Punting in the Week vs Punting at the Weekend

theGoingStick · Punting in the Week vs Punting at the Weekend

Does anyone have a preference as to when they punt on the horses and do people find it more profitable in the week when compared to the weekend ?

I really can't put my finger on why but at the moment I'm starting to see a trend occuring with my gambling (where on the rare occasion) I make a profit on the racing it is normally in the week. It's odd because you would of thought the form on the weekend would be more familiar and hence easier to make money on.

Owl of Minerva

I don't even look at the cards in the week usually unless I know there's a really good card. I find betting in the week to be depressing and if i lose I feel like a bit of a, well, loser! Gambling in the day in the week just feels wrong to me. Just don't like the feeling of doing it - feels like I'm doing something wrong and that I should be getting on with something a little more productive/healthy! Whereas it's ok to be a bit naughty at the weekends!

Plus it's also down to the fact that I know the 'good' horses a lot better and find it far easier to win when betting on the better races as i have a much better knowledge of what each 'good' horse needs to perform withuot trawling through the form book for hours. You should olny bet on what you know and I don't know enough about the moderate horses and the dynamics of the lower class courses that are used in midweek.

alansouthcoast

The better racing on the flat used to always be in the week, until the recent trend to move things to Saturday. One reason i used to do better in the week, before the days of ATR ect, was that on Saturdays i would select my horses from the TV racing, often missing out on better winners later in the afternoon. My own opinion is that, it is a fallacy that the best races provide the best winning chances. While its true that every horse is normally primed for said race, that fact alone often makes it more difficult.
Sometimes the best bet is the small stable, who needs the odd winner to survive, shrewdly entering a horse at Newton Abbot or Wolverhampton to land a gamble.

newyorktony

i much prefer to bet on better class races, of which most are run at the weeekend. i just cannot bet on sellers/claimers and low grade handicaps there no joy in it, i very rarely bet on the all-weather period!! i love to watch group races and dont even need to have a bet and can still get great enjoyment out of watching it.... also maidens at the bigger tracks wondering if your about to see the next champion.... i cannot remember the last time i bet during the week other than royal ascot....

archie mackenzie

intresting question TheGoingStick
i see the majority on here have a punt every week so id be intrested to hear in what months the posters find to be there most profitable with plenty of winners
thanks archibald.

jayfle

Gorg_George

Summer flat months are always the best for me. I flutter on low quality racing frequently and every now and then if theres one i really fancy i'll have a proper bet but not often in the week excluding festivals. I've found i do better with class 2 handicaps upwards, i'll rarely place a proper wager on any race of a lower class. As the better racing is generally at the weekend, i generally do better then. Though making any real profits hasn't been easy this season, and given o'briens record it's heart-wrenching i've not had the best few months for a long time.

three out

I find it easier to back winners during the week. There are many more 2/1 winners and less that represent value in that there are far fewer realistic challengers to them than on a weekend. I find weekends harder to find winners, but naturally there are bigger prices to be had.

jennywales

Interesting question, indeed.

I can only answer from an NH perspective. My punting is pretty evenly distributed as between mid-week and weekend meetings, and I usually do best in November, December, January, February, March (EXCEPTING Cheltenham), April and May, which is when the hunter chases are run. This is because I have chosen, for all sorts of reasons, to specialise in hunter chases, and it is those races that do me best in terms of returns on investment.

Otherwise, it's purely on a "let's have fun" basis, and I might decide to have a dabble on summer jumping (as I did last week), go racing and bet on course (as I did last week) or not bet for ages (as I did this week so far but it's only Monday!!) The results of the latter strategy are mixed to say the least - but then I am not expecting to do particularly well, so I am not disappointed when I don't. Which is both unscientific and uneconomic, but what the heck. Punt for pleasure, repent at leisure!!

