In the horse racing betting world, there is a large percentage of punters who think paying for tips is a waste of money. Often the comments raised are:
- If his tips are so good, why does he need to sell them?
- I’m just as good at doing the form as these professionals.
Let’s look at these in turn:
- Why would a professional tipster bother selling his insights and information? For some it could be simply a second way of creating an income stream, and for others it’s about helping punters to beat the bookies. Here at Racebiz, my goal is to help as many people as possible and show them ways of making a profit without getting banned by the bookmakers.
- Many punters have been doing their own form for years and the addition of paid, professional tips is a way to cut down the time needed, and also look at things from someone else’s perspective. Some punters don’t feel the need for this, but if you are reading this article then my guess is that you are looking for something.
The answer to the question: how much should I pay for horse racing tips is not simple and straightforward because it depends on the factors that are important to you, and how these factors impact your punting.
Who is the right tipster for you?
Let’s start off by using a series of questions to help pinpoint WHO is the right tipster for you.
What is the basis for their tipping selections?
Some commonly used options are:
- Ratings:
Ratings are numerical measures that are an expected rating for each horse for the upcoming meeting to produce horse racing tips. Prices are formulated by multiple factors including past performance, upcoming race conditions, trainer and jockey statistics and a range of other variables
2. Speed Maps:
Speed maps are used to predict the running position of each horse in the field. They are also used to determine the likely pace of the race. When it comes to finding the winner of a race, both of these factors are deemed critical by expert form analysts.
3. Sectionals
Sectional times are the recorded times taken for a horse over every 200m interval. This information is essential in working out just how fast horses are travelling at different stages during the run. Speed and sectional data is becoming increasingly critical in form analysis as it can give great insight into the merit of a horse’s performance.
Of course, there are other methods and options, and these days, software packages that can also help pinpoint the best horses in the race.
Does this style of tipping suit your strategy and punting ideas?
If you have been a punter for a number of years, you will most likely have developed a preference for a particular style of analysing the horses in a race. And, will tend to gravitate towards a professional who has similar ideas.
What State or Race Meetings do they focus on?
If you have preferred locations, then you’ll need to find someone who specialises in these areas.
When you check their website, is it really clear about what and how many tips you will receive if you join one of their membership packages?
In some cases, you need to pay your money first before you see what and how much information you will receive. I personally prefer to see examples with clear and open details about what each package contains.
Some tipsters do offer a free trial period. I don’t have this as standard on our website, but if I have spent time talking with a punter who is interested in joining RaceBiz, and they are unsure I’m always happy to let them have a Saturday selections package to test drive.
Are the tipsters easily accessible by phone or email?
Something I have heard many times over the years, is that some tipping sites are happy to take your money but not available if you have a question or a problem. I emphasize SOME as there are some very good, professional sites in this industry, and I like to count RaceBiz among that group.
What’s next when working out how much to pay for Horse Racing Tips?
Once you have narrowed down your choice of tipster (or you may need two!) for your horse racing tips, to work out whether you should pay for his (or her!) tips there’s still a little bit of work to do.
Ask yourself these questions:
How much will the tips and information cost based on outlay per punting day?
For example, if a package is only for Saturday punting and the monthly cost is $297, and assuming you punt 48 weeks of the year, this works out at almost $75 per Saturday.
If you like to punt 3, 4, 5 or more days a week then obviously a service that offers 5 to 7 days a week is going to work better for you.
At RaceBiz, we have two styles of tipping selections for our monthly members across Wed to Sunday. Saturday’s is quite in-depth with a lot of information, and Wednesday to Sunday we also offer a simpler package for those members who like to punt during the week but don’t always have a lot of time. Our pricing then can put us in a cost effective zone if you punt 5 times a week: $197 per month with an average of 20 -21 tipping days per month.
Do they provide up to date records of what they have selected and the results of these selections for a minimum of one to two years?
If they don’t, I would advise a little bit of caution and some more investigation.
If they do, here’s what I would suggest checking out:
- Is this record showing a profit over a period of time?
- What is the Return on Investment (ROI) information being reported? Noting that most professional punters aim for an annual ROI of 8 – 12%.
- Are the odds posted for the winners in the results verifiable? For example, would an average punter be able to get those odds, and they are not using a price that was available the day before. For my win punting, I always use Betfair, and the RaceBiz results sheets are all based on Betfair Starting Price (which is easily checked).
So, the answer to the original question, how much should I pay for Horse Racing tips, is, IT DEPENDS! We are all unique and each of us has different priorities to consider.
- What is your goal for weekly or monthly return/profit/ROI?
- How many days a week are you intending to punt?
- How much do you have in your punting bank?
- How much to you bet on each race?
I hope you can see that by doing a bit of homework, answering these questions and, perhaps, talking with the tipster you have in mind, you will be able to work out the best option for you.
If you are still feeling a bit stumped, why don’t you book in with me for a 30 minute One-on-One session and we can get to the bottom of this? RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY.