A few people have recently posted on the forum that the racing is crap on most days. I consider most days excellent for profiting. All racing days include uncompetitive non-handicaps. Most of you probably prefer handicaps, due to the better prices on offer, but how many do you win?

The strike-rate of non-handicap Favs is 40%, with handicaps it’s 30%. So you instantly get an extra 10% in your favour when you concentrate on non-handicaps. These are the little quirks you look for when looking to improve your returns.

One part ignored by most people is the draw. This is very important at some meetings. Take the Guinea’s meeting this year. Those drawn low were at around a 5L disadvantage over a mile. If HAWK WING had gone right from the stalls, he probably would have won easily. You should all know that low numbers in 5-6f sprints at Chester supply more winners than the high numbers, by a high percentage.

The Lincoln this year was another example of the draw. The horses in front on the line were all drawn high, and covering these runner in REV F/c bets every year, shows a very healthy profit.

You will find a basic record of the effects of the draw on in the Racing Post, but if you have time, it is worth looking at in more depth. Backing low numbers at Pontefract & York, put you at a distinct disadvantage.