Here we take a look at odds matching, find out what it is all about and see how you can benefit from some of the best odds matching products around.

What is Odds Matching?

Odds Matching is the process of finding a close match between the odds at a bookmaker and the odds at a betting exchange like Betfair for a specific sporting event.

It is generally used in the practice of matched betting, which is where you make money risk-free out of the bookies’ offers and free bets.

In order to maximise the amount of money you make out of the bookies’ offers, you want the odds you back their bets with to be as close to the exchange odds as possible.

There is software available now that analyses the odds in seconds and finds the best bets automatically, which is very useful.

Before we look at the software that is available, let’s take a look first at what matched betting is and why you might want to take advantage of it – if you aren’t doing so already.

What is Matched Betting – and should I be doing it?

Matched betting is about taking the many offers that are presented by the bookies these days and using them to make money risk-free.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the free bets and special offers bookies give away now come with a catch – they are not genuine “free bets” in the true sense of the term.

You normally have to wager a certain amount before you qualify for the free bet – and in some cases before you are able to withdraw the winnings of your free free bet as well.

So if you are placing some bets just to qualify for the free bet and those lose – then your free bet loses – you could end up out of pocket! Not what the doctor ordered…

But fear not, some very clever people worked out that you could use the betting exchanges so that you can make these free bets risk-free.

You don’t quite make the full value of the free bet – normally about 80% – but it’s a lot better than losing your money.

So if you have a £50 free bet, using matched betting you can normally extract around £40 risk-free.

Pretty awesome eh?

And with literally hundreds of offers out there, some people have turned matched betting into pretty much a full-time profession, making £20,000 – £30,000 per year.

How do I start doing Matched Betting?

If you haven’t done any matched betting before, there are some great products out there that bring together all of the offers, explain how they work, provide support and even have communities where you can chat to other matched bettors and learn from each other’s experiences.

If you are starting off, then it is probably best to go for Bonus Bagging.

Then you can progress to Profit Maximiser, which allows you to make £300-£500 per month risk-free.

Why would you want Odds Matching Software?

Once you have done a bit of matched betting, you will realise that it can take quite a bit of time to compare the odds of your free bet with the bookmaker and the exchanges.

You want to find the best opportunity to maximise how much you make off each offer. Sometimes there are big differences between the bookies’ odds (who can be stingey at times) and the exchanges.

It can take a long time to find the best offers as well, going back and forth checking various markets.

What Odds-Matching Software do you recommend?

There are two good pieces of odds matching software we have found and would recommend.

One is Mike Cruickhsank’s Matched Betting Software, which we have done a full review of here. It has amazing software and a whole range of features to it.

The good news is that you can now get a 30 day trial of it for just £1 by clicking here.

The other product we would recommend is called Odds Monkey, which has similar features to the Matched Betting Software. We have done a full review of it here.

What comes with the Matched Betting Software?

The Matched Betting Software has a range of very useful features including the main odds matching tool, which you can set to find the best offers of the day, for a particular sport, bookie or event.

You have other features such as a calculator to work out exactly how much you need to put on each bet, links that take you straight through to the relevant market on the bookie or exchange’s website.

Plus there is a dutching tool, for placing dutching bets that involve two bookies and no betting exchange.

In addition, there is a special tool for Channel 4 horseracing, which is very useful for those offers on races shown on Channel 4.

All in all, with this software you will quickly wonder how you ever did without it.

Conclusion

Odds matching is the process of finding a close match between the bookies’ odds and those of the betting exchanges (like Betfair) so that you can maximise your income from free bet and special offers.

It has been made much easier by Odds Matching Software, which we highly recommend if you are serious about doing matched betting and making a tax-free second income. 

For decades, horse racing has been a sport; rather leisure activity endured by many – the elite and middle class alike. Horse racing enthusiasts all over the globe search for animals that are perfectly suited for the sport – on the inside (stamina), as well as on the outside (physically fit).

One of the most sought after of the species being Sole Power. Named after Sabena Power, the owner of the horse, Sole Power is a small yet beautiful horse who is a Gelding and whose color is an elegant Bay.

Foaled on March the 18th, of the year 2007, this horse is a British-bred, Irish-trained (courtesy of trainer Edward Laynam) bred by G Russell. Furthermore, Kyllachy, the sire, can be thanked for Sole’s wonderful genetics. Being one of the most excellent sprinters, Kyllachy was usually held up as a last resort. Nevertheless, his skills cannot be questioned.

Being an ever so adept sprinter itself as it was fathered by one, Sole Power has secured the first position in twelve of the fifty-two races he ran. He has been a participant in races taking place in five different countries – whilst having been in the game for six years. At the age of 9, Sole Power has managed to run in several races and was honored with some of the most reputable awards and titles.

The horse has effortlessly owned two of the greatest achievements, amongst many others; the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

Sole Power is known for his unique racing style which is marked by his jockey keeping a hold on him for a great portion of the race, but following that, there comes a moment where he is allowed to run forward with great momentum, as the closing line is neared. This is a move that may or may not baffle the competing horses. Either way, the momentum gained as the finishing line is approached is remarkable.

Other major achievements of Sole Power include those of Temple Stakes and Scarbrough Stakes (in the year 2012), Palace House Stakes (2 years in a row – 2013, 2014), the Al Quoz Sprint and Flying Five (in the year 2015). Sole Power also earned the respectable title and award “Irish Horse of the Year” and was awarded the Cartier Champion Sprinter Award in the year 2014.

If you are looking for some free racing tips, please check out article with a detailed guide to the best ones we have found. 

