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A Q and A with David Leslie – PlayScoop6

Cheltenham 2023 day 1 selections

If you want to Play the Scoop 6 then David Leslie is the man you need to talk to.

Hi David and many thanks for agreeing to join us this month.

1. Would you start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your background? What attracted you to the world of horse racing and what do you enjoy most about the sport?

Actually, to begin with, it was my late grandfather. He worked from home as a tailor and when I would go round there as a young boy, he’d be sitting in the dining room with his Sporting Life newspaper sprawled across the dining table together with his pencil and exercise book, studying the form. Once he’d done his work and when my grandmother wasn’t looking, he would tootle off to the bookmakers, placing a few shillings on his fancies. Of course, I never knew whether he won or lost but the whole mystery fascinated me.

Later, in 1977, when I was 14 and laid up in hospital with a broken leg, he gave me a tip for the Derby – “The Minstrel”, it was, ridden by Lester Piggott – and it bloomin’ well won!

Finally, in 1981, aged 18 and in my first job earning a princely £3,150 per annum (I had money then!), my then boss gave me an inside word (from the stable) on King’s Glory, about 6 months in advance of the 1982 Lincoln, on which I put a massive (for me) £20 at an antepost price of 25/1. It also bloomin’ won (at 11/1 SP), I bought myself my first stack stereo system and I was hooked!

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2. How did the setting up of PlayScoop6 come about? Where did the idea of the syndicate come from?

It was really, for me, a logical progression, and to fill what I considered to be a real gap in the market, about which I’ve been proved right.

First, I was part of a £3.2 million Scoop6 win (see below) and I also ran a Scoop6 syndicate as part of a tipping service I previously ran.

That was only for a relatively short time but it did produce up to 5 winners and a 2nd.

Second, I did feel there was a gap in the market.

As everyone knows, the Scoop6 is most often won by syndicates and groups of people but to stand a real chance of winning, a syndicate or group really needs to have genuine expertise. There is really not much out there in terms of syndicates etc. which average people can access and I knew that I and a small team of industry colleagues could put something worthwhile together and provide that essential expertise. I believe that our results have proven that.

We’ve only been going for around 18 months during which time we’ve had numerous instances of 5 winners and a 2nd (including by a nose) plus very many Place Fund wins including one outright win of the entire Place Fund.

3. What do you feel the syndicate can offer racing enthusiasts and punters?

A real chance of winning the Scoop6. Great tips using our Scoop6 selections. Great free tips from our Trends Expert. A financial interest and great fun on a Saturday afternoon. And, of course, excellent customer service!

4. Do you have a “typical” working day? How would you describe your day to day work?

A “typical” working day for the team is methodical, structured and usually very long!

Work on the Scoop6 is usually week long, starting with us looking at the likely Saturday races even from the Saturday before. Obviously, once the Scoop6 races are announced around midday on a Friday, the office really starts buzzing with us often pulling coffee laden all-nighters on Friday night. Plus there’s all the member and payment admin and after racing results updates etc. to deal with too so it really is a full time job and, as they say, there’s no mercy for the wicked!

5. What style of approach do you take to your betting on a personal level? What do you think of staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc.? i.e. do you enjoy a gamble away from the Scoop 6 ?

My approach to my betting is simple – if it (my method) works, stick with it. If it doesn’t, ditch it. It’s all about consistency.

Only using and sticking to well thought through methods which are proven to work and not flitting from one approach to another just because you have a bad day, which is the fastest route to the poorhouse. Unfortunately, only around 1% of punters make money from their betting but that is mainly because the other 99% give up too easily and don’t take a long term view, sticking to a few proven methods which, long term, do work.

As regards having a gamble away from the Scoop6, yes, I gamble generally on the horses as this is the sport I really know about. Nothing on the footie as that’s really not my area of expertise. It’s four legs rather than two all the way for me!

My only other betting weakness is the X Factor – guided, or should I say misguided, by my wife! I don’t know how she does it but most years, she spots the eventual winner at the audition stage and that’s been very profitable. Never underestimate a female’s intuition!

6. New and old punters alike often struggle to make a success of their betting. If you could give them one piece of advice to improve their profitability what would it be?

Hard work, study, more hard work and more study!

Honestly, in life, in work and in business generally, there’s no substitute for hard work and there’s no success without it. My advice, proven from experience, is first, to be very selective about which races you consider betting in – we all know that the higher class / prize money races are the most reliable – and then to do your work/study, particularly looking for the edge which Joe Average tends not to see. Develop your methods and stick to them and don’t listen to all the “noise” around you. I guess that’s more than “one piece of advice” but one alone doesn’t usually do the trick!

7. What do you consider to be a highlight of your racing experience to date? Do you have any personal racing / betting experiences which on reflection brings a smile, or for that matter any which bring a grimace; you can share with our readers?

Well actually, I have to mention 2 particular highlights which are etched into the memory:

1. My share of a £3.2 million Scoop6 win. Who could forget that?!

2. Personally pulling off an Irish Grand National tricast at odds of 54,468/1 (albeit for 50p) where the first three past the post were 33/1, 50/1 & 50/1
And then, in terms of a grimace, top of the list has to be the 2012 Aintree Grand National.

There I was, actually in hospital, very seriously ill with Leukaemia, with my laptop (as you do) etc., working out the Grand National, under pressure from several very nice nurses who wanted to make some money! So, I placed a bunch of “banker trifecta” bets i.e. a particular horse to win with any of a number of others to come 2nd and 3rd. One of those bets was Sunnyhillboy to win with Neptune Collonges and Seabass to come 2nd/3rd.

They came round the Elbow, in that order, and Sunnyhillboy was then collared, right on the line, by Neptune Collonges which won by a nose, the shortest winning distance in Grand National history. My 1-2-3 winning trifecta ended up a 2-1-3 losing trifecta and I lost out on £69,606.30 by that nose. If ever there were an argument for nose enlargement surgery!

8. What about the gambling industry, is there anything you would like to see changed? Many of the website forums are full of criticism of the bookmakers and their treatment of their customers? Is this something you have an opinion on?

I think that we are actually very fortunate to have an active, competitive and legal betting industry in this country. In many countries, you cannot bet or you can only bet on a Tote. Of course, as with any industry, there are things we can criticise but overall, I do think we’re very fortunate. Imagine if 10% betting tax came back or the industry was left to criminal gangs to run. We’d have a lot more to complain about then!

9. What do you do to relax and unwind? What interests do you have outside of the world of horse racing?

Relax? Unwind? I’m not sure that’s in the nature of a Type A personality like me, someone who is probably as close to the definition of workaholic as there is, but there are a few things outside work I do really enjoy, particularly travelling with my lovely wife (she’s a bit of a “rock chick”) to interesting places, watching great films and eating great food. I mean, without the great food, I couldn’t maintain the outsized midriff which is such a key part of being a middle aged man!

You can sign up to play the Scoop6 for  here.

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