The horse racing event of the year is coming, Cheltenham Festival. This is an exciting time for any horse racing fan. As the day gets closer, the more we start figuring out our betting strategies and go on the hunt for the best tips and tricks for betting during the festival, and more specifically cheltenham tips on day 2. Day two, the iconic ladies day and of course, the anticipated Queen Mother Champion Chase.
What is a tipster?
Tipsters are there to offer advice and give out predictions on horse racing. They are experts and use their knowledge to consider different factors to predict the performance of each horse. They will consider all aspects such as the jockey, the weather and even track conditions. Horse racing bettors will seek out tipsters when it comes to placing bets and making the right decision.
Conducting research
Before you start searching for different predictions, it’s a good idea to have an idea of which of the races you’re going to bet on. Take a look at the schedule and see what’s going on. The festival lasts 4 days and consists of 28 races. While it can be exciting to bet on the bigger and more anticipated races, be sure to take your time when it comes to choosing the different races to bet on. As there are so many options, approaching tipsters without any idea of what bets you want to place during the races may leave you trying to gain too much information. This may also help you narrow down your search.
Finding horse racing tipsters
Thanks to the internet, finding a tipster can be as easy as an internet search. However, in the past tips were sought after and were often bartered or traded. They were then more widely available through rate telephone lines and could sometimes be found in printed publications. Luckily now, tipsters are much easier to find.
The internet is an extremely useful resource when it comes to finding tipsters. In just a few simple clicks a search engine could provide you with hundreds of different tipsters all offering different advice and tips for the races. The key is to know how to find the best ones. Now, as much as news outlets and media publications can offer credibility, it’s important that you don’t shut down other sources too soon.
Here are some to consider:
Newspapers
Online and print newspapers can provide a lot of good quality information. Publications such as The Times, The Independent, Daily Mail or Mirror will all have sections dedicated to the horse racing and the event itself. You will be able to access good quality advice, as well as useful information about the festival too.
Media
Here you can access a wide source of information whether that’s online, on the TV and for some publications on the radio. Outlets such as BBC, ITV and Sky Sports can offer the best coverage during the event as well as valuable tips leading up to event too. Newspapers and media are a great option as they will hire experienced tipsters and offer wider coverage.
Social Media
When looking for any information on social media, it’s important to take the information with a pinch of salt. While you can get some great tips on these platforms, especially as newspaper and media outlets will also share their tips there too, you may also come across some less reliable sources too. However, just because a tipster doesn’t have a higher platform, doesn’t mean they’re not as reliable. You may even find a fresh perspective. The key is to find a balance and being able to decipher if a tipster is credible or not.
Racing/ equestrian websites and blogs
The credibility of these platforms will vary. Some will be run by experts of horse racing, while others will be passionate enthusiasts. This is a good way to gain a wider perspective as these tipsters use their own experience and knowledge to come up with their own predictions.
Betting sites
Most betting sites will have their tipsters and provide information and advice along with the odds for different races. It’s always a good idea to consider these tips before placing a bet.
Signs of a good tipster
With so many different platforms and tipsters offering advice and information, it can be hard to know which ones to go with. While the more official tipsters can feel more reliable, by checking out other sources, you may find some more unique ideas. Before fully relying on a tipster’s predictions, you should look out for essentially the ‘green flags’ of a credible tipster.
The track record of a tipster can say a lot about their credibility. How close have their predictions been in the past? For example, do they have a history of making wrong calls or far-off predictions? Do they have a good understanding of the statistics behind races, have they done their research on the race they are predicting? Knowledge of the horses, jockeys or previous winners? This can be a good indicator.
Logic is always the way forward when it comes to deciphering the quality of a tipster. When a tipster is sharing predictions, focus on the reasoning behind it. Does it add up? Does it make sense? A good tipster will explain their prediction in detail and share reasons for how they came to that result. A tipster who isn’t transparent could mean they lack credibility. Remember to keep note of your experience with tipsters as it will make the following year even easier.
