The 5 figure horse trader
Sometimes a brief pointer from a peer is all it takes...
*NOTE*
- I’ll be interviewing a profitable trader who’s cleared 6 figures on Betfair at the end of this month!
- I will also be hosting a live Q&A covering all your favourite topics.
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Good evening valued subscriber,
The great thing about social media and having an email list is that it opens a clear doorway for communication. Traders reach out to me often. Losing & profitable traders alike, guys figuring it out and those are who are simply curious.
I never ignore anyone. It’s a lonely profession as it is and I always feel like there’s something to learn from everyone. But every so often some trading tycoon will reach out and I’m instantly keen to either have them on the podcast or at least establish a line of communication.
I’ve had no luck getting them on the pod for obvious reasons. But I have met with and even had the privilege of being able to watch a trader (will discuss in a future episode). A couple of years ago a race trader who listens to my podcast reached out and revealed he makes 5 figures a month.
I know several traders doing similar numbers on football and cricket. I’ve had a few 5 figure months myself at this point. What impresses me the most about race traders posting such numbers is doing it in spite of vastly lower liquidity. Anyone that’s traded racing knows how cut throat the markets can be. Going for the bigger moves often means letting trades run into the latter part of the race. The volatility means you can be whipsawed out of a position within seconds, to a price where there’s only pennies left to be matched. By that point it’s too late to exit at a fair price. The vastly lower liquidity also means that you’re forced to bet pre race in order to get on for larger stakes.
The race trader who reached out is therefore very picky about the races he gets involved in. Everything from the track, the going, the positioning of the horse coupled with form has to fall into place before pulling the trigger. Consequently he only trades a handful of race a day at best. Nothing is automated. He often stakes multiple thousands of pounds which means he either has to bet pre race (and inevitably move the price substantially to get matched) or bets at shorter odds that hog more liquidity.
He rarely ever lets a trade run to it’s conclusion and never projects what he could or should make. His strike rate and level of profits is mind boggling. He showed me one month where he raked in £80k (imagine the commission on that!).
Our exchange went back and forth for a couple months and we shared and compared knowledge and ideas not just on racing but many sports. Whilst we shared similar track knowledge, he had in depth data that he’d gathered on horses going back years. By the time I had course knowledge dialled in, I got comfortable with my profits and preferred scaling up on other sports with vastly greater liquidity. I guess I’m more of a Betfair specialist than a niche sport expert. I can’t fathom betting large on illiquid markets.
But what stood out to me over and above the fact that he’s a very good trader, was the fact that he’d been able to scale up his operations to a level I’ve dreamed about getting to. I feel like I’ve had a grip on this thing for a long time. But my results were stagnant for a while. Whilst hindsight is 20/20, the one thing that’s really held me back over the years was getting comfortable thinking too small. Once my bankroll hit a certain amount, I’d withdraw. This happened for a while until lifestyle inflation meant that I had a hard time balancing the books: it was hard to grow my bankroll since I needed the money.
Good trading is one thing. But financial habits is equally important. Making money and keeping money are two different games and I was only playing one of them correctly at the time.
He really opened my eyes to this. He insisted that I was as good as him! He inspired me to track my outgoings and cut the frivolous spending. It’s amazing how much ‘waste’ shows up when it’s put on paper. Saving money isn’t nearly as hard as finding a bigger edge. That’s not an excuse to settle for less than what your capable of.
But you remove so much pressure when you understand that the goal is to succeed as effortlessly as possible. Keeping your money does just that! And it wasn’t until I learned how to keep it, my bankroll began to grow along with my results. With zero added effort. I’ve put in the graft to become profitable across 3/4 sports. But getting off the hamster wheel, expanding my operations and trading at a level I once dreamed of was now a tangible goal and within my grasp.
Whilst I may not have gained a trading edge, I certainly gained a new lifestyle habit. We spend so much time looking for answers, we think our dreams and the keys to success is shrouded in mystery when most of the time we already have the answers. Sometimes it just takes an outsider to nudge us a few degrees into the right direction.
I tried to get this trader on the podcast to no avail. We only ever conversed via email. He told me his name and not much else. We’ve barely spoken since and whilst our consistent exchange lasted only a few months, he helped and inspired me alot. I’ve always felt like I belong at a higher level but now I have an actionable plan to get there. The last 2 years have been testament to that. A dream is just a wish without a plan.
Speak soon.
AT