts showing the net profit/loss accrued by them over the last month and year.
Last month was generally a better one for the services. The highest winning SP was 20/1, given by both Sport4Profit’s sports betting service and Phoenix Racing. The longest winning run was 34, given by the laying service Losers4U (formerly On The Gallops Lays). The best strike rate of 92 per cent came from another laying service, Streakahead Lays.
The top three in RID’s rolling annual table is the same as last month. Sport4Profit sports service stays in first place, with SportOnlineGambling.com in second, and Hallmark Racing in third. Contact details for all three services are shown below.
1. Sport4Profit sports service (08700 505 022 or www.sport4profit.com)
2. SportOnlineGambling.com (0161 282 2635 or www.sportonlinegambling.com)
3. Hallmark Racing (www.hallmarkracing.co.uk or e-mail: hallmarkracing@hotmail.com)
These are all subscription-based services. Sport4Profit charges £67 a month, Hallmark Racing £83 a month, and SportOnlineGambling.com £58 a month.
Note that all prices quoted are based on one-twelfth of the service’s annual charge. Some services also allow you to subscribe for shorter periods, but pro rata this almost always works out more expensive.
Betting £100 on all of their selections over the last twelve months would have produced a net profit after all costs are taken into account of over £19,000 for Sport4Profit sports service, over £15,200 for SportOnlineGambling.com, and £11,600 for Hallmark Racing.
The most profitable tipping services monitored by RID over the last month are as follows:
Premium rate phone lines – FBI Raceline (0906 664 6600 – £1.50 a minute) was the most successful service in this category. Their tips generated a net profit of nearly £400 after all costs are deducted.
Subscription and ‘to the odds’ services – The most profitable service in this category last month was Phoenix Racing (email: racingphoenix@ntlworld.com). Their tips generated an overall profit of nearly £2,900.
Services providing 12 or less selections per month – The best performer in this category was Hallmark Racing (www.hallmarkracing.co.uk or e-mail: hallmarkracing@hotmail.com). Five successful tips out of ten given produced a net profit of over £700.
Sports betting services – The most profitable service in this or any category was SportOnlineGambling.com (0161 282 2635 or www.sportonlinegambling.com). Their happy subscribers enjoyed a net profit of nearly £3,400 after all costs are deducted.
RID’s statistics cover both backing and laying services. Rather than tipping winners, laying services tip horses or other selections they expect to lose. Subscribers can then lay these selections at exchanges such as Betfair, and collect the backer’s stake money if the selection does indeed fail. Laying services normally have a high strike rate, but bear in mind that the amount you will win from a successful lay will be less than the amount you lose if the lay fails (unless you are laying at odds on).
All tipster information comes from the Racing Information Database, an independent proofing service. Profit figures are calculated to £100 level stakes or £50 each way. Only doubles or trebles are accepted for multiple bets and are calculated to £100 win or £50 each-way level stakes. All figures are calculated according to SP (starting price) unless a specific early price was advised and that price was available from at least one high street bookmaker. The figures quoted represent the net profits (or losses) after deduction of all losing bets and the costs/expenses of receiving the services.
If you would like to receive RID’s full monthly printouts, which include detailed profit-and-loss figures and lots of other useful information (including longest winning and losing runs for each service), write to them at Racing Information Database, PO Box 3336, Sheffield, S14 1WY. You can also e-mail them at racingdatabase@hotmail.com. A subscription to RID currently costs £99 a year and a sample issue is £10.
No more Winning Reports...
It seems that there will be no more issues of Streetwise Publications' newsletter The Winning Report. I have heard that this publication is being rolled into another newsletter, What Really Wins Money, from Canonbury Publishing. If you're a current Winning Report subscriber, you may have started receiving this now. As far as I know, none of the regular Winning Report contributors is writing for What Really Wins Money.
I submitted various items for the last issue of The Winning Report, which it appears will not be published now - so I thought I'd publish them here instead. The first will be my Tipsters Update column, in which I set out the current leading tipping services, courtesy of the Racing Information Database. More articles will be posted over the next few days.
I submitted various items for the last issue of The Winning Report, which it appears will not be published now - so I thought I'd publish them here instead. The first will be my Tipsters Update column, in which I set out the current leading tipping services, courtesy of the Racing Information Database. More articles will be posted over the next few days.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Non-runner No Bet
Betting ante-post (i.e. before the runners in a race are finally declared) can net you some great prices, but usually with the downside that if your horse doesn't run, your stake is lost.
However, www.bet365.com is offering a way round this problem. On selected races they are offering 'Non-Runner No Bet' (NRNB) in ante-post betting. Races to which this applies include the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Sun Alliance Chase and Triumph Hurdle. As far as I know Bet365 is the only bookie offering these terms for ante-post betting, so if you fancy an early wager on one of these big races, Bet365 looks like being your best choice!
However, www.bet365.com is offering a way round this problem. On selected races they are offering 'Non-Runner No Bet' (NRNB) in ante-post betting. Races to which this applies include the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Sun Alliance Chase and Triumph Hurdle. As far as I know Bet365 is the only bookie offering these terms for ante-post betting, so if you fancy an early wager on one of these big races, Bet365 looks like being your best choice!
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