These "soft targets" have been off my betting radar for 20+ years – but NOT anymore….

…. the new objective is to cash in every day of the week – and there’s plenty of £££s to go round….

Read on – I think you’ll like where this goes….

My name is Nick Pullen….

You might know of me….

I’ve been writing the Against the Crowd racing service for almost 20 years….

…. and I’ve just been told….

…. in no uncertain terms….

…. that I’ve been playing the race-betting game “DEAD WRONG” for the entire time….

That’s right….

According to my most recently acquired racing acquaintance….

…. who – I must confess – does happen to know a thing or two (very smart guy)….

…. I’ve spent the last two decades playing the game completely “BACKASSWARD”….

…. and looking for race-betting profits in all the wrong places….

“You’re getting it all TOTALLY wrong….”

You probably already know how I go about it with my race bets….

…. I target high-class handicaps at big meetings televised free-to-air on ITV – the most competitive races on the programme….

…. I oppose the favourites and the most heavily fancied horses as a matter of default….

…. and I make it my mission to dig out as many winners as I can manage at the bigger – better value – prices….

That’s my game….

…. it’s been my game since way back in the mid-1990s….

…. and – according to my new-found friend – I’ve been getting it TOTALLY wrong ever since….

Here’s how he put it to me in an email….

“You’re wedded to an inflexible selection policy that means you’re GUARANTEED to miss out on most of the best betting opportunities the fixture list offers.”

According to my arch critic….

I’m playing in the wrong races….

…. for the wrong reasons….

…. at the wrong time of the week….

…. with the wrong strategy….

He went on to say this….

“You make winning and making a profit much more difficult than it needs to be because you go out of your way to avoid all the softest available targets.”

Of course, he has a point….

…. I can’t deny it….

I choose to play in ultra-competitive races….

…. which is hard enough….

And then I make things doubly difficult for myself by immediately drawing a line through the names of all the horses most likely to win those races – the ones attracting the market money….

I don’t make it easy on myself…. to find winners…. or to make betting profits….

…. and I know that….

…. but that’s me…. that’s what I do… and I play the way I do because that’s what I enjoy…. it’s what I want to do….

…. and nothing anybody says will get in the way of that….

Bottom line: I won’t be changing my ways on ATC anytime soon….

…. but I DO get where this guy is coming from – 100%….

…. he’s got an alternative approach to the game….

…. a strategy based on solid fundamental principles that I can’t argue with from a betting perspective….

…. and – going forward – I can tell you that I’ll be incorporating this strategy into my wider bet portfolio….

Profit opportunities born out of illiquidity….

Now, it’s at this point that I could veer off into a complex technical discussion….

…. focused on all the deeply esoteric factors….

…. and all the little-understood variables….

…. that underpin this alternative approach to making a few quid at the races….

But I know you’re into your racing….

…. I know you know a fair bit about the game….

…. and I know you don’t need me to blind you with a load of pseudo-science and magic stardust….

So, I’m going to do us all a big favour….

…. I’m going to dispense with all the theoretics…. all the specialized knowledge…. all the conceptual ramblings…. all the jargon…. and all that other BS….

…. and – instead – I’m going to boil it down to a single short phrase that sums up exactly what my new mate’s approach to race-betting is all about….

Here goes….

“If you want to make serious money out of the races – start betting midweek….”

Midweek is obviously the key word there….

…. and I already know what you’re thinking….

…. because I’ve always thought the same way myself….

Midweek racing is low-grade garbage….

…. it’s nothing more than fodder for betting shop monkeys….

…. the horses running at that level are unpredictable and unreliable….

…. and the midweek game is basically bent – the prize money on offer is so low that the only way connections can make a few quid out of the game is by stopping horses, pulling strokes, cheating, and generally stitching-up the market….

I get it….

…. I understand that perspective….

…. and I’m not going to sit here and pretend that there aren’t elements of skullduggery at work in the midweek racing game….

