In-running / Neil Munro / 02 September 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Neil Munro explains just how he likes to bet on a market

"When it comes to actual trading, I tend to use keep bets rather than trying to react live to what I am seeing. I believe in the work I have put in pre-race and then look for the race to pan out as I have predicted."

As I have stated a number of times there are a vast range of different tactics employed by people in-running but, this week, I thought I would outline how I play it.

The key for me is to profile the horses that I want to trade on. I firstly use my eyes in watching races. If I see a horse that looks to have not finished off its race, or alternatively maybe looked beaten and goes on to win, then I head for the http://form.horseracing.betfair.com/timeform website and check what prices they traded at for that run, as well as historically. If it looks interesting then I then start to breakdown the horse's runs so that I can gauge what the play will be dependent on conditions.

I believe that even if you are trading on horses you should still have an opinion on what you think the horse will do. For example, if you back an out-and-out front runner pre-race with the intention of laying out in the run, you should still have an idea as to whether you think the horse can see out the race or whether they are setting it up for a finisher. This can then lead how you trade, whether you end up just laying out your stake, making a green book either side, or end up opposing the horse and having the field winning for you.

When it comes to actual trading, I tend to use keep bets rather than trying to react live to what I am seeing. I believe in the work I have put in pre-race and then look for the race to pan out as I have predicted.

If you have never used keep bets on Betfair, they allow you to place bets pre-race that go into the in-running market as soon as the horses are out of the stalls. You submit the offer as you would for any other unmatched bet, but when the option comes for what to do with the bet at the start of the race you select the keep bet function. If you ever have any questions just contact the Betfair Helpdesk who will talk you through it.

Zebedee - Richard Hannon's two-year-old has enjoyed a phenomenal first season, winning five of his six starts, earning over £117,000 along the way. It has been broadly discussed elsewhere, but is it right that he picks up over £55,000 for a Class 2 sales race, as opposed to the £34,000 he picked up for winning the prestigious Group 1 Molecomb Stakes down at Goodwood? A debate for another day but connections will be happy with his success and rightly so. Now, his wins have come with the following Betfair starting prices:- [1.77], [1.25], [1.54], [3.46] and [2.32]. No returns there that are going to make you rich. But have a look at the top prices that he has been matched at in-running:- [2.04], [1.5], [2.02], [11.0] and [9.0]. So what do we take from this? Well anyone who has seen any of his races will know that Zebedee has a superb turn of foot and Richard Hughes tries to deliver him as late as possible on the line. This leads layers to take him on in the run and causes his price to rise before we see the turbo button pressed. He could well be seen in the Flying Childers and I would suggest splitting your backers stake between pre-race and in-running if you fancy him. I would look at double the starting price for the keep bet. If you are against him you could use the tactics of laying pre-race and covering your liability by backing at higher odds in the run.

Sea Lord - Just a reminder for a horse I have mentioned before, as he has been supplemented for the Irish Champion Stakes. He has been a revelation this season, picking up six wins along the way, all from the front. The important part with him is to see if he gets a lead. When leading he has won seven from eight starts, and when failing to get the lead he has just one placed effort, and no wins, in six starts. If he gets to the front uncontested back him and then put up a low offer to lay out your stake in the run.

Tags: In-Running, Irish Champion Stakes, Sea Lord, Zebedee