The Free Resources Articles have highlighted the wealth of information that is freely available. Below is a perfect example of what you can find if you do a few minutes research. Let’s see if these snippets can bring home the bacon!!!

Lady Pilot is being lined up for the amateur riders’ handicap at Southwell on Tuesday. Jim Best’s capable mare has won twice from three tries on Fibresand and her canny trainer has said “ She had problems when beaten over fences at this venue three outings ago, so we brought her back steadily.

“ She badly needed the run when well beaten at Lingfield on her reappearance this month and was an unlucky third at the same track last week.

“ That was a very good run considering she was too far out of her ground at a vital stage-she also hit the rail but stayed on strongly.

“ I’ve got her spot-on and this good mark will take the world of beating. It’s the first time in ages that I’ve got her looking in such good condition.”

Best is keen to book a good amateur for the big day, as he confirmed: “ I’m trying very hard to book Joshua Moore, which will be the icing on the cake.”

Charlie Mann is in cracking form at present the ex-jump jockey strongly fancies Bench Warrent in the novices’ handicap chase at Plumpton on Sunday.

He said: “ This is a good horse rated 132, so the rating bracket of 0-135 will be ideal and the three-and-a-quarter miles is perfect as he stays all day.”

The selection finished last of three behind Burton Port in a hot Grade 2 at Lingfield last time but Mann revealed: “ His last two runs have been irrelevant because he’s been chasing prize money behind very good horses-this week’s race is much more his level.” More on Free Tips – Can We Bag a Few Winners?

To lay or not to lay, that really IS the question..

It looks good, in say, a 15 runner race, having 14 horses running for you and just the one against you, but, when is it good to lay and when should we steer clear? I for one, take great notice of the jockey and trainer statistics, especially at the course. This basically means that I would never lay an A P McCoy ridden horse, yet there is a post on the lay forum suggesting the opposite if it fits a certain price criteria! Fortunately, there is a system out there that fulfills our statistical needs – False Favourites.

Okay, it doesn’t have the jockey and trainer figures, but it does have a comprehensive database on how the favourites fared at each course, and this is of paramount importance when deciding whether or not to lay.

Other factors to consider can be gleaned from the racing Posts Postdata. Going is especially important, and if a horse has an X in the ground/going column it is a good indicator that it could be a lay. The class of the race is also important: most horses have an optimum class to which they can run. To ascertain the top class a horse has performed at, we need to look at the actual form in the racing post.

It’s always worthwhile looking at the comments section for each race. This can save you time looking through the form and will pinpoint weaknesses as well as positives. The key to laying succesfully is quality and not quantity. Spend time looking at each prospective lay and only lay it IF everything looks in your favour, including the price!

If in doubt, leave it out!!!