What’s Your Betting Return on Investment?

As a long-time venture capital investor, and recent horse racing enthusiast I wanted to share some perspectives on the return on investment (ROI) associated with betting on the sport.

I developed an interest in betting at the races as a child, since there was a track within walking distance of my home, but I was always dismayed by the difficulty in knowing which horses to pick in order to get a good return. When I met the CEO of What Wins, Dave Vicary, and he encouraged me to try his handicapping products I was amazed at their ability to make the sport of horse racing more accessible. With these daily pick sheets in hand suddenly I had the ability to know immediately which horses were the most probable winners, the best value long-shots and the best possible exotic combinations. All with the comfort of knowing that these predicatioins were based on an unbiased, computer generated analysis of historical race data. They were so impressive; I became the first external investor in the Company.

According to published industry statistics, the "house" (track, horse owners, etc.) retains approximately 23% of the average bet in North America, and 77% is returned to the bettor. That means, the average ROI is approximately minus 23%. Returns are distributed over a wide range and vary from race to race and day to day, with knowledgeable bettors making higher returns and novice returns lower, about minus 23%, since money is required in order to operate the racing infrastructure.

To attract new fans, it is necessary to give people the tools to win more often and maximize their returns. Who has the time these days to scour traditional printed racing forms to figure out the best wagers? What Wins levels the playing field by looking at hundreds of historical factors influencing the outcome of a race and applying an advanced artificial intelligence engine to propose high quality bets that rival the wisdom of even the most experienced horseplayer. Taking a look at measured ROI results over the span of thousands of races, What Wins deliver substantially higher ROI than the industry norm. You can check it out for yourself in the What Wins Results Archives - Win Percentages.

If you were heading to the track tomorrow, wouldn't you want to go armed with the best information to win?

Photo Credit: Xrayspx

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