So, you wanna be a systems tipster, do you?

If you’re anything like me, this is a process that begins with a multitude of ideas and very little action having taken place to date. Don’t worry, I’ll talk you through everything I’ve done so far.

Who am I? I’m the proud owner of Racecracker, a systems tipster based with Bet Chat. A low cost service operating on a no win – no fee basis. A service that has been through some serious downturns a well as the upturns over the years. In fact, as I write this it is running at a loss of 6 points for the whole of 2026! But I’ve been here before and the results are almost bound to turn soon.

I say “Almost” because horse racing is an uncertain business. Nothing is ever guaranteed but all the evidence of the past says it should. I’ve got five years of proofing behind me and six points is a tiny deficit.

So where should you start?

Firstly, you are going to need around 25 successful systems to provide you with enough tips to keep your clientele interested. I’m currently working from 27 with another handful that have nearly passed my threshold for inclusion. You should bear in mind that a successful system today may not be a successful system in the future so you will need more than this in the long run.

Where do you find systems?

Hoseracebase.com is the answer. If you’re not familiar with it, it is a database of racing results covering everything back almost to the turn of the century and you can get a trial for free, but I assume most of you will already be familiar or even users.

Once you’re in HRB, the only real limit is your own imagination.  The number of categories in HRB are frankly ridiculous. You can search by track, distance, going, class, festival, handicap status, horses age, headgear, stall number, jockey, trainer etc, etc, etc. All of these, just one or any combination. The sky really is the limit.

One thing you need to sort before you start is the time period you want your search to include. Some like to search all results, some just two years and some five years. I search everything for at least five years, but you must think about what you are searching.

Is it something the trainer will be aware of?

Say you are looking at the results of the offspring of certain sires. The trainer should be aware of the offspring’s likely strengths and weaknesses. This will be something that will last a long time because he has something to work from.

Is it something that will last?

Providing the sire is still serving as a stallion, yes. If you had success with a certain sire’s offspring, wouldn’t you try to repeat the trick with others? Clearly, if this is a goer then it should be tested for at least a five year period. I am of the opinion that if any system would not be expected to last five years, then I don’t want your clientele following it for that long and maybe not at all but bear in mind, this is only my way of thinking. System research is definitely one with many ways of thinking.

Whenever you write a system, there are many things you have to take into account. Some will be with active trainers who have as many as ten qualifiers per month but many more are likely to produce far fewer. You must keep full records on everyone at least monthly (I call this my active list) despite the fact that this can be a major task.

I’m on course to have to “write up” some 600 or so results for June partly because I’m working on something covering all racecourses in the UK and Ireland as well as the 200 or so I use for Racecracker.  That will take over 6 hours but there isn’t a choice.

You must know when a system is running out of legs, when it passes your particular quality control, when it is ready to chance your hard earned cash on, when a previously dropped system has regained momentum.

How else can this be done other than by keeping accurate records?

Thankfully they don’t have to be extensive. I keep the month, the number of runners, the number of winners and the profit or loss per month. That keeps me knowing if a system is in form or not. I do keep totals as well because I have a threshold of 20 points profit before I will spend my money on it. This of course, is merely a pointer not a rigid rule.

A system testing Trainer X’s runners in May only may take several years to reach 20 points of profit whereas a test for Cheltenham festival winners may only take a matter of months. Equally some trainers have many runners, others have few so a more flexible approach may be required.

You obviously need to be aware of backfitting. That essentially means finding something that is unlikely to be repeated and approving it for use due to a large headline profit. It is very easy to unknowingly backfit systems so always try to remember to keep thinking like a trainer. If you are testing a system and it doesn’t come up with positive results, the most likely explanation will be backfitting.

You can store up to 120 systems per account in HRB so, off you go then. Test away until next month when I‘ll be back with advice on things to consider before setting yourself up as a tipster, extra ways of finding systems and some of my actual current systems.

Best of luck until then.

Clive Jones