But here’s the thing….

A lot of people think that way…. and they’d never bet on the midweek racing because of it…. not in a million years….

There are other people who only bet at the weekend anyway – because betting is a recreational activity for them and in the middle of the week their number one focus is the day job….

Budgets – and betting banks – only stretch so far and plenty of punters only allocate their funds on the races they can sit and watch for free on ITV at the weekend – the top end of the game….

There are probably a hundred other reasons why people don’t bet midweek….

…. we don’t need to know all the ins and outs of it….

We just have to accept the reality of the situation….

…. that not so many people bet midweek as bet at the weekend….

…. and recognize a key consequence of that reality – which is this….

“General midweek racing markets don’t have anywhere near the same liquidity as racing markets on Saturday and other big race days….”

And….

…. despite the low grade of the racing….

…. despite the poor levels of prize money on offer….

…. despite the unpredictable and unreliable nature of the horses taking part….

…. and despite isolated instances of skullduggery and sharp practice….

…. this lack of liquidity in midweek racing markets represents a massively underrated betting opportunity….

Crowds…. and markets…. are smart….

Let me explain what I’m getting at here….

A race market is a mirror….

It reflects – via prices – all that’s known about a horse race, the equine and human participants, and the likely outcome….

…. and – overall – the market does the job of reflecting relatively accurately. The market is pretty smart….

It doesn’t get everything right. You wouldn’t expect it to. Sometimes it’s totally wrong….

…. and it would be pointless playing the race-betting game if that weren’t so….

But the market as a whole – and more times than not – certainly does a better race-assessment job than the average individual player could hope to achieve on his own….

The GROUP is generally smarter than the INDIVIDUAL. Various experiments have proven that hypotheses….

Back in 1906, anthropologist Sir Francis Galton took a butchered ox to a country fair in Plymouth….

People who attended the fair were asked to participate in a contest where they had to guess the weight of the butchered meat. 787 people took part – each registering his estimation….

Galton studied the responses and calculated that the median guess (the value separating the higher half from the lower half of the data sample) was 1207lbs….

The actual weight of the butchered meat was 1198lbs….

In other words, the crowd guessed to within 1% of the actual weight – the crowd was very accurate in its collective deliberations….

…. and I reckon it’s a safe bet to say that had more people taken part in guessing the weight – the ‘crowd’ assessment would have been more accurate still….

…. but some are smarter than others….

So…. crowds are smart…. markets are smart….

…. but some crowds…. and some markets…. are smarter than others….

Just about every racing punter and his dog has an opinion about the big races run on a Saturday or at the big midweek festivals (the type of races I always play in)….

Every racing fan knows these races….

…. all the newspaper analysts are writing about them….

…. all the racing TV channels are producing blanket coverage of them….

…. all the podcasters…. all the social media pundits…. all the Twitterati and Tik Tok influencers are talking about them….

…. everybody’s posting their observations and opinions about these same races in online forums…. private chat groups…. or in comment sections situated under third-party content….

Every tipster…. every picker…. every professional pundit under the sun…. is going ‘live’ with his version of the race outcome….

Every individual punter…. and every professional syndicate working with the finest algorithms money can put together…. is busy getting the money down….

Even the damned bookies are out there propagating opinion on the biggest races – with traders highlighting their own selections on radio shows…. podcasts…. and betting panels….

…. and all of that information…. knowledge…. commentary…. and conclusions….

…. what might be termed collective opinion…. or consensus….

…. feeds directly into the market prices….

And because there’s so much information…. so much opinion…. so much signal….

…. the prices about the biggest races on the biggest race days become pretty efficient – very quickly….

The percentages about each horse in each race are pretty much where they should be….

…. because weight of money tells layers in no uncertain terms exactly where their prices should be at any point in time….

…. and any firm too far out of line with the right price is going to get filled in quicker than the head trader can say ‘suspend the betting!!’….

