Free Horse Racing Systems

The best free horse racing systems are the ones you build and test yourself. Systems given away online tend to be used by many people at once, which shortens the prices of the horses they pick, and few come with an honest record. A system you write yourself, from free racecards, at least lets you see exactly what it does and whether it works.

This page gives you five system ideas to start from, an example of a full set of form filters, and a simple way to test any of them without staking money. None of them is a proven winner: they are starting points for testing. Our main guide to horse racing systems explains how to judge a system and which staking plans to avoid.

What you need (all free)

• Racecards and form. Racing Post, Sporting Life and Timeform publish free racecards with recent form, course and distance records and trainer information.
• Results. The same sites publish results and starting prices, which you need to record how your selections did.
• A spreadsheet. One row per qualifying bet: date, course, horse, the price you could have taken, the result and the profit or loss to a level stake.
• Our calculators. The odds calculator gives the implied probability of any price, the each way calculator settles each way bets and the dutching calculator splits stakes across several horses.

Five free system ideas to test

1. Course and distance winners in small fields

Horses that have already won over the same course and distance have shown they handle the track. This system backs a previous course and distance winner in races of eight runners or fewer, where there are fewer rivals to beat. Test whether the horses it finds are already priced short enough to cancel out the advantage.

2. Trainers in form

Stables go through good and bad spells. This system only bets on runners from trainers with a good strike rate over the last two weeks, which most racecard sites show next to the trainer’s name, and adds one more filter of your choice, such as a horse that ran well last time.

3. Each way value in mid-sized fields

With eight to eleven runners in a non-handicap, each way bets pay three places at 1/5 of the odds. This system looks for horses priced between about 6/1 and 12/1 with consistent placed form, aiming for the place part of the bet to cover most of the stake. Our each way calculator shows what a placed finish returns.

4. Dutching the top of the market

In races where the betting points to two or three horses, this system backs them together, with stakes split so the profit is the same whichever wins. It only works when the combined prices leave a profit at all, which the dutching calculator shows before you bet.

5. Taking on vulnerable favourites

Favourites win roughly a third of UK races, according to Matchbook’s analysis of favourite win rates. This system looks for favourites with a reason to doubt them, such as a first run for a long time, a step up in distance or untried ground, and backs the best-priced alternative instead. Record the favourites you passed over as well, so you know whether your doubts were right.

An example of a form filter system

A form filter system starts with every runner on the card and removes horses until only a few qualifiers are left. Here is an example of the shape such a system takes. Treat the numbers as settings to test, not rules that are known to work:

• Only races with 8 to 12 runners.
• Only horses that have run between 7 and 30 days ago.
• Only horses that have won at least one race at the distance, within about a furlong.
• Remove any horse that has not finished in the first four in at least one of its last three runs.
• Remove any horse carrying top weight in a handicap.
• Remove any horse from a trainer without a winner in the last 14 days.
• Any horse left is a selection. If more than one is left, take the one with the best recent form figure.

Change one filter at a time and keep a separate record for each version, or you won’t know which change made the difference.

How to test a free system

1. Write the rules down before you look at any results.
2. Apply them every day for at least a few hundred qualifying bets, recording the price you could have taken at the time.
3. Use the same stake on every bet so you’re measuring the selections, not a staking plan.
4. Work out the return on investment: total profit divided by total staked. Strike rate alone doesn’t tell you whether a system makes money.
5. Note the longest losing run, and ask whether you could have kept going through it.

If you’d rather test rules against past results than paper trade them, ratings platforms such as Inform Racing include a system builder that back-tests filters on UK and Irish racing. It offers a free starting tier, with the full tools on paid membership. Our guide to horse racing software covers more tools like it.

Betting always carries a risk of loss and no tipster, system or staking plan can guarantee a profit. Only stake what you can afford to lose, and set a budget before you start. Gambling responsibly.