Place Betting - 5 reasons why it makes sense

After scanning through the Horse Racing Tipster Leader Board recently we were amazed to see the sizeable profits being made by punters and media tipsters from their place tips. Place betting is often overlooked by punters due to it's perceived small rewards, however many of the value punters that we have spoken to over the years have proposed a staking plan that includes place betting and on some occasions only place betting. Using the information that we took from these interviews and discussions with professional punters and media form analysts we compiled the 5 top reasons to have a place bet when you punt next.

1. Smooths out the peaks and troughs of betting returns

A common issue that we hear from professional punters is the challenge to remain resilient in the midst of extended losing periods. Place betting is obviously less risky as it increases your chance of getting a return by a factor of three. So the logic flows that you are going to have more cash flowing through your bank more regularly. The downside of course is that the punter needs to up their stake to achieve the same cash profit objectives or alternatively increase their turnover on race day by betting in more races than they would if they were betting for the Win.

2. Bonus odds for late scratchings

One of the best kept secrets that most professional place betters are aware of is the late scratching rule relating to place market pay-outs. If a horse is scratched at the gate in an eight horse field reducing the field to seven runners, Australian bookmakers will still pay-out to the top three place getters in the race. These circumstances, although rare, act like a bonus for place punters. Discussions with a leading bookmaker in Australian revealed that they often see a flood of money come in for value runners in eight horses races when there is a late scratching, almost as if the smart punters are sitting there watching every move behind the gates in waiting for that perfect opportunity.

 

3. A quieter market can result in greater value

Place markets usually see significantly less turnover than Win markets. As with most markets that have low liquidity the price is often not a true indicator of the real price for the risk the punter is taking. On many occasions this results in better prices than then horse's true chance of running a place which means better value for the punter.

4. Protects you from hidden information about a runner

With the vast number of channels available to punters these days with pre-race information, there is less chance of unknowns about particular runners in a race. However despite the plethora of data, statistics and reviews that punters gets, there will always be the odd race where a horse is first-up and has not been seen in trials or it has recently landed in Australia from overseas with little knowledge about how it will rate against the field. If you are Win Only punter and these unknowns turn into surprise winners it can mean the difference between getting your due return on the race and waiting a whole lot longer to get your next return. Place punters have taken an insurance policy in these situations with two further places available to allow them to hit pay dirt.

5. It can still make you serious money

If you don't believe it than just take a look at the place profit on the Horse Racing Tipster Leader Board. Northern Territory race caller Craig Sant is currently showing 36% profit from his 55 place tips over the past 12 months and Sky race caller Paul Francis has made 20% place profit over 12 months from his 60 place tips. There are a stack of other media tipsters and punters who are also showing the way and proving that it is possible to make cash from place betting.