Spread Betting on Horse Racing - Jockey / Trainer Performance

What Is a Jockey / Trainer Performance Bet?

A Jockey / Trainer Performance spread bet is a prediction on how well an individual jockey or trainer will do at a meeting. Points are awarded as follows: 25 points for winning; 10 points for finishing second and 5 points for finishing third. Any finishes lower than third receive 0 points.

For this bet Sporting Index show a number in (), after the name of the jockey or trainer, this indicates the number of rides a jockey has at the meeting, or the number of horses the trainer has running.

If you feel the jockey/trainer will do well at a particular meeting, you would bet high (Buy) on the particular market, where as if you think they will do badly, you would bet low (Sell).

Example Of How It Works

To illustrate this bet we'll take a look at Ryan Moore's rides at the York Ebor meeting:

There were 7 races on the card and Ryan had a ride in each of them. Before the start of racing Sporting Index priced up the market on him up with a spread of 41 - 44.

If you felt Sporting Index had priced the spread too high for the meeting you would Sell the market at the lower figure of 41 quoted in their spread. If you felt their spread was too low, you would Buy at the higher figure of 44.

Your stake will depend upon your personal circumstances and how much you like to risk. The important thing to remember is the amount you stake is not the amount you stand to win or lose on the race. The stake entered is the amount per point. E.g. If you were to Buy £5 at 44 and the total finished at 50 you would win £30, £5 x 6 (50 - 44). However if the total finished at 40 you would lose £20, £5 x 4 (44 - 40).

The jockey/trainer market remains active until all races they're involved in have been run. Sporting Index update the spread after each of the races, adjusting it up or down depending upon how well the jockey/trainer fair in the earlier races. This is a great aspect of spread betting in that it enables you to take a profit, if the spread moves in your favour, or cut your loses, if the spread moves against you.

If we look at the racecard for the first race, we'll see Ryan was riding Great Hawk. This horse therefore became the selection in the first race, so it's position counted towards the points scored in this market.

Race One

Ryan Moore's ride in the first race (Great Hawk) finished 7th and so didn't score any points towards the total for that market.

With odds of 12/1 it wasn't expected to do that well in the race, so the result had very little effect of the market. Sporting Index reduced their spread slightly to 40 - 43 after the first race.

Race Two

Ryan was on the favourite (Swiss Franc) in the second race, which finished 3rd and scored 5 points towards the total for the R Moore market.

With Swiss Franc being the 5/4 favourite in the race, it would have been expected to have scored more than 5 points. Sporting Index therefore reduced their spread significantly to 32 - 35 after the second race.

Great if you'd initially sold on the market at 41 you could now lock in a profit by buying on the revised spread at 35. A stake of £5 a point would have given a profit of £30, £5 x 6 (41 - 35). However if you'd brought on the original spread at 44, you'd now have to sell at 32 to cancel the bet, which with a stake of £5, would have incurred a loss of £60, £5 x 12 (44 - 32). Of course you don't have to close your bet out and with 5 races still to run there's plenty of time for Ryan Moore to perform better.

Race Three

In the third race Ryan rode Ogee, which finished 15th and scored 0 points towards the total of 5 for the R Moore market after the third race.

At odds of 12/1 it was no great surprise that Ogee finished outside the first 3, but it was still good news for those who'd sold and Sporting Index reduced their spread further to 30 - 33 as a result of the race.

Race Four

In the fourth race Ryan was riding Allegretto, which finished 2nd and scored 10 points towards the total of 15 points for the R Moore market.

A welcome result for those who'd brought on the original spread, with the winner being the odds on favourite second was about as good as they could have hoped for. Sporting Index increased their spread to 35 - 37.

Race Five

Ryan was on another favourite (Captain Gerrard) in the fifth race and this time won the race scoring 25 points towards the total of 40 points for the R Moore market.

Although Captain Gerrard had been a fairly short priced favourite it's getting across the line first that counts, so this was another great result for those who'd brought on the initial spread. Sporting Index increased their spread to 47 - 49 after the fifth race.

The spread was now above the initial range set by Sporting Index. Those who'd brought at the original figure of 44, could have now sold at 47, which to a £5 stake would have resulted in a profit of £15, £5 x 3 (47 - 44).

Race Six

Ryan's ride in the sixth race was Redsensor, which finished only 8th and didn't add any extra points to the total of 40 for the R Moore market.

Redsensor's starting price was 10/1, so again no great shock that it didn't finish in the first three. Sporting Index reduced their spread slightly to 43 - 44.5 after the race.

Race Seven

No great end to the day for Ryan, his mount in the last (Fathom Five) finished well down the filed in 13th and didn't add any score to the final total of 40 points for the R Moore market.

The total of 40 finished below than the initial quote of 41 - 44 from Sporting Index. If you'd bet high you would have been a bit worried early on, but a 2nd followed by a win, turned things around and you could have taken a profit before the final two races. In the end and a £5 stake would have ended up with a £20 loss, £5 x 4 (44 - 40).

If you had bet low, you'd have had chance to take a profit after the first 3 races. That was wiped out in the next 2 races, but the final 2 would have left you with a small profit of £5, £5 x 1 (41 - 40).

The above example shows how fortunes can change very quickly with spread betting, for better or worse. It emphasises you need to understand the risks before getting involved and shows the benefits of not being too greedy and taking a profit when the opportunity arises.