UK horse racing is one sport that receives a lot of betting attention. A lot of systems and strategies exist which can be used by bettors to place a wager. The role of statistics in UK horse racing betting cannot be underestimated.
Horses cannot talk like human beings. If a great tennis player is having a bad run, he can at least talk to the press and give reasons as to why he is not playing well. Not so for horses who get to be judged strictly by their performance, and to a lesser degree, the reputation of the jockeys riding them.
The performance of a horse depends a lot on the training it gets. That is why, barring any injuries, some horses consistently perform well in different UK horse racing events. Using statistics can therefore enhance a bettor’s chance of placing winning bets consistently.
There are several kinds of horse racing events run in the UK. These are:
1) GB Flat
2) GB Flat Turf
3) GB AW
4) GB Jumps
5) Irish Flats
6) Irish Jumps
These race types also have sub-divisions. Some horses perform better in jumps than in turf races and some are just good all round. There are tables of statistics that can indicate the performance of several champion horses on the different turfs and race types. A study of 106,693 UK horse racing bets showed that you returned 92% of your stakes placed on favourites, while an each way bet placed on the top horses returned 91% of your stakes.
Considering that no further analysis has been done, this astounding statistical result shows how vitally important UK horse racing statistics are for any serious bettor who intends to make money on their wagers. As a popular data source website for UK horse racing succinctly put it, “if you want to see the future, look at the past”.
What makes up UK horse racing statistics?
1) You can get information on the top jockeys.
2) You can get info on the top performing horses.
3) You can look at how certain horses performed in certain events or on certain tracks.
4) You can get information on the horse trainers and how their horses are performing.
5) You can get information on horse owners. Owners who provide for the proper training and maintenance of horses will generally be able to breed champion horses.
6) Many of these results and data can be historically analyzed
Generally speaking, application of a sound knowledge of speed figures, long term UK horse racing statistics, knowledge of individual horse and trainer preferences as well as track knowledge will greatly enhance your ability to place winning bets consistently.
Another factor to consider is value. If the horses you back are short prices favorites you won’t make much profit, and may even end up losing more than you win.
Hi
Have you compiled an article on U.K race course as in conditions, right handed,undulating,sharp. It would be great to have access to this type of info to compare courses.It all helps when form reading i’m sure.
I find this website very educational, many thanks for all your hard work
Hi James, thank you for your comment. I did write one a while ago but it got removed. I can certainly put together an article outlining this in the future.
Michael,
What’s your thoughts on this article,
http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/article/465/10034895/bha-confirms-juvenile-programme-set-to-change-in-2016
Do see this any possibilties for making a betting profit from this change – even if just initially, before the “masses” cotton on?
Thanks for the link Dave. There could well be an edge for a very short period of time by taking advantage of that knowledge. I would expect it to disappear very quickly though as the big money will know about it.
If you’re using the approach I do for analysis then it won’t really affect you because we determine the type of races based on the horses in the race rather than the fixed conditions used officially.