A Q and A with Malcolm Pett of The Grey Horse Bot

1. Hi Malcolm, and many thanks for joining us this month, first off would you start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your background?

Thanks for having me. My background is actually in software development, but I also like to trade on the sports markets. I registered my first site back in 2002 exploring systems that led me to creating automated betting bots.

Since then, I have created a number of “Betting Bots” including “UltraXtrader” for the Betfair games market.

2.When did you set up the Grey Horse Bot and what led you to set up an Automation Software?

I think I first registered Grey Horse Bot with Betfair back in 2006 when I was experimenting with some Greyhound ideas and wanted to automate the idea.

I had a small forum at the time and when I started telling people about it what I was doing members wanted to try it as well.

We added horses later in the year and it also includes football and tennis.

3.What attracted you to the world of horse racing and greyhound racing and what do you enjoy most about the sports? Do you have a personal preference between Greyhound Racing and Horse Racing, and if so why?

I like statistics and gathering data and there is nothing more intriguing than horse and greyhound data (Although I do collect football data as well). I just love analysing the information that I gather and giving my members the chance to do likewise.

Personally, I like both horse racing and greyhounds, but you get a lot more data about greyhounds much quicker.

Saying that I can trace one of my Horse Racing databases back to 2001 but our main one starts at 2015 and has over 1 million records now!

4.We see that the software can now be used not only with horse racing and greyhound racing but also football and tennis. Would you give a brief explanation for our readers about how the software works?

We mainly deal with Betfair who have what we call an API layer that allows you through a security protocol to link to their site and read the information.

Because of this we are able to build bots that can place bets based on a user’s specific criteria.

We also give Grey Horse Bot members software to analyse our in house data, find selections they like and then send those selections to the bot through a special linking system.

This allows us to create software that is independent of the bot but still use the automation features.

I will admit we haven’t done much on football at the moment although we have been building a database of results gradually.

5.Many people may feel a little nervous about using an integrated software with their Betfair accounts. What can you say to reassure them that it is safe?

Betfair don’t just allow you to connect to their network without some pretty tight controls.

First you have to attain a special code from them to start work on a product then you have to prove to them that the product is safe and works how it should with their systems.

We have over 14 years’ experience of running bots with their systems and have built up a good knowledge in that time of getting the best from their API

I have this saying that I build software for me first then if I find it useful, I then share it with my customers.

So it had better work!

6.What about liquidity in the markets, particularly in relation to the Greyhound markets? Do you find there are any problems here and if so, what can users of the software do to maximise their success?

It’s an interesting question and one that I get a lot especially on the Greyhounds.

The way I look at Greyhounds Races is that there are so many races every day that your strategies have to be built around taking advantage of quantity.

That said for the average punter you can still get £50 to £100 easily matched if not more.

Even on a lot of horse racing the amount of liquidity available before the last few minutes is limited especially on higher priced selections.

The beauty of bots is they allow you to move quickly and you can even pre-set exactly when to place a bet.

7.Would you say you have a “typical” working day, and how would you describe it?

My customers know that I am always up to something. That could be updating our current software (Adding new features or improving existing ones), exploring new ideas and analysing data or just playing the markets.

I don’t hide from my users and they know they can contact me through email, Facebook or our support system.

If I can (And have time) I will post some of my trades or bets on Facebook and often share results information to my readers.

We often do “Open” trials where anyone can follow along with a new idea.

So, my day is pretty jam packed from when I start writing emails at 6.30 am in the morning right up to 5.30 pm (Which is my shut off time now).

8.Do you regularly make standard bets yourself? What style of approach do you take to your betting if any? What do you think of staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc.?

I wish I had more time to be on the markets than I do.

But my job is to help my customers as much as I can so I would much rather be updating software or exploring new ideas.

We also have a very limited number of Betfair accounts to test with so often those accounts are being used for live tests, making it difficult to be on the markets manually at the same time.

That said we have been developing a new piece of “Manual” style software for the Greyhound Markets using a number of “Ratings” which our members are already aware of.

I find this a lot of fun, so I test it quite a bit at the moment!

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

Funny I wrote about this in one of my daily emails not so long ago.

Personally, I think you have to treat your betting like a business. ~

No business in their right mind would make decisions about how well they are doing based on one- or two-days trading.

You have to detach yourself from the “Emotional” side and look at it purely from a statistical point of view.

In some ways that is the good things about “Auto Bots” because you are not watching or getting involved in the event.

You just have to look at the figures

Many of our customers run their bots on a “VPS” (Virtual Private Server) because they can just let them run day after day week after week.

I think our record was 6 months, but we were forced into doing a Window’s update in the end.

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

As I enjoy trading as well, I have many trades where I grimace at the thought of the mistakes I made.

To be honest my highlights are when I get emails from my customers saying how much they are enjoying the software or that they appreciate how quickly I can react to requests and even issues.

It’s that knowing that what you are doing does help people.

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

I don’t use bookies haven’t for years and cannot see why people do.

I know that the exchanges are not perfect, and you still have charges but I much prefer them over bookies.

Regarding changes.

The thing that really concerns me I suppose is the sales methods people can use to dress up systems and make them look “Unbelievable”.

Don’t get me wrong I run a business and want people to use my products, but I think if you asked anyone who visits my sites you wouldn’t call them “Pressured” as far as getting people to buy.

In fact, I prefer people to get to know me first then make a decision or at least ask me a question so you know I am a real person.

Most of the time I only offer products to my daily email readers because I know, they know who I am (Quirks and all) and they understand that my software is always changing and under development.

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

Lol…I could probably write a book about my free time but again my readers know that outside work I get up to a lot of different things…

…But mostly I am a maker and love using technology to create things for me, friends and relatives (And even readers).

I have several 3D printers (2 that I built myself), a CNC machine (That I also built myself) and have just got my hands on a CO2 Laser Cutter.

Don’t get me started on the “Man Cave”! If you want to find out more about Malcolm and his auto betting bots go to https://greyhorsebot.com