In these conditions – value isn’t easy to locate…. or take advantage of….

…. and this is especially so the closer you get to ‘off’ times (one reason why I go out 24+ hours ahead of time with my ATC selections is because I want to beat the market to the punch in the biggest handicaps)….

It’s simply not the same story midweek….

…. there’s nowhere near as much interest in midweek racing….

…. there’s nowhere near as much information….

…. there’s nowhere near as much opinion….

…. what opinion does exist is generally minus the really smart money flowing into markets at weekends or at big Festivals….

…. and the bottom line is that there’s simply not as much money in-play….

To put it another way, there’s far less liquidity in the markets during the week….

…. which means there’s a BIG reduction in signal….

…. which – in turn – means the layers are that much more in the dark….

…. and – that being the case – market prices are not as efficient as they are at the weekend or on the big Festival days – nowhere near as efficient….

…. which means there are many more opportunities for sharp punters to identify and capitalize on ‘wrong’ prices….

…. ‘wrong’ prices that stick around a lot longer than would be the case on BIG days….

…. when more interest…. greater liquidity…. and higher-quality signal…. would see those ricks corrected pretty quickly….

Something else about midweek races….

…. ‘mug’ money comprises a much bigger proportion of the midweek market than is the case at the weekend….

I don’t want to be disparaging about the kinds of punters who hang out in betting shops….

…. but – to be blunt – they’re not the sharpest tools in the woodshed….

… and they’re prone to jumping on obvious narratives that often don’t bear fruit – last time out winners in different conditions, for example….

…. betting them into prices that overestimate their chances….

And because the ‘mug’ money is so much more influential in midweek markets than it is at the weekends….

…. streetwise pickers get plenty of false favourites to take on with better-value betting options….

…. or – at the very least – they get a race-betting environment where a lot of ill-informed or uneducated market money is against them (which is exactly where you want to be)….

One more BIG advantage….

…. it’s not just that there’s so much more scope for ‘wrong’ prices and ‘false’ favourites….

…. the midweek races are simply not as competitive as the big races to begin with – not by a long chalk….

In a big 20-runner handicap at the weekend – where they’re racing for a big pot – you can probably make a good case for 14 or 15 of them….

…. pretty much everything will be at the races….

In a 12-runner C5 handicap run on the AW on a Tuesday night – it’s a totally different proposition….

…. straight off the bat you can strike a bigger percentage of the runners from your shortlist….

That’s just the way it is….

With the winner taking home as little as £5k you’re not going to get a full field of fit, in-form and fired-up horses going to post….

…. and if this is your niche as a punter….

…. and you’re a savvy operator whose done his homework and knows the time of day….

…. and you know how to sort the wheat from the chaff….

…. you can cherry-pick the likely types from the also rans and make this uncompetitive division of racing pay good dividends – all week long….

The “soft target” strategy clicks with me….

You can see now why these midweek races are referred to as ‘soft targets’….

…. illiquidity means layers must work with reduced signal – producing an environment where ‘wrong prices’ both thrive and persist….

…. ‘mug’ money is at its most influential in the midweek sphere – contributing false signals and helping create stacks of value betting opportunities….

…. and midweek races are not red hot in terms of competitivity to begin with – making it that bit easier for sharp punters to zero-in on the horses that matter….

When put like that….

…. I wonder why I haven’t been playing in these races for the last 20-years….

…. because they offer a really advantageous betting environment to clued-up punters….

But there we go….

…. sometimes someone has to take you to one side and spell it out to you – as though you’re an 11-year-old child – before it clicks….

And it has clicked with me – for sure….

…. I’ll be playing in midweek races a lot more going forward – there’s no doubt about that….

But I’ve got to tell you that I’m not the sharp, savvy & streetwise punter who can do the cherry-picking and capitalize on these midweek opportunities all year round….

…. it’s not my sphere…. I don’t know the horses…. I’ve got enough on my plate as it stands trying to make it pay the way I play on ATC….

