The oldest classic horse race in the world is almost upon us again. Established in 1776, just after American independence, it’s an autumn highlight on the racing card.
While it marks the closing of the flat turf season, tradition dictates that it also marks an upturn in financial markets if folklore is to be believed.
Sell in May come back on St Leger Day
“Sell in May and go away, don’t come back till St Leger day”. There is a general ‘theory’ that during the summer stocks languish and only when everybody is back to their desk does the market perk up. Here is one link, from many, that discusses this: –
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-the-real-story-behind-sell-in-may-and-go-away-2017-04-25
Ultimately, all investment betting and trading relies on value and not folklore or old wives tales. The world likes a good story though, but I’ll bet against that any day!
Start in May, mourn the dawn of St Leger Day
When Betfair trading on horse racing, I’d argue the opposite saying is true. Not for everybody, of course, we all have different trading strategies and every Betfair account will rise and fall with your favoured sport and strategy.
But I mourn the dawn of St Leger Day as it marks the end of a really busy period for me. Busy as in my ability to earn above-average profits from racing markets.
In terms of horse racing, I’ve reached the winning post. My entire year on racing markets will be defined by the top-class racing that takes place during the summer and, more or less, ends at the William Hill St Leger festival. If I do well over this period, I have a good year. If not, I’m not going to make that up in Q4.
There
It’s a numbers thing. The more races there are, the more opportunities there are. If you are looking for that outlying fab result, it’s more likely to occur in the mix of hundreds of races in the summer schedule.
The Doncaster St Leger meeting
This meeting is OK, but nothing extraordinary. But it should be an opportunity for you to get above-average results for the week. As we slip out of the evening racing and into the Autumn proper things can feel a bit different. We have some early season jumps racing on the card, some late maiden’s on the flat and some stronger form lines. It gets a bit mixed up, so a quality multi-day meeting can bring a boost to the coffers.
The first day can be a bit underwhelming. Of the four days, Wednesday has the lowest prize money, but on Thursday, we step up a gear with a significant jump in money. Things drop back a little on Friday before the pronounced peak on Saturday, with the St Leger.
But it should be an above-average week – Good luck!
