RacingBetter News
	Monday 16th January 2023

Is it Smart to Listen to Racing Tipsters?

The relationship between horse racing and betting has been in existence pretty much since the idea of putting one horse against another was invented. It has only grown stronger over the years and, while other sports have outstripped racing, the association remains. Betting would not have become so popular if not for horse racing, and vice very much versa. There is a strongly profitable business in betting on horse races with bonuses on offer at Goldenbet for example, and it’s for that reason that people take their bets very seriously.

Walk into an average UK betting shop, and you will see something that hasn’t changed since at the very least the 1980s. People sit studying the racing form, figuring out what bet they’re going to place next, treating the paper in front of them like some sort of holy relic. As though it carried the answer to the universe itself. And if the right bet comes off at the right time, for the successful bettor it can sometimes feel like something otherworldly. But not every bettor has the time nor the specific knowledge to study the form, and in many cases they leave that to tipsters. The question has to be: is it worth listening to the tipsters?

They tend to know their stuff

Let’s get one point out of the way first: anyone can call themselves a tipster. It’s not a protected term or occupation, and you don’t need to have passed any accreditation to get the title. However if you’re looking in a respected betting newspaper or website, it is fair to say that their in-house tipsters will know what they are talking about. These are publications that have been in existence for, in some cases, over a hundred years. They won’t want to stake their reputations on tipsters who merely stick a pin in a race card.

However, they aren’t soothsayers

Setting your trust in a tipster is something that has to come with a certain amount of skepticism. Not because they aren’t knowledgeable about the sport, but because they can’t be right all the time. If a tipster was always right, they wouldn’t be writing in a betting paper - they’d simply endlessly multiply their riches and retire to live in luxury. If they’re right even half the time they’re doing well. So it pays to do your homework, ideally find some consensus on any bets you research, and accept that even then you might well still lose.

Don’t pay for a tipster service

There are tipsters who put their knowledge on the market by accepting subscriptions for betting newsletters that contain multiple tips, promising that they will give you enough correct tips to more than pay for the subscription and a healthy profit besides. As we’ve already said, there are betting papers that give this information, and they do it for much lower prices. The people running subscription services don’t have special knowledge; they’re still just predicting and they can’t guarantee anything - so it’s not worth paying big money for the benefit of their information.