The PACAFI results show a profit in 10 out of the 11 months for 2018. The profits have not been big but they have been profits and achieved with virtually NO RISK. We remind ourselves that over 98% of those who bet lose - WE WIN, we have done so since June 2011! This year we have employed four systems to sit alongside our Pacafi and all four are in profit also! We also offer our racecourse templates to our members and the information contained within them has been excellent and highly profitable and all the above is available for just £9.95 per month or 33p per day!

Following The Racing Horse Betting Advice there is ZERO chance of a member losing his betting bank - FACT!

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For those who do not know who we are we would like to post answers we gave ON COURSE PROFITS in an interview earlier this year. Please excuse any self-indulgence that may come across but the piece does explain who we are etc...

Wendy Carter of On Course Profits asked us: "Hi Paul, and many thanks for joining us this month, first off would you start by telling our readers a little about yourself and your background?"

I love horse racing, cricket and football in that order and bet professionally on those sports to supplement my small pension and to pay for those little extras in life.

I have a lifetime experience of horse racing (52 years) and have previously worked for Heathorns and Ladbrokes as Betting Managers. In my pomp I would troubleshoot for Ladbrokes and go to problem shops deemed to be in unsavory areas, or those with an awkward clientele. To be trained in management and settling by Ladbrokes in the 60s and 70s carried status, those days are long gone.

Most of my working life has been involved in the cricket industry but more recently I wrote for Betfair for four and a half years on a range of sporting issues. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it has given me the confidence to express myself not just on sporting topics but also in the world of betting!

What attracted you to the world of horse racing? What do you enjoy most about the sport?

In 1967 I ran away from home (aged 16) from Bath, Somerset to Australia to become a jackaroo/cowboy but that went pear-shaped. Fortuitously, I ended up living in Sydney just two minutes away from Centennial Park and Randwick Racecourse where I watched horses school and be exercised almost everyday. I got to know some of the work riders/staff and then able to recognise some of the horses before following their progress - it was there I became hooked with the sport of kings.

Of course I love race days but get more pleasure in the anticipation and build-up. Visiting stables is always a privilege and I love those opportunities of seeing horses close up and personal, and then watching them move beautifully on the gallops. This side of the game thrills me as much now as it did in 1967 and I urge everyone to visit a racing stable if they have the opportunity.

What led you to set up the blog and what do you offer your members of the Pacafi club? Can you explain the word and principle behind Pacafi? What do you feel you can offer racing enthusiasts and punters that other subscription services can’t?

The website might not have happened without the kind help given to me by Matt Bisogno of Geegeez and I offer my thanks! For someone to give their time and their expertise free of charge is one thing but to encourage and offer support is another!

PACAFI is an acronym for Professional, Calculated, Filtered, Investment and the cornerstone of The Racing Horse. It represents the complete antipathy of random wagering! Every single bet made must come with a common-sense rationale and perceived value. The bet has been filtered using strict criteria and heavily weighted towards trainer form, horse profile, ground, class and jockey booking.

The Racing Horse does not presume to know better than other subscriptions though in truth most of them are dishonest in some form or another. We promise honesty, insight, opinion and advice on how to profit from horse racing though admit our style of betting will NOT SUIT the vast majority of bettors but we are happy to live with that. Making slow and small incremental gains over a period is not deemed sexy to most but the no-risk style suits our betting mentality!

We have absolutely no interest in recruiting members for numbers sake but happily engage and welcome those who gravitate towards us with a similar mindset. We do not tip per sé but offer advice and reasons why our bet is well placed to win with perceived value attached. The strategy is mathematically based and carries the building blocks of the professional gambler. It removes randomness and negative influences making the bet less vulnerable. It has a high strike-rate and there are no long losing runs. Finally the information that is carried within the bet is totally relevant to the day of the race. Because of our high strike-rate the strategy makes incremental profits to level stakes but we use percentage of the bank staking without dropping below a base stake.

Do you have a “typical” working day? How would you describe your day to day work?

We are big readers of everything horse racing and scan every race the day before or sometimes two or three days before looking for races of interest and opportunity. With Dictaphone at the ready we note key races and trainer activity. We always reduce field to contenders, so have a different race-card to that of the Racing Post and, after checking for ground conditions and the weather forecast, we price up those races before seeing the tissue prices.

The bookmakers start to price up at 5pm the day before racing and this becomes a time we are most actively looking for an advantage or edge. If we have a value bet that meets and matches our strict criteria we have a Pacafi, and although different weighting we apply similar principles to our micro-systems. We then email alert our members 60 seconds after backing the nominations and start on our sound rationale to accompany it later that night or early morning. Every single horse nominated to a member carries our money and is our primary source of income.

What traits do you think a good racing tipster should possess and what do you think the average punter is looking for from a tipping service?

A racing tipster must be honest and able to show a profit over a quarter. If they can explain their processes logically so much the better.

