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A sad loss Ray.  I felt sick when he fell and Simon Holt commentated that he thought he was injured.  I glanced at the Racing Post Spotlight and read the comment that Dorans Gold was nearing a well deserved retirement.  But that is not to be.
All fatalities hurt and I cannot reconcile my love of NH racing with the fatalities that inevitably occur.  Dorans Pride is the worst since One Man simply because this is a high profile horse who, like you, I remember coasting home in the Stayers Hurdle in the days when I bet just a few pounds on a race.
I thought that the minimum Tote return had been reduced to £1.05 from £1.10 several years ago, to stop people lumping on the 1/20 and 1/25 shots and getting 1/10 for their money.
Have I missed another change in the meantime or did that reduction just apply to win bets?
Thanks for the responses.  We seem to agree that there are certainly more than a ‘handful’ out there these days, even if not the 1000s some would suggest.
Daylight – regarding 9-5 job and so on – I was just referring to comments I have read.  I have absolutely no doubt that professional punters put in many more hours than most other workers.
APracing – it makes perfect sense to me that some professional punters supplement their incomes through journalism and so forth.  I was just interested in how many have to win at the races to make a living.  I would guess that you and others could now make a decent income purely from writing, TV appearances and so forth.
Having a wife whose earnings can pay the mortgage and so on is a grey area for me.  A bit of belt-tightening might be enough for some to allow that income to be sufficient and not rely on betting winnings.  I want to know about the hardy souls who have no other source of income and are mad enough to give up their day jobs to try to make a living from betting. LOL
Wallace
I have not got the figures to hand to calculate my points return to average stake, although yours looks useful.
I started off my ‘serious’ betting nearly 3 years ago with the aim of making 20% profit on turnover, before expenses.  This seemed a reasonable expectation at the time and like most people who take their betting seriously I have exceeded that figure during periods when it seemed impossible to avoid winners.  It’s the losing periods of -10% or worse that are the problem!
I now think that 10% profit is a decent return and it is certainly not easy for most people to make that.  I expect to turnover about £200k next year, so if I come away with £20K profit I will be happy.
Ian – by my calculations your professional better friend must turnover £800k to £2500k to make the profits you indicate on a margin of 4% to 12%.  Ouch!  Does he place a hugh amount of bets or does he just have an outlet for very hefty wagers?
