I picked up both books, and plan on reviewing more as time allows, but my intention or ultimate goal was to educate myself. I am still working through Puntology and have to say that I like it. It does have a bent more towards British racing but much of it is very relevent no matter where on the planet you live or what sort of racing you fancy. The ultimate goal is to become a professional gambler at the end of a year’s time and the funny thing is that the author, Michael Wilding, knows human behavior pretty well and includes a simple betting system in the beginning of the lessons since I think he figures that you’re going to want to get up and running as quickly as possible. From there he helps you to refine or create your own betting system tailored around your own interests. What I found was that, for myself, I wanted a system that was a little more granular or detailed…I wanted more in depth knowledge of some of the statistics that many of us use in handicapping a race or even remove some of the key elements of the beginners Puntology betting system that weren’t relevent to racing here in the US…that is why I picked up some books to supplement my education, so to speak.

I was actually surprised to find that the Beyer figures that so many speed handicappers live and die by that are posted in the Daily Racing Form aren’t as accurate as they might seem! It definately is a large endeavour to create your own charts but it made sense after reading these books…and what better way to create a signifcant edge than to be able to have super accurate speed figures that nobody else is privy to… (other than those that might also wish to create their own charts, which is highly unlikely in this day and age of a public that demands immediate gratification!)

The long and the short of it is, Puntology is great and it will give you a wonderful education and make you a Grade I punter within a year’s time…there is no question about that…but why not do some “extra credit” stuff to ensure that you have a signifcant edge over the rest of the punters out there and ensure that you are solidly a part of the 2-5% of punters who make money and are successful instead of hoping and praying that you aren’t a part of the remainder that fill the pockets of the upper eschelon?

I did make a few bets when I first started the Puntology course and was somewhat successful but I am seeing that there is much to learn and I’m excited about really learning how to handicap a race and thus improve my edge.

So, without much more messing about…

PP3 – Mindemoya – I like this horse but she’s not my picks. She seems to like to run out front and set the pace but she’s stepping up a bit in class so I don’t know if this in addition to the added distance might hurt this filly. She does run pretty much “in the money” most of the time

PP4 – Not Just A Rumor – I like this filly and she is my pick. She has the best speed rating of anyone in this race when running in her class. Last time out she finished 4th while in the mix while way out of her class so I’m thinking that she is here to win. She set the pace last time also and I think she might have tired a bit…same distance as today’s race but I think she’s gonna run away with this one.

Other horses that I think will be there in the end are the 2 and 3 horses…so I would  probably bet:

3-4  Box Exacta

3-4-5 Boxed Trifecta

The #1 filly (Beauseant) looks ok also but she’s been on break since October…

The #2 horse (Forcefully) could be there in the end and did well when she was in her own class.

The #5 horse (First Circle) should be there at the end and was outclassed last race but ran well when within her own class with good speed at this distance.

The #6 horse (Gigolette) ran with Forecefully (#2) and finished behind her.

The #7 horse (Class Gem) seems to be clearly outclassed here…sorry. She hasn’t run near the front since she broke her maiden (12K)

I’ll let you know how they finished. This is FUN!

I hope to post some of my handicapping so you can see how things progress with me as I strive to become a Professional Gambler this year. I will tell you that I’m not a horrible handicapper but I think we will all agree that each of us could use some improvement…I mean, given enough time and a couple of pints I’ve always been able to tune out those around me voicing their opinion of the next race and asking me what I was going to do….and on a winning night I usually don’t have trouble in passing on a race that doesn’t seem quite right to me…and if things turn really bad I don’t have a problem with saying “Sorry…I’m done for the night”

My problem has always been achieving that delicate balance of having my wits about me while being relaxed enough to see the whole picture when I look at the racing form. On these occassions I can usually pick two or three trifectas with two of them being winners….but when I overhandicap and try too hard (or drink too much lager, on the other end of the spectrum!) I wind up trying to find a good bet…and that always winds up biting me in the arse!

I am enjoying this process of working through Michael Wilding’s Puntology…and if you’re game I’d welcome anyone who wants to work through it with me. We can either communicate through email or create a group of some sort….a “study group,” so to speak! I was thinking of asking Michael if he would be interested in starting up a message board of some sort on his site that could be accessed by those of us who are reading his lessons. The only problem that I can think of is that it is human nature to want to read ahead and rush things which I think might hurt more than it would help.

Let me know what you think and in the meantime check out Puntology and think seriously about getting your education in punting.

The fact is that if you ever wish to become a successful punter you are going to have to work in a different direction than you have been. Even if you are seeing some sort of success chances are it will be short lived if you are relying solely upon an “off the shelf” betting system. Betting systems or handicapping systems have their place but only as a tool. You will never be able to call yourself a real punter if you don’t know what makes that tool or system work. On the flip side of that, if you know how each particular system works you will know which one to use given a particular situation. A real punter also knows that no system can ensure a 100% strike rate and when to sit out a race and just enjoy watching the horses run.

The long and the short of it is that if you love horse racing and want to take some pride in your handicapping….if you are into this for the long haul and you want to set yourself apart from the pack there are some things you’re going to have to do.