The average punter does not understand the rules of the game, believes in luck, is happy to lose and then blame anyone else for their misjudgment. The average punter looks for something that does not exist with no set aside bank or records. They have no patience, bet randomly, have no structure, goals or money management skills. The average punter is fodder and the first and biggest part of the food chain! How do I know this - I was one of them.

Do you regularly bet yourself? What style of approach do you take to your betting? What do you think of staking plans, loss retrieval systems etc?

I bet most days in some form or other but only in a value situation with a pre-planned edge.

My approach to betting is a cautious one and generally play at level stakes or a percentage of an individual betting bank. Each system or strategy has predetermined rules and we do not merge disciplines. Loss retrieval systems or chasing of any kind never enters my head and when I review my performance/methods I use three month or quarter blocks to measure.

New and old punters alike often struggle to make a success of their betting. If you could give them one piece of advice to improve profitability what would it be?

Assuming a punter would listen, the advice I would give is of the type universally agreed upon. Accept mathematics is the governing force of betting and learn the importance of fractions, percentages, probability and perceived value. Introduce predetermined criteria before striking a bet. Prerequisites to betting include a set-aside bank, a strategy and a staking plan that suits the bettor. If they were still listening, advise them never to bet randomly or recreationally again.

Another common gripe of many a punter is the number of races and poor quality meetings very often with low levels of prize money. Many race goers would rather see fewer better quality races. Is there anything that you would like to see changed within the horse racing industry and why?

There are dozens of things I would change in racing given the opportunity, some of which might sound hysterical. There are too many to list, but just for starters I would heavily reduce racing across the board and if that meant closing poor racecourses so be it.

Because of integrity and numbers I would ban trainers like Richard Hannon and Richard Fahey having multiple entries for different owners in the same race and I would remove Class 6 and 7 Handicaps from the racing calendar. I absolutely abhor violence towards horses! Had I the power Jason Maguire would not have won the 2011 Grand National on Ballabriggs and Davy Russell would be serving a three-year ban for punching Kings Dolly in the head!

What do you consider to be the highlight of your racing experience to date? Do you have any personal racing/betting experiences which on reflection bring a smile, or for that matter any which bring a grimace; you can share with our readers?

Racing has given me some fantastic experiences but my favourite was being invited to the 2017 Melbourne Cup in November where I met a fabulous mix of people/trainers/owners. The welcome I received from the Victorian Racing Club was phenomenal. For the duration of the Carnival there were four or five peaks but perhaps my favourite was on the Saturday night for the live televised draw of the Melbourne Cup (raced on the following Tuesday) from the Phar Lap Marquee at Flemington Racecourse. I spoke to the British contingent who had interest in the race including Hugo Palmer, Hughie Morrison and Iain Jardine but spent some valuable one-to-one time with the greatest NH trainer of all time Willie Mullins, and what a gentleman he was.

I had used a system regarding his horses to pay for the trip originally (shared with Betting Insiders, Betting School Forum readers and The Racing Horse members) and I told Willie all about it over a couple of glasses of champagne. He accepted my premise, called me perceptive and then asked about my latest article on the Melbourne Cup itself and what were the chances his horses had of winning. He confirmed Max Dynamite was his best chance and I duly took the 28/1 each-way (finished third).

The point I am making is Willie Mullins asked for my detailed opinions on the big race. At that point, I knew my contribution had value as he listened intently. He had opportunities to opt out of the discussion before a debate took place about what was the single best advantage to win the Melbourne Cup, a good draw or a kind trip, a kind trip won the argument. Eventually, he was called up for a television interview but promised to say hello to me next year and promised to read my 2018 Melbourne Cup piece and comment.

There's more…

On the Wednesday after the Cup I was invited to a ‘Melbourne Cup Breakfast Recovery Party' with Gai Waterhouse and her team and their leading millionaire owners. For those who are not aware, Gai is an icon of Australian sport and considered the Queen of Racing. I was then invited to visit the Waterhouse office, stables and home in Sydney where I received updates on their horses before handling and studying some of the greatest racing trophies in Australia including the owners 2013 Melbourne Cup won by Fiorente worth $175,000. Relaying this story makes me think again about the unbelievable level of hospitality afforded to me, suffice it to say the information gleaned made my Australian trip profitable.

The above contained lots of glorious moments but for those who know Sydney will know how beautiful Centennial Park is. On a couple of occasions I was allowed to canter a lovely and relaxed 16-hands thoroughbred mare in the most idyllic setting, can you imagine how this made a 67-year old feel?

What do you do to relax and unwind? Do you have any interests outside of the world of horse racing?

Professional sports betting can be unforgiving at times and keeping a sense of humour and proportion is not always easy.

I am lucky to have a lovely garden which needs a lot of tending and a couple of beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Apart from gardening, dog walking and swimming are my main exercise these days. I still go to the occasional cricket match but the football excursions have almost ceased because of my racing commitments. I have friends in the boxing world (trainers and boxers) and that gives me some great nights out. Having a few shares in horses will mean a little more travelling to watch racing this year and I am already planning my next Australian trip also.

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