Blaze Maguire's Each-Way Raid
Who I am
Twelve seasons of Sunday racing across Munster. Banks, ditches, a lot of mud and more falls than I'd tell my mother about. The last one was the one that stuck.
What riding gave me was a feel for a race from the inside. You learn fast which horses are travelling and which are being pushed along. You learn who has been kept for the day, and who is only there to make up the numbers. You learn that the draw and the pace decide half a big-field race before a horse has jumped off.
When I stopped riding I started betting, and the first thing I learned was that the bookmakers are at their most generous where most punters never look. That's the each-way terms in a big handicap. Four places in a sixteen-runner race, a quarter of the odds. Find the right horse at 12/1 and you're paid if it wins, and paid again if it only runs well.
So that's what I do. I don't back favourites, I don't do accumulators and I don't chase. I go through the big fields every morning, find the one or two horses the market has underrated, and I tell you exactly why. Some mornings there's nothing, and I'll say so.
A morning with me
Every handicap in Britain and Ireland with eight or more runners goes on the list. The small fields come straight off it.
Who's dropped in the weights, who's back on a mark they've won off, and which improving horses are meeting exposed ones.
The ground reports, the non-runners, where the pace is drawn, and who gets a tow into the race.
Up to three horses, the price to take, the stake, and three or four lines on each. Plenty of time to get on before the prices move.
Every result goes on the record that evening: winners, placed horses and losers alike.
Why each way, why big fields
An each-way bet is two bets of the same size: one on the horse to win, one on it to place. If it wins you're paid on both. If it only places, you're paid on the place part at a fraction of the odds.
How many places, and what fraction, depends on the race. In a big handicap the bookmaker pays four places, which is where the each-way punter has the best of it. A horse that's genuinely better than its price doesn't have to win to pay you.
| Race | Places | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 5–7 runners | 2 | 1/4 |
| 8+ runners | 3 | 1/5 |
| Handicap, 12–15 runners | 3 | 1/4 |
| Handicap, 16+ runners | 4 | 1/4 |
How I pick
Handicaps with eight runners or more. That's where the place terms pay.
Shorter and the place half isn't worth having. Longer and it's usually long for a reason.
Dropped in the weights, back on a mark it's won off, or an improver against exposed horses.
If I can't split them, you get told so, not a horse to lose your money on.
Up to three big-field each-way bets a morning, with the reason for every one.
Join the Raid · £9.99 →The kind of note you get
Down four pounds since the summer and back on the soft ground he wants. Drawn low with the pace right beside him, so he gets a tow into it.
What worries me: he's been keen early before. If he fights the jockey, forget it.
Made-up horse, made-up race. It shows the format, nothing more.
1 point each way = 2 points staked
Worked at the advised price and standard terms. Just the sums, not a promise.
What you get
My read of the day's big-field handicaps, and what I'm leaving alone and why.
Horse, course, time, the price to take and the stake in points. Each way, nearly always.
Three or four lines on every horse, and the one thing that worries me about it.
Questions
By 8.30am every day there's racing, so you've time to get on before the prices move.
A point is whatever unit you choose, £1, £5 or £10. Keep it the same every day. Most of my bets are 1 point each way, so 2 points staked. Only ever bet what you can afford to lose.
I give the price I'd take. If it's gone a lot shorter by the time you look, the value has gone with it. Take a smaller price only if you're still happy with the bet.
You still get the email, telling you what I looked at and why I'm leaving it alone. A day without a bet is a day you keep your money.
It's an introductory price for new members, once per person. After the first 28 days it's £35 every 28 days, and you can cancel any time before then.
Any time, in your PayPal account. No lock-in and no notice period.
It starts from day one. Every bet is published and settled in the open, win or lose. Nothing is hidden and nothing is added afterwards.
Join the Raid
My record starts from day one. Every bet is published and settled in the open, win or lose. Nothing is hidden and nothing is added afterwards.