Best Betting Odds

Does "the tote always beat the bookmakers"?

Many punters often turn a blind eye to facts. They don't record the details of their bets. They remember their wins but conveniently forget about all their losses. Similarly, plenty of punters who just bet on their local tote like to think the odds they get when they win doesn't make a difference to their overall results. They say things like, "Bookmaker odds are useless these days. The tote always beats them." Those comments have even been posted on the forum of this site. But they are not correct.

For metropolitan racing in Melbourne and Sydney, where there is the biggest betting turnover, bookmaker odds for the most popular horses in the market are generally far superior to tote odds. This is particularly true on Saturdays. The exception would be races where there is minimal form available, for example a 2YO race full of first starters. That doesn't worry smart punters - they're usually not interested in betting in races like that.

Many punters don't even get the best tote odds, but just the price available on their local tote. Yet these same punters will say, "Tote odds always beat bookmaker odds."