Horse racing software as an investment

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Horse racing software as an investment’.Some racing programs are touted as a source of ‘investment’ with promises or lures of big returns. It sounds like easy money but you need to know what they are all about before getting involved.
When assessing a racing program it is an advantage to have some background knowledge as to what racing programs actually do, so if you ever get a demonstration of a program you know what questions to ask and what to look for.
As a person who has been writing racing programs for several years here are a few pointers to help anyone who may be tempted to try this type of ‘investment‘.

*Dutching

Used by most programs as a common method of spread betting This is done by applying betting units ($1 per unit) to each runner in a group of selected runners, such that if one of the group wins your return will be greater than the total amount of bet. For example, you select 3 runners and distribute $20 over your 3 selections. One of the 3 wins ,say at $5.50 with 5 units. Your return is $26.50 leaving you with a profit of $6.50. You can of course select as many runners as you like, however the bigger the group the less your return for a given bet amount or the point is reached where the return is less than the total amount wagered. Computers are ideal for calculating suitable size bets and distributing betting units over a group of runners.

**Exotics.

Common with a lot of racing programs. These have names such as quinellas, exactas, trifectas first4 and duets (trifectas seem to be most popular because of their high returns) A winning trifecta is where you pick the first 3 runners across the line in the correct finishing order 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Not easy when there are 15 to 20 runners in a field. Program sales persons love to concentrate on trifectas when demonstrating to prospective clients because of the big winning figures.You can improve your winning chances by boxing all your selections to cover the 3 finishing positions. Boxing is where your selections can finish in either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd position for a win. Unfortunately this can be quite expensive and sometimes be larger than the actual payout. Optionally standouts can be used. Standouts are where several runners can be selected to finish 1st. Several runners to finish 2nd and several to finish 3rd.Again this can turn out to be expensive and needs to be considered against the possible payouts. Spread betting also takes part here by distributing different bet amounts on individual trifecta combinations according to the probability value of each combination. Again computers are very good at this job, able to do the appropriate calculations instantly.

**Selecting runners.

This is the key to making a profit of course. You may make your own personal selections or rely on the program to do something for you. Commonly a program will select runners based on their prices or on their market values. Market value is 1 divided by the price of the runner, usually multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. Another common method of selection is to monitor the market movements of individual runners. Wide upward swings in market percentage on a runner (the price of the runner has fallen) is often taken that someone knows something and placed a lot of money on that runner. this usually referred to as the ‘market mover’. Some of the bets can be quite heavy, particularly with trifecta and first4 bets. This is why you may be asked to have a betting bank of several thousand dollars on hand to cover the ’outs’, those bets which do not return a profit. Thankfully the TABs have a betting option called flexi (or fractional) betting. This allows the punter to set the level of bet. Any winnings are paid out according to the amount of fractional bet. Refer to TAB ‘help’ pages for details. Flexi betting is a good way to start as a beginner, so if you want to control your bet size with exotics make sure your program has this feature.

***Dividend approximates.

All programs need some method of collecting runner dividends (prices) from the TABs. Unitab (QLD) and Racetab(NSW/VIC) provide an internet Xml service enabling program developers to download dividends and other information into programs free of charge . I am not aware if TabNZ has anything similar. There are services available that provide all Tab dividends in a bulk form which are updated regularly. There is usually a monthly charge for these.

****Training.

If you are new to this type of program you will need some training. This may come in the form of in-program help files or one-on-one personal tuition.

*****Program demonstration.

Finally after doing all your research, read all the ’testimonials’ and scanned the internet for feedback you will want to have a demonstration of the program. Some program suppliers provide a free trial program which gives the client the opportunity to test the program at leisure, without the sales pressure. Others will want to provide a personal tour of the program. I strongly recommend you are alongside the operator when the demonstration takes place so you can see what is happening and that real-time racing is being demonstrated (current active races). Using one of their existing customers for demonstrations is a good way to go.

If it is claimed that you can earn money with the program make the demonstrator prove it. Stay with the demonstration for several bets to satisfy yourself that money can be made. Use their money for betting. Follow each bet through the selection process and see that it is placed with the TAB. The details of a bet should be recorded by the Tab as being accepted. Don’t assume that because the demonstrator presses a button marked ‘Trade, ‘Submit bet’ or whatever that the bet has automatically been placed with the TAB. Insist on seeing the bet details on the TAB account. Don’t be pressured or sidetracked by the sales pitch. There are some good horse racing programs on the internet at a reasonable price, it is up you to search them out. Don’t expect a program to make you a profit. It is up to you to do that. Use Google to search on terms like ‘ horse racing programs, ‘horse racing software’ or ‘horse racing freeware’ to look for a suitable program.

Good luck.

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