To Lay or Not to lay….

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!!!