Q & A with Nicky Doyle of Bet Alchemist

Hi Nicky, first up would you tell us a little about your background. When did you start betting and what attracted you to horseracing?

I’m from a farming background and my uncle kept horses, they were point to pointers and hunters. During the springtime my brothers and I would attend the local Bree P2P Meet in Wexford and that piped my interest in racing. I really enjoyed standing next to the fences and hearing / learning a host of new swear word from the Jockeys as the encouraged their mounts to jump!

Also an aunt of mine worked in Ladbrokes and she would take me and my brothers to the racetrack at Wexford most summers. Her Housing estate was built beside the track away from the stands. On race day we were encouraged to jump a gate walk down the track to the stands and enter for free. If asked any questions we had an answer prepared “We were out walking the track as our dad’s horse runs in the last!”

My father avoided horses but we did keep a few greyhounds and “granny” on my mother’s side kept a good few racing dogs too!

It was at Enniscorthy greyhound track that I placed my first bets and then rushed back over to my “granny” who was always well placed at the wall beside the first bend. 

Money for betting and sweets was taken gratuitously from Granny and her friends at the first bend as well as heading up to the top of the stand where by Dad and his Pals hung out for fund top ups and better tips! This was undoubtedly where I would have placed my first bet! Most likely 10 pence win on number 2 which was my favourite number at that time. I guess both sides of my family like the sport of racing horses and greyhounds as well as placing some small wagers.

By my teens my elder brothers were racing fanatics both riding and watching and it was always a losing battle each Saturday to watch “Saint and Greavsie” instead of the racing. I grew to love the racing and competition between my brothers and I to pick the winner in each race was fierce!

Later, I went to college in Dublin to study Agricultural Science but enjoyed the freedom of college which contrasted wildly from boarding school. Let’s say I had no issue getting up early to head to the bookies after a late night out but found I couldn’t do the same for college lectures!

Without, going into my life story I spent 10 years socialising, jumping jobs and backing “shorties” whilst recovering from a hard night out most weekends. A vicious circle but I did get away for a year to Australia in 1996 and have very fond memories of the Melbourne Cup meeting both Double Trigger and Vintage Crop in the saddling barns before they raced. When I turned 30 I decided to crack on and start betting for profit not just fun and improved my betting greatly into long term profitability. Happy days had come but first I had to pay off huge debts racked up from the previous 10 years.

Do you think gambling / betting has a place in modern day society and if so what style of betting do you think appeals to the modern day gambler. What are they looking for?

Gambling / betting will always have a place in society. It is human nature especially amongst males to take risks. Constant evolution and betterment of the human race would not occur without risk takers / entrepreneurs. The landscape might shift similar to in business with betting moving to mobile and online but nevertheless it’s always good to take risks (calculated) in life and push ourselves out of the comfort zone, within reason of course!

Do you have any tips for those who are just starting out betting and betting on horses in particular?

The best tip is to “never chase your losses”. If you suffer a loss take it and wait patiently for the next good betting opportunity. This is quite a hard skill to learn as betting for most is an emotional experience.

Sometimes, to avoid throwing good money after bad just step out of the place you are whether that be in your local bookies, on your smartphone or looking at a PC! Racing is relentless and there will always be more races the next day or week to win your money back under full control of your emotions.

What approach to betting do you take yourself? We think you have answered this one already, but what opinions do you have regarding staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc.?

I take quite a conservative approach to betting in that I bet each way mainly because it pays greater dividends than win only betting. Saying that I am not one bit conservative regarding the price of the horses I advise and back. I do not think twice of backing horses above 10/1 right up to 33/1 or higher. The tougher big field Class 2 handicap puzzles are my favourite races to try find a value priced winner in.

I keep staking plans simple mainly backing to level stakes ½ point each way. Of course I totally accept that the stakes on an each way selection in an 8 runner race statistically should be higher than a similar selection in a 30 runner handicap. I do not like loss retrieval systems as they are based on the premises that we can cancel out every losing bet eventually! Much more realistic to accept losses and plenty of them and just wait for a big priced winner to clear the decks so to speak and bring in some profits. Always, remain patient and agree with yourself that the strike rate doesn’t have to be high to make excellent profits like Bet Alchemist’s average ROI of 15%.

