With the going at many courses being unpredictable due to the weather there has been a lot of horses taken out of races hence smaller fields and the application of Rule4. For those of you not familiar with Rule4. I will explain below.
Rule4 is a standard deduction made when an early price on a horse or dog has been taken. For example if you have a £10 win on a horse and the 2/1 favourite is withdrawn then your 5/1 looks very generous? Well the people backing the withdrawn favourite get their money returned and the 5/1 horse would be around 3/1 so a deduction is made from the winnings of those taking 5/1 according to Tattersalls Rule4 of 30p in every £ e.g. 5/1 with a £10 stake returns £60 but only a £50 profit….it is the profit that Rule4 is applied to… hence 30p for every £1 won so on a profit of £50 the deduction is £15….so the customer get back £45… £10 stake plus his £35 winnings.
This last few weeks rule4 has come into play a lot BUT it has shown everyone it needs looking at as in general it favours the bookmakers and I think they have enough going for them already.
Rule4 occasionally goes against the bookmakers and one such example was last Week when a race had 7 horses declared but three were withdrawn making a field of four runners so all bets were win only. The favourite was was on offer the night before at 11/8. The withdrawn horses had a dramatic effect and bookmakers made The 11/8 favourite a 1/5 on favourite. Well he duly obliged and if you had taken the 11/8 less the deductions for Rule 4 you were paid a shade over 4/5 for a 1/5 winner. So Rule4 occasionally works for the punters… but not often!
So what’s the answer? Well I think a review of these rules needs to be made because Rule4 has not been reviewed for years… bookmakers are not keen to get it reviewed and punters are powerless to try and get those in ‘Racing Power’ to do so.
I think that we all need to take early prices at best odds guaranteed and bet with bookmakers such as Bet365 who ignore Rule4 at 5p in the £. Check to see if your bookie does that? If not do what I do and open quite a few accounts and take your bets with those offering the best prices.
So come on racing authorities let have a proper review of Rule4 and a review of betting rules.
My service High Roller Racing is available to all members and you can join by following the link below. Have a great week. Best of luck from Lawrence of High Roller Racing.
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