…. and, quite frankly, the thought of having to get to grips with an entirely new sphere of racing, a new population of horses, and everything that demands….

…. on top of everything else….

…. makes me want to jump off a cliff….

A serious betting service to go to war with….

Fortunately, I know a guy who is that sharp, savvy & streetwise racing punter – to a tee….

…. a guy who puts all this good theory into practice….

…. a guy who does all the cherry-picking…. and all the heavy lifting….

…. a guy who translates comprehensive knowledge of these “soft target” races into a midweek betting portfolio that makes a healthy profit for punters across the long term….

Better still…

…. after a lot of talking, pleading, begging, wheedling, belly-aching, arm-twisting, late night telephone calls, threats, promises, shouting (him) and crying (me)….

…. I’ve got my publisher to agree to publish this guy’s best selections five days a week – Monday through Friday….

…. in a brand-new race-betting service called Weekday Wagers – which you can join right now….

Now, this is no mean feat….

…. because my publisher doesn’t just publish anybody who rolls up at the front door….

We get a lot of people who approach us because they want to ‘do something’ with us….

It’s always nice to hear from enthusiastic people with ideas and plans….

…. but 99.5% of the time what they propose turns out to be a lot of gas and air – and a lot of wasted time….

Only very occasionally do we hear from serious people offering something clear and defined – that makes betting sense….

And my publisher is discriminating – very discriminating. He doesn’t publish a new service every other week – like a lot of the cowboy operators out there….

In fact, I can only think of three services my publisher has taken to market since bringing me onboard….

…. and that was back in the summer of 2007 – which illustrates perfectly just how careful my publisher is when it comes to putting betting product in front of his readers….

So, like I say – it’s a big deal when my publisher gives a new service the green light….

…. it means that after all the discussion, all the due-diligence, and all the donkey work that goes into these things behind the scenes….

…. he’s 100% confident that we’ve got a serious betting service to go to war with….

…. and so am I….

I’m really excited about the Weekday Wagers service….

…. it opens up a whole new dimension of betting targets for me….

These midweek races are really good profit opportunities that I’ve missed out on for a long time….

…. and I could kick myself….

But rest assured – I won’t be missing out anymore….

…. and you don’t have to either….

A clear and defined betting mission….

Right about now you’d expect me to tell you who this guy is that I’ve been talking about….

…. and I’d like to tell you his name – because the chances are you’d recognize it….

But I can’t do that…. not without causing a lot of trouble….

Our man is in the industry – and that’s the problem….

He’s bound by a contract with his current employer that precludes him from working with “any other publisher, broadcaster, bookmaker, or media company involved in the promotion of sport events or sports-betting….”

I had a similar situation when I worked for a bookmaker in the early noughties….

…. they wanted me to sign a contract that gave them ownership of the copyright of any material I produced in my own time – OUTSIDE of their employment….

…. you know the kind of thing…. you sign up to work the 9-5 for them…. and then they think they own you….

But it is what it is….

…. and once you sign these bits of paper, the nitty-gritty clauses and provisions must be observed – or there’s a price to pay….

Our man doesn’t want to lose his job – which is understandable….

…. but I want him to provide you and I with his best racing selections – Monday through Friday….

…. and the only way of that happening is for him to retain his anonymity….

In any case, who gives a toss what his name is – or mine for that matter….

…. it’s the service that counts – and I’m really excited about Weekday Wagers….

It’s a simple and straightforward race-betting advisory with a clear and defined mission….

…. to capitalise on the “soft target” races the midweek programme provides….

…. by turning illiquidity…. reduced signal…. the over-influence of ‘mug’ money…. and a lack of competitivity in race line-ups…. to our advantage….

…. and to make it pay….

Nothing more….

…. nothing less….

…. and success will be measured on the basis of the bottom-line betting outcome across the long term – the only measure that makes any sense with these things….

