Are there some people who make a living out of betting horses? I mean for years not just a winning streak?

Answer 1

Yes, my Father was one of them. Although he died with his "secrets", he wasn't shy about the fact that he was a "Bookie" & as a small child I still can remember being his "Little Miss Marker!" I guess you could say he was part of an "organized crime ring", although I NEVER could figure out just what he really was doin'!!! He was a good, hard drinkin' Irishman from an Immigrant Family who lived & died for the PONIES, as he called them! My Mother left him because she couldn't stand his gamblin' ways! There aren't too many people left who can still get away with this lifestyle.

Answer 2

The problem with making money at the track is that the public as a whole will handicap most races accurately enough so that after the track cuts the betting pool there will be relatively few profitable betting situations.

Over my career as a handicapper, I have devoted considerable time researching this matter. What I have found is that the public usually does a very good job handicapping most races. If you rank the horses by their order in the closing odds, for instance, you will see that it does accurately predict how likely each horse will be to win.

So if you study a large number of races, you will find that the favorite does win most of the time and the second choice in the betting wins the second most often. This continues for the horse with the third highest odds and the fourth highest odds, right up to the longest long shot who wins the least often.

To illustrate how the take and break affect the betting, let's use a specific example. We will make the assumptions that horse’s actual chances of winning a particular race will be 4-to-1 and the track’s take and break will total 20% of the betting pool. If the betting public correctly assesses this horse’s chances of winning, 20% of the betting pool will be wagered on our horse.

After the track cuts the pool by 20%, however, the amount of money wagered on the horse will now be effectively increased to 25% of the betting pool resulting in a payoff of only 3-to-1 instead of the expected 4-to-1 pay off. Betting on a series of horses like this will guarantee you a loss in the long run because you are not being adequately compensated for the risk that you’re taking.

In order to overcome the effect of the take the public would have to bet the horse up to 5.25-to-1 odds before the track cuts to pool. This would mean that only 16% of the money in the betting pool should be wagered on our horse before the take and break occurs. Even if that did happen it is important to remember that it would still not produce a profit. It would only cause you to break even if you bet the horse.

What a professional gambler does is to wait until large portion of the betting public makes a mistake in their handicapping causing a horse to go to post with odds that are considerably higher than the horse’s actual chances of winning. In handicapping, we call this an overlay situation. If you are very patient and very good you can find overlays that will give you a return on your “investment” of 100% or more.

If you would like more information on this subject please visit my web site http://turfanalyst.com .

Answer 3

Yes, it is possible to do it. But these people are few and far between. It requires tremendous discipline, patience, and ability. The more ability you have the less patience and discipline are required, because you will see opportunites frequently. But the less ability you have, the more you have to pick your spots, and sometimes this requires waiting and waiting until the public underestimates or overestimates a horses ability, in a race where you see something significant that the majority does not see. But there aren't too many people who can do it. Its like the stock market, how many people that invest in stocks do only that and can sustain a living? Not many, as most still have day jobs. But there are a few who can do it. But unless you are supremely confident in your ability and have the right temperment, try your luck elsewhere.

Answer 4

Yes, absolutely. I was going to give you the three best examples but Greyt-mom already did (Beyer, Davidowitz, Crist). These gentleman are all masters of handicapping.

There are more common, non-famous folk I know that go to the track for a job, handicap, wager, watch the races and then go home, making money all the while. This is how they earn a living, and this is how I learned.

I would not in good faith recommend pursuing this career, however. It requires special attributes to adhere to and maintain this type of lifestyle.

A bookmaker can make money off of nearly anyone who wants to gamble. If you are interested in becoming a bookie there are numerous offshore companies that provide modules for price per head (pph) bookmaking.

Check out www.wagersolutions.com or www.osga.com.

Answer 5

Yes, they are called professional gamblers. Many of the successful racing writers started out as professional gamblers who did so well and became so famous that they wrote books about their 'systems'. Andy Beyer, Steve Davidowitz, Steve Crist, etc.

Answer 6

In Ireland,JP McManus got extremely rich as a bookmaker but it has been widely surmised that he made most of his money gambling.He now owns horses and has a stake in an investment company.

Answer 7

Maybe the person that owns the racetrack....all business is really a gambling game....

Answer 8

Yes, many.

Answer 9

Yes they are called losers!!!