Top tips for new punters still in the stalls on the fine art of betting

IF you know very little about fillies, steeds and the betting world but have the inclination to flirt with Lady Luck on race day at the Sun Met have cash lying about, then read on.

Weekend Argus called on the experience and knowledge of acting racing editor for Phumelela Publishing, Nicci Garner, to school uninitiated would-be gamblers in the art of making money at the races.

Garner said there are two types of betting. One is fixed-odds betting with a bookmaker, where you take a bet at, say 2-1, and get paid out R3 for every rand (your initial stake plus your winnings).

Then there is totalisator betting with TAB, where all the money wagered on a bet type is put into a pool, and after deductions the remaining money is divided equally among the winning tickets.

The easiest way for newbies to win with TAB is Win (your horse must be first past the post), Place (your horse must finish in the first four, three or two, depending on the number of runners in the field).

TAB will be paying out six places on the Sun Met and the other one is a Swinger, where you pick two horses and they must finish in the first three in any order. There are many other bet types, like Pick 6 (pick the winners of six consecutive races), Jackpot (pick the winners of four consecutive races), BiPot (pick the winner or runner-up of six consecutive races) and Place Accumulator (pick any horse in the first three in seven consecutive races).

Permutations are accepted. Samerace exotics include the Trifecta (the first three in the race in the correct order), Quartet (the first four in a race in the correct order), Exacta

(the first two in a race in the correct order), Double (pick the winner of two consecutive races) and so on.

The minimum bet for a Swinger is R2. The minimum bet on all other bets is R6 (but you can take a boxed Trifecta with three horses for R6).

There will be 13 races on the day. The Sun Met is the biggest one on the day, an open race worth R5 million.

There are two other richer races, the CTS 1200 and CTS 1600 which are worth $500 000 (R6 million), but they are restricted to graduates of the Cape Thorougbred Sales auction. Racing quality is split into Grades with Grade 1 being the best.

The Met is a Grade 1 race and there are three other Grade 1 races on the day: the Investec Derby (for 3-year-olds), the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes (for fillies) and the Betting World Cape Flying Championship, a lightning-fast race for sprinters.

There’s also a couple of races for 2-year-olds (the “babies”, because horses can’t race before they turn

2): the Tattersalls Summer Juvenile Stakes and the Kuda Sprint, plus the Heineken Cape Stayers.

With TAB the favourite in a race will always pay the least and the dividend increases from there. With bookmakers you get what you agree on – if you speak to a bookmaker you can often get what they call a stretch (bigger odds than the bookie is advertising).

TAB betting will open on Monday. Legal Eagle and Marinaresco are the bookmaker favourites.

You can follow the betting and changes on www.bettingworld.co.za.

Punters can also easily open accounts with TAB and or Betting World and bet from their computers, phones or through a telephone operator (tellybet).

Or just enjoy the champagne and delicious food!

PICTURES: SUPPLIED One of the biggest attractions is the Bestdressed competition.

PICTURE: ARMAND HOUGH/AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (ANA) Whisky Baron took first place in the main race of the Sun Met last year.

Rina Thunga is inspired by patterns and bright colours in her designs.