How it works….

The Weekday Wagers service will target the racing – Monday through Friday – every single week of the year….

…. and provide two bets per day….

…. the best bets on offer on that day’s cards….

…. as determined by our man in the know….

…. following an exhaustive and comprehensive analysis – which begins at the 48-hour declaration stage….

Bets will be distributed on race day morning – at 8.00am….

…. via email….

…. and on a dedicated service website….

…. along with a succinct and clear explanation of the reasoning behind each selection – as you’d expect….

How you play the Weekday Wagers selections is entirely up to you….

…. we don’t believe in putting you into a strait jacket – telling you how to bet or how much to bet….

…. because we recognize that every single punter has his own established way of walking and has been out of nappies for a long time now….

But we will record results to reflect a variety of options – Singles, Doubles, and e/w Doubles….

…. and we’ll publish that data on the Weekday Wagers website – so that you can see what’s what from a range of angles….

Expect losers…. expect dry spells…. expect difficult times….

…. this is a race-tipping service after all….

…. and not some Alice in Wonderland project where we promise to serve up apple pie and ice cream every day without fail….

We’re a bit more realistic than that – and a bit more honest….

…. with a bit more length in the tooth….

…. and we know you probably are as well….

But the winners – and plenty of them – will come too –

…. you’ve got no need to worry about that….

…. because I know – for absolute sure – that the guy behind the Weekday Wagers selections – is mustard….

I wouldn’t have gone out on a limb with my publisher to get his selections in print if I wasn’t 100% certain of what I’m working with….

I’ve been doing what I do for 20+years….

…. I’ve been an avid racing punter since I was a teenager (I’m in my 50s now)….

…. and – if you’ve come across me in print (whether you like me or not) you’d probably concede that I do know a little bit about the horses….

I certainly know within two minutes of talking to someone whether or not they really know anything about racing…. or betting….

I’ve met more than my fair share of dreamers…. fakers…. fantasists…. wannabees…. braggarts…. and bullshitters….

…. and I know what they are – and what they’re all about – pretty quickly….

You can’t kid me because I have – quite literally – been in the race-betting game for way too long….

…. and I know the publishing side of the business too – because I’ve worked in that sphere ever since I got out of University back in the early 1990s….

I might not have seen it all – but I’ve seen a lot – and I know who can put together a betting service that works and has wheels….

…. and I know whose living in a fantasy land – totally unprepared for what’s really involved and totally unable to deal with the pressure….

Some people think anybody can produce a betting service. They can’t. It’s a multi-layered endeavour that – to paraphrase Liam Neeson – requires a very specific set of tools….

I’ve been talking to – and working with – the guy behind the Weekday Wagers selections for months now….

…. day in day out…. sharing observations…. exchanging bets…. and even pooling a few quid on Jackpots with the Tote when conditions are right….

…. and I can tell you – for sure – he’s the real thing…. he’s got what it takes…. in spades….

He’s not a magician…. a miracle worker…. a clairvoyant…. or some guy whose got the game ‘cracked’ day in and day out….

…. but he is very much a quality picker with a wealth of knowledge and the analytical skills to make the midweek racing game pay across the long term – for certain….

That’s my call….

And if there’s anybody out there reading this who thinks my use of the phrase ‘long term’ is some kind of weasel cop out or a dodgy call straight out of the sharp practice playbook….

…. then get in touch and let me know….

…. and I’ll come back and tell you exactly why you’re talking out of your backside….

…. and why the long-term measure is the only measure that actually means anything….

Good news (and even better still!)….

Have a look at what some of those 19-year-old ‘betting experts’ are charging for racing selections on Tik Tok….

…. you won’t get much change out of £100 a month for “high-quality racing information” that’s all hype, zero substance and ultimately turns out to be as much use as Candy Floss in a thunderstorm….

Alternatively, take a look at some of the more traditional-type tipping services that look a little more legitimate on the surface….