BRETT

weekend racing but the races after the ones on tv.dont ask why but i just seem to find the racing form easier to digest and come to a conclusion about.probably cos it doesnt have 20 runner 6f handicaps

westmeadhawk

I find I am spoiled for choice, particularly on Saturdays! For instance I was into a screaming loss this Saturday afternoon but managed to slave all evening to break even. For me quantity i.e. less races is more important for finding an angle into a race, quality is nice, but less critical.

geordie_racer

a very interesting question

truth is that i have a reluctance to bet on a race I am not going to watch, so except for those I can watch during an escape from the office I don't see much weekday racing by in large

If I do see some midweek stuff I tend to find it runs more to the betting market. I suppose those who know their horse is ready will be punting on it, and with reduced betting pools in the week, the market tends to tell the tale more than for the big races

so if you follow the market, you probably do pretty well

but the quality of the fare is [usually] so poor that I dont bother with it

i guess that the real truth is that the more time you spend looking and studying a race the better you do on it, whether its a claimer at lingfield on a tuesday afternoon or a group 1 from ascot or a championship at cheltenham

westmeadhawk

I think that is the key - focus! On Saturday I find it very difficult to know which races to focus on and all that tv chat and stuff can end up being a distraction.

Enjoyable yes, profitable, not necessarily!

Lord Ashfordly

If you bet on a Saturday you are more likely to come out on top (providing you have a good grasp of form and a half decent knowledge of the game) as you are betting against a lot of 'mug' money (i.e. punters you only bet on a Saturday).

In the week the percentage of bettors who know a lot more is far higher.

theGoingStick

penleguin

My preference is for listed and group races on the flat. There are therefor great midweek meetings, Newmarket July meeting, Glorious Goodwood, Ebor etc. and also a fair number of excellent weekends - Lockinge, Derby, King George, Arc etc. i.e. weekend or weekday makes little difference to my betting.

Have noticed distinct trends in my betting success (or lack of it). Best months for me are July-September (solid form and usually decent ground), also I'm really bad at sprints, not great with milers, much better with middle distance horses and stayers. Even for individual races there are trends - I've got a pretty good record in the Derby but have never backed a 2000 Guineas winner.

Lord Ashfordly

Agree. These days form certainly seems to stand up best in Group/Graded contests than your run of the mill handicaps, claimers, sellers, etc.

Hampton

I don't mind week day racing as there are often plenty of races to look at & also plenty to avoid (Claimers,Sellers, Maidens, Novice Hurdles & Beginers Chases) although the odd one of these may interest me if I feel I can find the winner!

The major week meetings are a draw to anyone any way!

I feel that during the week you will get value on some races as they are fairly open affairs & the bookies price up to relect that.

Saturdays have now become a wee bit of a nightmare due to more & more compeative races being put on to draw the weekend punter in!

I tend to do better during the week than on Saturdays anyway!

Gorg_George

I've been lucky as far as classics go, i've barely missed a winner since 2006 starting off with Gorgeous George in the 2000 Guineas, If i bet solely in group ones i think i'd be a rich man. How many classics has everyone had the winners of over the years?

If i actually think of a list and see which were midweek and which were weekends we'd have some scientific study going on.

three out

westmeadhawk

three out

westmeadhawk

Well I shall aspire to some three out parsimony ion course in future then - I am sure it would leave me much better off

jennywales

Oddly enough, I take a quite different position! If I go to the races it is a treat and I normally budget for a small bet on every race because it's fun and part of the day out. On the other hand, I have been known to attend the races without putting any bet on at all. If I bet from home, it is usually about once or twice a week, normally mid-week, NH, and sometimes for fun on the Flat.

But the "serious" stuff (in my case not really serious!) takes place on races that I pick (hunter chases, and not every single one of them either) at any time during the week/weekend in the specified months.

It is, in fact, the focus that others have noted; but in this case on specific types of race.

I think there is a real distinction between punting "for fun" and punting "to win". Most of my punting is for fun - but I have been known to punt to win on very specific occasions.