The Man Behind FormHorse Select
We asked the winner of our Summer Tipster Competition, Paul Slattery, to tell us a little about himself and where his love for horse racing came from, his working day, and his opinion on tipping and those bookmakers.
Hi, thanks very much! My name is Paul, and I am very pleased to have won the recent Summer Tipster Competition!
A bit about me? Well, I'm 57, soon to be 58 and living in the South of England.
My involvement with horse racing started at age 18 when I got a job as a cashier at Ladbrokes. Before that it was not on my radar at all. Prior to that I was on a YTS (Youth Training Scheme) to become a plumber, but things didn’t pan out there and I had to find a job quick.
Still, I don’t know why I applied to work in a bookies but there it is. Back in those days all the bets were settled by hand using a calculator and I took the settlers course for an extra £10 a week I think it was! It was good though to get to know all the fractions and place fractions for all the prices plus each bet has a different formula to settle that had to be learned. Some of it is pretty tricky. Don’t ask me to settle a union jack patent ever again! Today’s shop staff don’t know they are born!
Anyway, I worked my way up to assistant manager and eventually manager of my own shop. During that time, I had started punting on the horses. Very much up and down in the early years, losing for sure but by the time I was running my own shop I was making more from my betting than my wages, which to be fair wasn’t hard because the wages were awful.
I had built up a small pot and decided I would leave and give it a go as a full time punter so that’s what I did. That was about 25 years ago, and I have basically been doing it in various forms ever since. The first 8 years I was on course a few times each week and that’s when I really started to love the game. No better place to be, midweek racing, not too busy was perfect for me. Nowadays I hardly ever go to the track, and I do miss being up close to the action. The amount of racing we have now, the hours used travelling etc. are better used studying form, for me anyway.
Sports tipping in general, especially horse racing tipsters, I think it is tough to find someone reliable. If you can't get the prices advertised, then generally it is going to be a struggle to make a profit. Tipping the night before is not sustainable and even worse when it is just one bookie with a standout price i.e. Bet365 that is quoted. That is why it was good to have the Tipping Competition settled at BSP, even though quite a few of my horses got hammered down and the profit would have been much more, it is still the fairest way. My advice would be to see results settled at BSP and if you are happy with that figure then it doesn’t matter what other profits are claimed. At least you know the minimum achievable.
Over the years my approach has changed, and I have tried various methods. Basically, now I generally look for less competitive races where a lot of the runners can be ruled out and go from there. It has led me to start backing a lot more shorter priced horses, which I never used to do but as long as the odds are still value to me that is ok.
Value can be found at the front of the market too. I spend a lot of time watching back videos of previous races and use Racing Post and Attheraces for form study.
Starting the evening before and through the morning generally. I think being selective has given me that winning edge and knowing when a race is weak or not. Sometimes a race can look strong on paper but when you start going through it is maybe not so. Conversely that can work the other way as well.
I also watch a lot of racing of course, most days, unless I am doing something else. For anyone that wants to improve, watch as much racing as you can, would be my advice.
Learn about draw and track bias. It is amazing how many obvious looking horses will get beaten by a bad draw or being too far back on the wrong part of the track. Think about where a horse is likely to be in a race, will it compromise their chance or enhance it? It is not an exact science because sometimes the jockey will use completely different tactics. Even now I still get caught out sometimes, but it will cut out an awful lot of losers over time.
The rest is obvious stuff. Most of what I do is just common sense and logical really. I like winning form, class droppers, course and distance form, improvers, promising and proven form to name a few.
I like to cover the place sometimes if I think the bet warrants it and the place odds are acceptable. Sometimes though, they can shorten right up, as seen on some of my results during the trial. Also, I am trying to anticipate the price as well which doesn’t always pan out! I am quite happy to recover ¾ of my win stake at least in these scenarios.
Obviously, I don’t mind betting short win prices as well. It is an approach that works for me.
Overall, it stops long losing runs and is consistent, which helps with the mindset.
As for staking plans, I would always recommend compounding a bank. Reinvesting profits back into the bank is how I managed to build myself up. Loss retrieval is not something I am that keen on unless it is controlled properly. Maybe small increases to a few bets in a row can work but cap it and take the loss and restart.
A better way to me would be to increase bets after a win. Playing up winnings is a way to change a good day into a cracking day. Again though, keep it controlled, don’t go mad. Remember, always gamble responsibly!
As far as the tipping side of things goes I think the main thing anyone is looking for is profit! Honesty, transparency and consistency are also looked for. I think the tipster needs to be hard working, knowledgeable and have total belief in what they do, whatever their approach is.
My favourite personal experiences in racing have mostly come at the track. I have been to quite a few Derbys over the years, seeing the great Sea The Stars win in 2009 would stand out. Also, Kempton, Boxing Day is always a great atmosphere. Alway remember the roar that went up from the stands when Best Mate jumped the last in front in 2002. Spine tingling stuff!
In terms of today's racing and the small fields we get quite often, this is where my approach has changed. I don’t mind a short favourite with fewer horses to beat; it makes sense to me.
Taking on a favourite in them, even better. I think there is a good opportunity there either way. These races, something has to win them just like any other. In many ways they are easier to sort out and less things can go wrong in the run as well with fewer horses to navigate.
To relax and unwind…I run, if you can call that relaxing! Not really, but a run a day clears the head for form study and keeps me sharp! Also, I love films, cinema is a place I am a regular at. Seabiscuit, that wasn’t a bad film I suppose!
Paul proved to be quite the tipster during our competition and most notable was the huge 60% strike rate. If you would like to follow someone who is making it pay, we have an introductory price on Paul’s service – Click Here to see if that is still available.