Work On Your Mental Game – There is nothing quite as important as how you deal with the wins and losses as the mental component of punting. It can be quite a roller coaster ride with severe highs and lows and the only thing that is going to keep you from crashing when you come across a long losing streak is how well mentally you are prepared to deal with this stress. You might also want to look into how you are going to deal with the losing streaks financially…will you have money set aside to get you through such times?…will you go on vacation for a bit until the season changes?…will you lower the size of your bets until you feel more secure in your handicapping and your betting system?…or will you become frustrated, like many punters do and either walk away or blow your entire bank trying to recoup your losses? Likewise, big wins and long winning streaks can do the same thing in a round about way. You might feel invincible and start spending money like a rock star or become sloppy in your handicapping. It might feel like the good times will never end but life seldom plays out this way.

The above are a few of the things that you might want to think about and the results should be enough to tell you whether you want to take your handicapping to the next level or if you are just dreaming about what it might take to make a living at betting on horse racing. It definitely can be done but it’s not as easy to get from here to there as most people might like to think…but with a little determination and some passion for the sport you will be successful.

This fact can be seen in Calvin Borel’s winning record on Rachel Alexandra…..he is unbeaten on her, and hopefully he will remain that way come Saturday at the Preakness! LOL

The fact is that winning jockeys get the best horses. This may go against your thinking or beliefs but it is the best horses that have the money behind them in the form of ownership and these are the mounts that the best jockeys want since that’s where the money is in the form of percentage of winnings. Nothing can be more heartbreaking than having a great horse and placing it in the hands of a jockey that doesn’t know how to get the best out of that horse….perhaps a jockey that can’t hold a horse back at the begining of a race and thus the horse is spent come the end of the race. Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule and there are a lot of young, new jockeys out there with pure talent….as well as some older, “experienced” jocks that just lack real talent…that intuitiveness where they become one with the horse. But as a general rule, older, more experienced jockeys get the better horses and thus have a better winning percentage.

This fact is why as a part of my own betting system I do take into consideration a jockey’s win percentage. I don’t treat this as a flat number but I do actually take that percentage and weigh it against all the other jockeys in the running.

There are many variables to take into consideration and a jockey’s winning percentage is just one of them. You may ask, “what betting system do you use?” and I’ll tell you that I use MY betting system. It may look a lot like many of the other ones out there but this one is mine. I am constantly modifying and tweeking and and changing things a little bit as things change in an attempt to get a better handle on exactly what all these variables mean in my handicapping…but not too much. How did I come up with this system? I read a lot and take the advice of others who have gone before me and been successful like Michael Wilding of Puntology fame.

To find out more about this “education in punting”….this “PHD in betting on horse racing”….this “Masters Degree in Gambling” go to http://www.horsebettingsystems.info/recommends/puntology/

So…I’m all jazzed up with everything that’s been going on and I get an email this morning offering tips for todays races at Churchill and Belmont. These tips are coming from a very reliable handicapper who claims to have picked the trifecta for the Derby keying on Mine That Bird…so he has my attention. $15 and I’ll have hot tips from one of the most respected handicappers in the country…so I bite. I’ve got stars in my eyes and see what I think is a shortcut to winning at the track…..sounds pretty good eh? $15 and I’ve got tips for a 20-1 shot, a exacta box and a trifecta. I’m thinking that even if one of these comes in I should be able to at least break even….

Now, I’m not a big fan of tip services or tipster services. I don’t even take seriously anything that I read on message boards…at least not a plain tip sheet. I am basically an honest man and I love the sport of horse racing and I want to become as proficient as possible and tipster services always sort of reminded me of the kid in school that would want to cheat off of your test. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from picking horses yourself and win, lose or scratch, at least I have nobody to blame but myself.

Needless to say, none of the tips were worth a damn. I sure am glad that I did fork over the $100 to race with these blokes this entire week! If I want to pick losing horses I can do that for free and I’ll tell you that I had better luck on my own this past weekend! I picked 4 out of 5 races…played it safe and bet to show (because that’s just how I roll sometimes when a race is contentious)…but 4 out of 5 horses ran in the money. Not too bad for a guy that isn’t a world reknown handicapper! Perhaps I should start my own tipping service!?

Please done’t be emailing me asking me to help you by sending you my tips. There is nothing spectacular about me or my handicapping. I just love the sport and enjoy handicapping and have worked to educate myself. I WILL tell you what put me on the right path…and I’m no bullshitting you…Puntology…this is where I would begin if I were you. If you really want to save youself a lot of time and trouble just sign up for this course. It is a no bull, shoot from the hip education in how to pick winners and become a professional punter. Do what the guy says….pick up a couple of the books that I recommend on my site and get yourself an education in betting on the ponies. Don’t waste your time with tipster services and lame systems. I promise you that you won’t be dissapointed in Puntology.

To learn more about Puntology go to http://www.horsebettingsystems.info/recommends/puntology

and to see some honest reviews of horse betting systems go to

http://www.horsebettingsystems.info