Menu

A Guide to Horse Racing Tips – How to Avoid Dodgy Tipsters Updated for June 2025

A Guide to Horse Racing Tips - How to Avoid Dodgy Tipsters

Updated: 19th June 2025

“Joe Punter,” the average person with a full-time job, who enjoys backing horses as a hobby, simply does not have sufficient time for effective study of horse racing form.

Given that reading up on the form for every runner in a large field may take a matter of hours, it is easy to see why, with 6-8 races per meeting and up to 5 meetings a day in the summer months, many horse racing aficionados try to find a reliable supplier of trustworthy racing tips.

Successful identification of a dependable source of racing tips can cut out much of the “spadework” that detracts from the enjoyment of horse race betting, whilst often improving the strike rate of winners. 

A Guide to Horse Racing Tips

Although it would be unfair to tar all vendors of racing tips with the same brush, for the most part, buying horseracing tips is a mug`s game.

Punters need to be very careful when contemplating parting with hard-earned cash in exchange for tips.

The better suppliers of such “premium” tips only expect to be paid for supplying winners, although this might be a certain amount bet on the tipped horse at starting price, so can be quite costly.

Additionally, the better tipsters send their tips to recognised racing papers such as the “Racing Post” or “Racing and Football Outlook” to certify their validity.

So-called “inside” information is a popular scam with dodgy tipsters.

There is little doubt that genuine information from racehorse trainers is very valuable.

Trainers deal with the horses every day and are the best judges of horses` well-being and going / distance preferences.

Despite protestations to the contrary by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), the racing game is as crooked as a dog`s hind leg.

BHA rule 45.3 states,

“A trainer must not send any horse to race with a view to schooling or conditioning the horse, it must always be run to gain the best possible position.”

However, all this means in practice is that trainers need to be a little less blatant when their horses are not trying.

The prospect of being privy to closely-guarded information relating to stable gambles greatly appeals to punters and this is where dishonest vendors can prosper.

Anyone with a working knowledge of the horse racing business can easily manufacture “privileged” information from data freely available in the public domain – it is simply a matter of knowing where to look.

A common strategy that unscrupulous tipsters employ is that of the

“Late news – word just in from the stable” approach.

This method is mind-bendingly simple to operate, yet catches out unwary punters time after time.

All a tipster needs to do is keep a careful eye on the early prices offered by the online layers and on the betting exchanges.

As soon as there is continued support for a particular runner, indicated by a contraction in the odds on offer, the tipster volunteers to sell a tip, on the basis that information has just been received from the owner, trainer or jockey.

Many of these selections do actually win, so maybe I`m being a little harsh in taking the moral high ground, but the underlying principle is dishonest.

Dependable free racing tips take the hard work out of horse race betting and can help improve the number of winners, too.

Trust in these Top Horse Racing Bookmakers

5 / 5
TOTAL SCORE

100% Deposit Bonus up to £50

- Minimum Deposit of £15 for a 100% Bonus.

Bet Bet
#AD 18 + Terms & conditions apply
New Customers only; Min. deposit £15 (no Skrill/Neteller); Bonus amount is 100% of deposit up to £50; Welcome offers are limited to one per person, family, household address, email address, telephone number, same payment account number (e.g. debit card, Skrill and etc.), shared electronic device (e.g. school, public library, workplace, mobile phone) and shared IP; Wager the qualifying deposit and bonus amount 8x within 30 days to convert bonus winnings into real money; Wagers must be on min. odds of 4/5 on singles or acca bets with min. odds of 2/5 per selection to qualify; Max. stake contribution to wagering requirement is the value of your bonus; Certain bet types are excluded; See full terms; Terms apply; 18+
5 / 5
TOTAL SCORE

£50 in Free Bets when you bet £10

- Use Promo Code: BETFRED50

Bet Bet
#AD 18 + Terms & conditions apply
New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility exclusions & T&Cs Apply. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.
5 / 5
TOTAL SCORE

Bet £10 Get £20 in Free Bets

Bet Bet
#AD 18 + Terms & conditions apply
New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply.
5 / 5
TOTAL SCORE

Bet £10 Get £10

- £10 Free Bet when you Bet £10 for UK/Ire/Canada players.

Bet Bet
#AD 18 + Terms & conditions apply
18+, Hopa Sports Welcome Bonus: New Players only, 1st deposit, Min Deposit: £10, max £10 free bet valid for 14 days, bets must be placed at odds of 1/1 or greater and be settled within 14 days of placement. System bets not eligible. Only depositing using specific payment methods. Full T&C's apply.
5 / 5
TOTAL SCORE

$/£/€10 Free Bet

- Deposit a Minimum of $/£/€10 for a $/£/€10 Free Bet

Bet Bet
#AD 18 + Terms & conditions apply
New Players Only. Minimum stake £/$/€10, minimum odds 1.5, stake not returned. 10X wagering the winnings from the free bet. Wagering occurs from real balance first. Wagering requirement is calculated on bonus bets only, wagering starts from real funds. Free bet is valid for 7 Days from issue. Max conversion: £/$/€20. Excluded Skrill deposits. Full Terms apply.

Relevant news

Leave a Reply