Being a horse racing punter is easy, you just go into a bookies pick a horse and give him your money. That’s all there is to it. However being a successful and winning punter is not so easy. It took me many years to realise that the way I had been betting was stupid and gave very little chance of coming out a long term winner.

I love horse racing and I also like to have a bet. One doesn’t have to go with the other. I know people who genuinely love horses and horse racing but will never bet. I also know many people who do not really care one jot about the actual sport but just love betting. But most people not only like to bet on a horse but also like to watch it run its race.

That used to be me until a few years ago. I would spend an afternoon in the bookies and bet on practically every race. Well I used to stay as long as my money held up but quite often I would have to leave half way through the afternoon because I had run out of cash.

Then I started to think about all these horse racing systems that are advertised. All the adverts seem to say roughly the same thing, “use my system and make a fortune”. I must have tried over a dozen systems and although some of them were quite good I still never seemed to make any money. Of course the reason was quite simple I was not only backing the system horses I was still making my own bets.
After one particularly bad betting day I stopped and thought about what had happened. The 2 “system horses” had made me money but I had lost this and more following my own fancies. It struck me that what I would have to do is develop a personal system of my own and stick to it if I wanted to be a winner.

So I developed rules for myself. My system works like this; I set up a betting bank and deposit an amount of cash that I believed I could afford to lose if it all went pear shaped. I then found 4 horse racing systems that I paper tested for 3 months. This produced one reliable system. Within a year I added another 3 systems to my portfolio.

I normally use Betfair and place my bets before racing starts. I then forget about them and go back after racing had finished to see how much I had won. Of course not every system is profitable everyday but it would be rare for all four to produce negative results. By not watching the racing or listening to the pundits I am not swayed to have impulse bets. I still enjoy racing and I usually watch the re runs of the day’s events on the racing channels in the evening.

To sum up you need to set up a betting bank, find some systems that work, and test them thoroughly for about 3 months before risking your cash. Stick absolutely to the rules of the system and staking plan. This may sound a boring way to gamble but at least it is profitable perhaps you should try it.

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It always amazes me when I see horse races in which a logical favorite becomes an 8-1 long shot.

The job of the track odds maker is to set the initial odds for all horses in a race. When he makes a horse the morning line favorite, it is usually because he thinks the public will make the horse the favorite based on the horse’s recent races.

So it was no surprise that Bradio Station was the 3/1 morning line favorite in the last race of the day on December 17, 2009 at Hollywood Park. It was a starter allowance race at a distance of 1 1/16 miles for horses that had raced for a claiming price of $40,000 or less. Bradio Station had won his last start (a $32,000 maiden claiming race) at the same distance.

Now I could understand if the public had made Show the Flag the favorite. He had just finished second in a race with identical conditions. But Show the Flag ended up going to post at 5-1.

I could also understand if Straightomidnight was the eventual favorite. He had just won a $32,000 maiden claiming race at 6 1/2 furlongs. Racegoers often bet heavily on horses stretching out. Alas, he went to post at 10-1 odds.

So, what about Six Eighteen? He won his last start – a $32,000 maiden claiming event at 1 mile. Nope! Third choice at 4-1 odds.

The eventual favorite at 5/2 was Onemoreforarch. Onemoreforarch finished fourth in his last start, finishing behind Show the Flag and Gilligan. Gilligan was the second choice in the wagering at 3-1, which made sense.

The final outcome of the race, in case you have not guessed: Bradio Station, the morning line favorite, won. He paid $18.20 to win. Gilligan finished 2nd, a half length back, while Straightomidnight finished third, just a nose behind Gilligan.

Where was the favorite, Onemoreforarch? He finished a well-beaten sixth.

When the public lets the morning line favorite go to post at 8/1, you have to wonder, why? The $18.20 payout was like receiving a gift from the gods.

Gerald W. Cohail started handicapping horse races as a young teenager in the early 1960s. After roughly 50 years, he has learned two certainties about making money from wagering on horse races. 1.) Never bet on a favorite no matter how good that favorite looks on paper. 2.) You cannot expect to make a profit from wagering on horse races if you bet on every race.

To see more of Gerald’s horse racing insights and claim your Free copy of “Bet The Horses And Win” visit http://blog.ProRacingPicks.com.