…. but which charge £50, £80 or even £100+ per month for maybe four or five bets a week….

…. all produced by some picker with no pedigree, no verifiable track record, and nothing in his background that suggests more than just a passing interest in racing….

…. and who – when you drill down and shine a light on it – has no consistent approach or any kind of strategy that makes any sense whatsoever to either man or beast….

In other words, with about 90% of tipping services (my reckoning) you’re paying through the nose for artifice produced by some smart Alec wide-boy out to fleece gullible punters before disappearing into the ether of the Internet (leaving no trace)….

Weekday Wagers – on the other hand – is a racing service published by the same dedicated team that’s been publishing my Against the Crowd service – uninterrupted – for the last 20-years….

…. a bricks-and-mortar business….

… with an actual phone number you can call to access one-on-one customer service with a real human being….

…. rather than a chatbot or some AI cyborg…. or – as is the case with most tipping services – no kind of customer service at all….

In an industry where fly-by-night merchants come and go on an almost daily basis, that kind of genuine structure and solidity really means something….

My point is that Weekday Wagers is a genuine racing service published by real betting professionals with a long track record of bringing quality betting information to market….

…. all vouched for by me – a guy whose been on the front line of the ongoing battle between backer and layer for 20+ years (all documented)….

…. which must count for something….

…. because – like me or loath me – as a fair-minded punter you’d probably acknowledge that I must know what I’m talking about to have that kind of longevity in an industry where frauds get found out quickly and word of it gets round sharpish….

What I’m coming to is this – the good news….

…. a standard month-to-month subscription to our brand-new and exciting Weekday Wagers service weighs in at just £29.99….

…. and that’s value – when you look at it across twenty betting days per month….

…. during which you’ll get 40 bets in your email box….

It’s less than £1 per selection whatever way you dice and slice it….

…. and if you can find a better value racing advisory than that ANYWHERE on the Internet (or off it) then let me know and I’ll check it out and come back to you….

We’re asking no more than a fair price for membership of the Weekday Wagers service….

…. because we’re fair people and we want to make access to what is recreational game-play affordable….

We simply can’t do fairer than that, my friend….

…. it’s as good as it gets….

…. and I guarantee you won’t find a high-quality betting service offering a deal that’s any better….

That’s a fact – and I’m happy to stand on it….

On top of that you can cancel your subscription at any time – no questions asked – simply by dropping us an email or by giving us a quick call….

My publisher is absolutely cast-iron on that score….

…. and I give you my personal guarantee….

Once you let my publisher know that you want to cancel your subscription – your request will be actioned without delay. You won’t see any more service advisories – and no further payments will be taken….

…. and you can take that promise to the bank….

Just to recap for you….

The strategy behind the Weekday Wagers service is clear & defined….

We aim at ‘soft target’ midweek races….

…. where illiquidity means layers must work with reduced signal – producing an environment where ‘wrong prices’ both thrive and persist….

…. where ‘mug’ money is at its most influential – contributing false signals and helping create stacks of value betting opportunities….

…. and where there’s a lack of competitivity to begin with – making it that bit easier to zero-in on the horses that matter – and strike….

You get two selections per day – Monday to Friday all year round….

…. with that information sent to you via email, and published on the Weekday Wagers website….

…. on race day morning – no later than 8.00am….

Our objective is simple & straightforward – to win out on the bottom line across the long-term….

…. after all – when you boil it all down – that’s what the race-betting game is all about….

…. nothing more – and nothing less….

This is your opportunity to join a merry band of weekday punters – including me – out to skin the bookies in ‘soft target’ races up and down the country Monday to Friday every single week of the year….

…. and you can get started on this fresh betting project right away….

…. because we’ll send you the next set of ‘live’ service selections just as soon as you hit confirm your first month’s subscription….

One thing’s for sure – the working week just got that bit more interesting….

See you on the inside….

All the best,

Nick Pullen