A Q and A with Michael Carr of Lucrative Racing Trust
Would you start by telling us a little about yourself? Where does your interest in horseracing come from?
Sure. My name is Michael Carr, and I’m from Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. I started betting at an early age, about 16, I was drawn by the prospect of ‘getting rich quick’. Like all young gamblers I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I did know what attracted me to betting, and that was Horse Racing.
I definitely lost a lot more than I ever won back then. I was a full time student and the betting losses alongside Uni fee’s racked up some serious debt. It was the frustration of losing, and being in debt, that eventually made me successful. That probably sounds a bit corny, but as the saying goes ‘If life gives you lemons…’.
I simply refused to believe that you couldn’t earn money from betting, even though this is what the vast majority do believe. This became something of an obsession – I come from a maths/stats background, so was used to crunching numbers and enjoyed researching different systems and strategies at all hours of the day and night. Dig deep enough and you’ll always find something of worth, and eventually I did.
Finishing Uni, I set up Lucrative Racing Trust straight off the bat. There’s so many horse racing systems, services etc. available online, but I knew my strategies worked (and learned that many out there do not), so was eager to share and help others create an additional income for themselves, as well as supplementing my own.
What do you enjoy most about the sport?
It’s difficult to pinpoint one particular aspect, but for one thing there’s a certain atmosphere around Horse Racing that can’t be matched by any other sport, in my opinion at least. The experience of being at the races, especially the larger meetings and festivals, is second to none.
There’s also how the sport and the betting are tightly fused together, like no other sport. You can take the betting away from Football, for example, and the match will still be largely the same. Take the betting away from Racing, however, and you completely change the sport.
Finally, since I’m a bit of a stats geek, I enjoy the vast amount of past racing data / stats etc. available online that isn’t generally available for other sports (football is a possible exception here). There are so many angles that can be looked at, and therefore so much potential for finding ways to profit.
The racing industry is often being criticised these days, too many races and poor cards, insufficient prize money to encourage entries etc. Is there anything that you would like to see changed within the horse racing industry?
As a punter, it’s not a black or white issue for me. There is of course the odd card where I can’t justify a single bet, but I can identify and skip over these meetings fairly quickly. Since there’s more than enough racing (I suppose it could be seen as too much), from a bettor’s point of view it’s easy enough to pick and choose which meetings to look at, or even to purely focus on the high-class meetings and festivals. I think at these events, the quality of racing is still generally very good.
Perhaps if I were a ‘favourite-backer’ I would have a different opinion, but my own style is usually smaller stakes, higher odds. Without naming names, there have been some controversial higher priced winners at the big meetings throughout 2015, but you won’t hear me complaining.
Within the gambling industry as a whole would you like to see anything changed? There is many a critic of bookmakers and there treatment of their customers? Is this something you have an opinion on?
I’m not a fan of what bookmakers have become in recent years, and the tactics they’re employing to attempt to further their profit.
This includes restricting or closing accounts that are showing consistent profit, especially for online accounts. There’s also been much recently on customer profiling by the bookies, even with the use of spyware software, to keep track of an individuals betting activities and restrict the clued up punter before they even have a chance to win.
Since many of these firms have become giant corporations, seemingly their sole aim is now to increase company profit, with the fair treatment of customers taking a backseat. However, since the bookies were already protected by their odds over-round, and with the vast majority of the general public making a net loss from their betting in the first place, these new tactics to discourage serious punters is completely unnecessary.
My message to these bookmakers is simply to stop being so greedy. Many punters have moved over to the exchanges in recent times and for good reason, and if these tactics continue, eventually these firms may find themselves without customers.
What style of approach to betting do you take on a personal level, i.e. singles, multiples, exchange trading etc.? What would you consider to be a highlight of your racing experiences to date?
My preference is for straight singles betting. I’ve created a betting portfolio with this as it’s base, but do include a range of win, e/w, place and lay strategies. Of course, this type of betting involves ups and downs so I also do a bit of low risk betting i.e. arbitrage, trading to improve the consistency of earnings.
How do you deal with inevitable losing runs and do you have any advice for aspiring punters who may be starting out on their journey in to the gambling world?
Before setting out I would advise punters to learn to adopt what I like to call the ‘Ideal Mindset’. I could waffle on about this for hours, but simply put it’s the ability to keep the mind focused on the long term, and being able to detach ourselves emotionally from the day to day ups and downs.
While I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be able to enjoy our betting – by all means, get excited! I still enjoy betting immensely, but it comes from a deeper understanding that no matter what the outcome today, my betting income is guaranteed over the long term. This particularly helps when it comes to losing runs, since those who are affected emotionally by losing bets are more likely to act rashly and start chasing losses.
There’s a couple of articles on the website (http://lucrativeracingtrust.com/mentality) that goes into this in more detail.
Would you tell us a little about the Lucrative Racing Trust, what can it offer for potential punters and how is it different to other services on the market?
My main aim has been to develop strategies of betting that will produce a substantial return on the initial investment. So, that’s what I provide through my website, or rather, the direct bets from these strategies. There’s a couple of reasons I rarely share the strategies themselves, one being that if too many people start using them, the odds may drop and the profitability would be reduced. Also, the strategies I use are developed and tweaked over time as we get a clearer picture of which aspects are most effective. This ensures that profits remain high in the future.
Many useful articles, guides and a limited number of tips are provided for free through the website. The more dedicated services do come with a relative membership fee, however I provide a risk free trial on these services so those interested can test them out before committing their hard earned cash.
Are there any future plans to develop Lucrative Racing Trust further? Anything you can tell us about?
The currently focus is mainly on continuing to provide a top-notch service to our current member group, and to spread the word further so more punters are able to create an additional income for themselves from these proven strategies. There’s always the possibility to branch out into other areas in future – I have many ideas, but few concrete plans at the moment.
What do you do to relax and unwind? What interests have you outside the world of sports?
One little trick, which I’d recommend to punters or anyone who works in the betting industry (or even anyone in general!) is to take a day’s break each week from their betting or work activities. Put the computer, the tablet, the smartphone etc. away and do something fun. Not that betting isn’t fun, but there’s an endless list of other fun things to do.
For me, outside of racing I’m a bit of a health nut so any outdoor activity or sport, preferably as far away from the city as possibly, is ideal. You’d be surprised how even just a wander through the countryside can release much of the stresses / anxieties that have arisen over the past week. Then, the following day I can get back to it, with a fresh mind and renewed enthusiasm.