What’s the most memorable bet you’ve ever placed?

This is much easier to recollect and might surprise some in that it is not 66/1 shot Son of Flicka at the Cheltenham festival. The reason being I couldn’t get enough on that horse!

My most memorable bet from so many has to be Rajdhani Express winner of the last race on Day 1 of the 2013 Cheltenham Festival. A few factors made that winning ride by Sam Whaley-Cohen very special.

For starters my Bet Alchemist service was just into its 4th Month live and I admit to feeling the pressure mounting as we had not even nailed a place in the earlier races that day. My phone was hopping with angry punter emails in my pocket but I ignored it and went to the lawn in front of the main stand at Cheltenham and close to the finishing post.

Rajdhani Express had been on my radar since romping to victory on Boxing Day at Kempton.

Since then he had put in a poor run at Cheltenham which allowed him to be readily available at 25/1 that morning and days before. I had placed double my normal stake on him at 25’s. I can honestly say emotions took completely over as he sailed over the last and fought off a persistent challenger all the way to the line.

A massive pressure release as a big priced winner was nailed and at double my normal stake meant the profit was substantial. Oh, the amount of back tracking emails that came following that winner going in was funny and proof that one winner can change a hell of a lot in the mind of “the punter”.

If you could change one thing about the horse racing industry, what would it be, and why?

Wow, that is a very broad question about which a book could be written!
Personally, I would like to see many more syndicates involved in Grade or Group level horses. It is done successfully in Australia so why are we in the UK and Ireland so reliant on a select few owners with deep pockets especially in National Hunt racing. More can and should be done to make membership of syndicates more affordable.

This is something I am becoming very much involved in having launched Bet Alchemist Racing just a few weeks ago. Current successful syndicates that work very well are the Million in Mind Syndicates, Deva Racing, Highcleere Racing and Supreme Horse Racing but there should be many more making a mark in the horse racing industry in my opinion.

What about the Gambling Industry? The bookmakers are often being attacked for their approaches to their customers. Do you think this is fair and are all bookmakers the same or are there “better” bookies out there?

The bookmakers have nowhere to hide regarding this question as we all know they limit stakes and winnings for the small percentage of punters that make a profit while allowing desperate losing punters rack up massive debts! In fact most bookies limit stakes for punters that bet horses which subsequently shorten in price no matter if they are making a profit or not.

Personally, I would highly recommend Bet365 as the best value for money bookie in the market especially for each way betting. They accept decent wagers, offer extra places on the big handicaps and run special money back offers if you back a 4/1 plus winner on all the Saturday and major festivals currently televised on Channel 4. The rest are a mixed bunch with Boylesports “bottom of the barrel”

When did you start the Bet Alchemist service? And why did you start it – what were your aims?

I started the Bet Alchemist betting service on Friday 7th December 2012. It was very exciting and I admit to feeling pressure and nerves both in equal measure. There were two main reasons I setup the service which remain true even today. Firstly, I knew my winning ways would not be tolerated by the bookies that employ a “no winners allowed” policy.

After years of throwing money at them they were very quick to start offering limited odds and stakes once their systems highlighted my account as a winning one. If I cannot get my stakes on what can I do with my knowledge and skill built up over the years?

The Solution was to sell my knowledge online. I had signed up and used the services of Mel Collier and Henry Rix both ex Racing Post pricewise tipsters in the past. Good services but impossible to get on at advised prices.

Secondly, the pain built up from losses in my early betting career and I use the word “pain” selectively has left me with a bitter regard for bookmakers and their like. Bookies are a necessary evil but I am highly motivated to help as many punters as possible get away from their current pain and hurt from losing!

Yes, I enjoy making money but I am not driven to make vast amounts of money betting and get more enjoyment helping others to win and hopefully put something back into horse racing which is a fantastic sport.

The testimonials that I have received since Bet Alchemist went live are the best part of the business. 

The sheer joy as members come to realise that the golden grail of winning and profiting from betting is achievable makes me smile and that is enough for me.

Can you explain to our readers who may not be familiar with your service what it actually involves and the types of tips you provide?

Ok, Bet Alchemist is a selective value betting service. That means we place about 40 to 50 bets each month but mainly covering the weekend action and the major racing festivals.

