The Equine Flu cancellation of racing has abated and we’re back in full flow this week.

This week I thought I would look at 2nd favourites. I was running a fixed liability lay idea with all 2nd favourites in horse racing and greyhound racing.

And it was profiting. I cannot give you exact figures because the Virtual Private Server running my automated betting software decided to shut down all on its own ( thanks for that) and spoil months of work and recorded results.

It was with that in mind that I thought I would look at horse racing 2nd favourites with a specific focus on handicap racing.

Well, laying them or backing them has not proven profitable . So…let’s dig a little deeper.

Distances.

121, 74, 73, 57, 50 points profit laying to level stakes at 24, 6, 8, 11 and 17 furlong races ( remembering that there are 8 furlongs in a mile).

That is quite a points profit haul

A marginal 45 points profit backing over 18 furlongs ( 2 miles and 2 furlongs) in all race types.

Courses

Did you know….

That Hexham, Perth, Wincanton, Epsom and Exeter are the Famous Five for backing 2nd favourites in handicap races.

86, 61, 44, 41, and 22 points profit respectively over the last 10 years.

Newcastle and Kempton stand out for the layers. 245 points profit laying to level stakes at these venues. Musselburgh with 85 points is worth a mention.

Number of runners

Big fields dominate when 2nd favourites win. 20, 21, 33 runner fields see 88, 49 and 14 points profit to Betfair SPand also Industry SP.

Closely followed by……2 runner handicap races. That makes sense I suppose! A marginal 13 point profit to Betfair SP over the years makes for a simple long term strategy!

14 runners, 9 runners and 16 runners dominate for the layers.

144 , 115, and 94 points profit laying 2nd favourites to level stakes.

I hope this gives you some food for thought regarding 2nd favourites in handicap races.

Got any ideas you’d like the stats on? Get in touch.

For me the highlights are

  • 3 mile handicap races are great for laying 2nd favourites
  • Newcastle and Kempton are great for laying 2nd favourites in handicaps. Oh and Musselburgh
  • Stick to big field backing 2nd favourites in handicaps. 20 and 21 runners dominate the profits.
  • 14, 9 and 16 runner races are excellent for laying 2nd favourites in handicaps.