WRITTEN BY EX BETFAIR TRAINER

BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO HORSE RACE LAY BETTING
MAKING MONEY FROM LOSERS

Welcome to my Beginner's Guide explaining the concept and benefits of lay betting which has grown in popularity in recent
years with fans of horse race betting who are interested in winning money from backing losing favorites with betting exchanges
like Betfair. The traditional bookmakers like nothing better than a losing favorite, no wonder they are not keen on taking bets from
clients who wish to 'lay a horse', unlike the online betting exchange who are more than happy to accept both back and lay bets .

HOW DOES LAY BETTING WORK?

Lay betting or to 'lay a horse', as it is sometimes known refers to picking a horse - usually the first favorite - to lose a race.
However, unlike traditional horse race betting where you 'back' a horse to win, by 'laying a horse' you effectively become a
bookmaker so that if your horse fails to lose the race and wins then you have to pay.

EXAMPLE LAY BET

You lay George Guru @ 7 in the 4.30 at Kempton on Betfair for a GBP 10 stake - see screenshot below. Your liability is the stake multiplied by the horse's laying odds minus the stake (GBP 10 x 7 - 10 = 60), thus you will lose GBP 60 if George Guru wins the race.
But if George Guru loses, as predicted, your payout will be GBP 70 (GBP 60 liability + 10 stake). Once you have entered the stake
on Betfair - your liability is automatically displayed. And to see the payout, just click the payout button so there is no need to worry
about calculating your liability and payout.

WHY HAS LAYING A HORSE TO LOSE BECOME POPULAR?

One of the main reasons it has become popular is because it offers greater flexibility than traditional horse race betting. And
sometimes it can be difficult to pick the winner of a race and a lot easier to pick a horse that won't win. And of course, it can be
very profitable, you get much better odds laying the first favourite in the betting than backing it to win. And bookmakers, as we all
know, make their profit from losers especially a losing favorite. If you have ever visited a tipster proofing site like Racing Index
and compared the difference in profitability between back and lay tipsters you notice that the lay tipsters show a higher profit margin.

WHICH BETTING EXCHANGE IS IT BEST TO LAY A HORSE WITH?

Betfair is the world's largest online sports betting exchange, and is the preferred choice for anyone interested in winning money from
lay betting because it is usually able to offer better odds than Betdaq. You can also, safely and speedily, place a lay bet when on the
move from your Android, Blackberry, iPad and iPhone with Betfair Mobile betting. Betfair deduct 5% commission from net winnings
only - EXCLUDING winning lay bets placed on Betfair Multiples - which are commission free. The minimum stake is GBP 2.
Betfair accepts the following currencies: AUD, CAD, DKK, EURO, GBP, HKD, NOK, SEK, SGD, USD.
(Languages supported: English, Danish, German, Italian, Cantonese, Mandarin, Swedish). NB: US residents cannot join Betfair.

LAY BETTING SOUNDS COMPLICATED?

It can be complicated, as well as requiring a few hours familiarizing yourself with the layout and terms of the betting exchange site
before you feel confident enough to place a lay bet. Although there are many horse racing lay betting system sites offering information
on making money from losers my personal preference is for False Favourites, written by Betfair Trainer Jonathan Burgess. This
step-by-step guide, with illustrated examples of actual races where Jonathan laid the favourite. And additionally shows the different selection criteria used to identify a weak favourite to lay in flat, all-weather and jump racing. The guide also shows how to place a bet
with Betfair. Priced at just GBP 27.99, it is half the price of Easy Money From Losing Horses (GBP 63.44) - which has just 46 pages
compared to the 200 pages of False Favourites. Jonathan has also contributed articles offering advice on horse racing betting for the official blog of Betfair Education. So if you are looking for an inexpensive, easy-to-understand, comprehensive guide to horse race lay betting from a respected author please visit False Favourites

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