Most bets are each way and that is because it limits testing long losing runs. Also, a fact which might surprise some is that each way betting is more profitable than win only using our advised bets! We bet and win backing horses each way priced away from the top of the market usually at double digit odds.

It’s a place where few punters are prepared to travel and that is where our winning edge lies. Bet Alchemist advises members to run their betting like a sports investment business. This involves strong cash flow control and discipline as well as recording all bets placed to provide a profit and loss tally which can be broken down by week, month or longer.

Of course Bet Alchemist does this on the website updating results from runners within 24 hours to the public. Nothing to hide on our website as we know our results are real and profitable.

What traits do you think a good tipster of any sport should possess and what do you think the average punter is looking for in a tipping service?

A good tipster should be cool, patient and calculated having learned to control his or her emotions when betting. All tipsters’ results should be available to everyone to view and if not, questions should be asked as to what are they hiding? The key trait required is an authority level of knowledge on that particular sport or niche within a sport as hard work and form study will outperform any system over the long term and value betting is all about taking a long term view.

How large a bank do you suggest is sensible to begin following Bet Alchemist?

A very good question and the first thing with betting is to reach break- even point.

Bet Alchemist charges a normal monthly fee of £30 with your initial month half price at £15. The past 7 years has seen an average yearly profit of ~140 points which works out an average of over 11.5 points profit per month.

Therefore, it is possible to turn a good profit even to £10 stakes (10 x 11.5 points =£115 profit minus subscription cost of £30 = £85).

Bet Alchemist recommends a minimum betting bank of 50 points so £500 (50 x £10) is your starting bank.

As profits come in your betting bank will increase and then stakes can be raised. Of course if you a £1000 betting bank then your stakes will be £20 and your profits greater so on and so forth.

This is a question many of us ask: “Why would anyone offer tipping services, as if the selections are so good they should be able to make enough from them alone?”

A fair question.

As I mentioned previously the bookies quickly turn down bets from winning punters refusing their bets completely or offering a fraction of the desired stakes.

It becomes impossible to get on with them and as I like to bet each-way the betting exchanges like Betfair and Betdaq have poor place market liquidity. Bet Alchemist bets still return a very healthy profit to Betfair SP win only and that is where my betting is been forced to go quicker than I prefer.

There are a large number of betting scams on the market. What sorts of things do people need to be aware of when purchasing a service?

There are so many scammers on the web it can be difficult to spot the good from the bad! My advice is to be aware of paying for a product / service that you as the buyer have little understanding of as that leaves you wide open. A registered tax number, business name, email addresses, postal address, landline are all good signs of a legitimate business.

Bet Alchemist has info and support email addresses available but more importantly is that I reply to every email so the public know that a real person exists on the other side. As a value tipping service I differentiate my service from the scammers by posting all advised bets and results online within 24hrs of the race ending.

It’s surprising how few of the so called very successful betting websites publish all their results online for the public to view. On top of that I proof my selections to Race Advisor and Racing-Index.com. The Bet Alchemist service is managed under the business name Big Wheel Turning Ltd, so yes I do pay corporation rates and taxes!

What future plans do you have for Bet Alchemist?

Plans are always in the pipeline and it’s just a matter of finding the time to fully implement them.

There have been the odd trying year, but my main priority is always to find more winners and ensure that the profit line moves northwards.

I would like to encourage Bet Alchemist members into racehorse ownership through becoming members of racing clubs or large syndicates. By becoming part of a team of owners the cost of owning a racehorse is reduced significantly and can be as low as a yearly gym membership. Racehorse ownership sure is easier on the body and more fun than the gym!

Finally, I aim to work harder than ever to combine a very profitable National Hunt and Flat season in the same year to break the highest points profit achieved over the past 7 years of 223.5 points profit. Like Tony McCoy says records are there to be broken and to beat that number backing mainly ½ point each way would be special to all Bet Alchemist new and existing members.

What interests does Nicky Doyle have outside of horse racing?

A very good question and basically I’m a sports fanatic and take an interest in most sports. These days I enjoy swimming, road cycling and spending time with my family.

Travel was something I did quite a bit of when younger and now that our two girls are getting older the option of travelling once again is easier.