The TrackMate Warning System identifies all races deemed as “High Risk” and flags them so you can immediately identify such races and treat them with caution.

NEW TRACKMATE WARNING SYSTEM FEATURE IS COMING SOON!

Races will be clearly indicated on the race card when implemented.

There are no hard and fast rules. There will be plenty of well rated horses that win in all of the race types listed.

Take extra care when selecting investments from race cards which have been identified as “High Risk”. Do a little extra research into your selection before jumping in.

The TrackMate Team

Risk is part of the game, but we try as often as possible to make sure we have the best chance of winning… regularly!

We try to keep losses as small and infrequent as possible and one of the best ways to do that is to avoid “High Risk” races.

Here are some of the factors the TrackMate Warning System analyses when identifying “High Risk” races:

• Low-Class Races
• Selling & Claiming Races
• Amateur Riders Races
• Races with Little or No Form
• Competitive “Big Field” Races
• Group 1 & Championship Races
• Hunter’s Chases
• National Hunt Flat Races
• Jumpers Bumpers Meetings

Low-Class Races – Class 6-7 (45-65 in Ireland)

There is a lot of low-class racing in the UK and there are many more low-grade performers than high-class ones. These races are generally contested by poor quality horses. These animals are likely to be inconsistent and will rarely run two races alike.

However, there are well handicapped horses out there as well as improvers and course specialists etc.

Essentially you should be more selective if choosing to invest in this sort of race and we suggest you try to concentrate on very well-rated runners with one of the top jockeys riding who are more likely to get the best performance from the horse.

“Selling & Claiming” Races

A “selling race“, or seller, is one in which the winner is put up for auction immediately after the race.

All of the horses in a Selling Race except the winner, which is auctioned on the racecourse, and all of the horses in a Claiming Race are able to be claimed at a value set against the horse by the trainer when making the entry.

Usually fairly poor horses. Not really races to be investing in.

Amateur Riders Races

Very often both poor horses AND poor jockeys.

Races with “Little or No Form”

If a race has little or no form, the runners that are rated will obviously look better than they potentially are.

Be careful, there can always be a better-unraced or un-rated horse in the mix. We have a top-rated horse who looks great, but can it beat a horse with no form at the top of the betting market? Is it worth the risk?

Competitive “Big Field” Races

We are not saying that you should not bet in big field races. There is an old saying in racing… “The bigger the field the bigger the incertainty” this can definitely be true. We just advise a bit of caution when looking at these highly competitive races.

These races are very difficult to win and even more difficult to predict the winner.

Races like these vary often have a significant draw bias and there are also many “bad luck” stories from runners who get blocked in their run.

Again, we are not saying don’t bet in these races but if you do be aware that they are not easy to predict.

Split stakes win/place or just wait for a better opportunity and enjoy watching the race. You might even find a future winner to stick in your notebook.

Group 1 & Championship Races

This might look like a strange one but is highly relevant.

These days many of the big group races in both the Uk and Ireland have foreign horses running in them.

These horses will be unrated if they haven’t run in the UK before. They are very difficult to rate against the European horses without the form from previous races.

Be careful when looking at these races and note any unrated horses in the market for a clue to the chance it has in the race. Big races are also very highly competitive and are contested by only the top horses in the world. Again, not impossible but very hard to pick horses in these races.

Hunter’s Chases

Hunter Chases take place at national hunt racecourses, but are only open to horses that have hunter certificates.  Hunter certificates are issued to horses that have hunted for at least four days in the season before racing starts in January.

National Hunt Flat Races (NH Flat)

These are generally educational races for future jumpers. They are all young, immature and inexperienced horses.

Jumpers Bumpers Meetings

A recent innovation. These meetings are run on All-Weather tracks and were introduced to enable National Hunt horses to race when the weather has been bad and we have lost many meetings due to the weather.

Definitely NOT races to be betting in.

If you have any questions or comments with regards to the TrackMate Warning System or ratings click here to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

TrackMate does not encourages reckless and unaffordable gambling. We recommend that readers who engage in gambling do so responsibly and set financial limits. If you have a concern about problem gambling, you can contact GamCare on 0845 6000 133 or gamcare.org.uk.