The total earnings of Sole Power has been calculated to add up to a handsome £2,072,413 – of course, given the fact that it has been given a rating of 118 in the 2014, which consequently made him the 78th best horse in the world and the eighth best sprinter.

Sole Power does justice to his name – his power is extraordinary.

Fancy making up to £500 per month risk-free? Well check out Profit Maximiser, our number one recommend betting product, with a 14-day trial for just £1 here.

Zenyatta, also known as the Racing Queen was foaled on April 1, 2004, in Kentucky. She is a retired US Thoroughbred racehorse champion that won 19 of the 20 races that she took part in during her racing career and belonged to Jerry and Ann Moss. She was trained and ridden by her jockey, Mike Smith for the better part of her racing days.

Mike Smith guided Zenyatta for 17 races of the 20 she took part in. At the beginning of her career, she was guided by David Flores, who rode Zenyatta for three races. Sired by Street Cry, she is the half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner, Balance.

She got her name from the album Zenyatta Mondatta, recorded by the Police, who were at the time signed to A&M Records. The name Zenyatta was given to her by  Jerry Moss, her part-owner.

Over the course of her racing days, Zenyatta was widely known for her incredible closing finishes. Often, she spotted the frontrunners large leads, before overtaking all her opponents during the final stretch. Over the course of her racing career, she stood at 17.2 hands (70 inches, 178 cm) and weighed approximately 1,217lb (552 kg).

Overview of Zenyatta’s Racing Career

She won 17 of the Graded stakes races she took part in, 13 of which were Grade 1 events. Zenyatta defeated four champions, who held different awards and included; Gio Ponti, Sealy Hill, Summer Bird and Ginger Punch.

In her 20:19-1-0 all time racing record, Zenyatta defeated various Grade 1 winners including; Richard’s Kid, Einstein, Colonel John; Ginger Punch; Cocoa Beach; Music Note, Summer Bird among others.

Honors

During her extensive racing career, Zenyatta received various honors, from different groups, associations, and prominent people. Some of her notable honors include;

• Zenyatta became the first female horse ever to win the Breeders Grade 1 classic cup and the first female horse to win two different Breeders Cup races on November 7, 2009.
• After winning the 2010 Vanity International Handicap race, she broke the existing North American record for consecutive wins (17 wins in 17 starts).
• Oprah Winfrey named her in the 2010 “O Power List” published in her O Magazine.
• She got selected three times in a row, between 2008 and 2010 for the NTRA Moment of the year awards. It was for her win in the 2008 Ladies Classic Victory, the 2009 Breeder’s Cup Victory and her narrow defeat in the Breeder’s Classic Cup of 2010.
• Zenyatta received an Honorary Membership from the San Pedro Assistance League, and in doing so, became the first horse in history to receive this kind of membership. To date, her photo still hangs proudly in the formal San Pedro Assistance League conference room.
• She holds the record for most wins, as well as the speed record of the Lady’s Secret Stakes. Her owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, as well as her other connections, Mike Smith and John Shirreffs, hold the record for the highest number of wins, by the owners, trainers, and jockey.
• In 2010, she was chosen by the Dodgers to promote them, and even had her billboard in the city of Los Angeles.
• She surpasses John Henry, Tiznow, and Alysheba in the North American all-time horse earnings category (for both male and female horses) with earnings of over seven million, three hundred thousand, five hundred and eighty dollars during her racing career.

Retirement

Zenyatta was slated to retire on November 17, 2010. Upon retirement, she was taken to Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky where she arrived on December 6 of the same year. In February 2011, she was bred to Bernardini but initially came up negative. It necessitated a second breeding which turned up positive, giving way to the birth of a dark bay colt, which was later called Cozmic One.  Cozmic One began its racing career with poor performance on both of its race starts in the year 2015.

She was confirmed to foal to Tapit, which led to the birth of a chestnut colt called Ziconic on her 9^th birthday, April 1, 2013. Ziconic started racing this year (2016), and although she is yet to win a race, he has shown the same racing style( last to first) as his dam and continue to show more potential than Cozmic One.

Zenyatta had a memorable career, and apart from her performances on the racing tracks, she was known for her love for the fans. During her training and racing days, no single day went by that she did not receive visitors at her barn (BARN 55). The most memorable of days being one Saturday morning in the month of November 2010, when she had more than 175 visitors, and elegantly posed for pictures with all her visitors.

Despite the fact that she is retired, Zenyatta still has a large following both online and offline. So as to keep her memories alive, fans have created forums where they interact with each other and relive the memories created by the Queen of Racing, Zenyatta.

Fancy some free racing tips? Then just pop on over to special page devoted to free racing tips and you can find some of the best free ones around. 

One of horse racing’s most famous jockeys would have to be Frankie Dettori. He has been the Champion Jockey three times in his career and he has ridden more than 500 winners in group races. He is an honourable and extremely decorated horse racing jockey of which his win at the 1996 British Championship Day was the biggest.

In 2015 he was named as the World’s Best Jockey at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and people like Lester Piggot still describes him as the best jockey in English horse racing. He has experienced a few stumbles along the way, but he still remains a true racing celebrity as well as a national treasure.

Early Years

Born in Italy on 15 December 1970, Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori already found himself in the prominent spheres of horse racing society. He was born to Gianfranco Dettori who was an avid horse racing jockey himself. At the age of 12 Lanfranco started showing interest in his very first horse riding event following his birthday. His father had bought him his very own pony which he rode quite often. At the age of 13 he became a stable boy and an apprentice jockey, and thereafter he went to Great Britain to become a more trained stable jockey.

In 1990, Dettori earned his first big title when he became the first teenager since Lester Piggot to ride 100 winners. His first win came in at the age of 16 which took place in Turin in 1986. His first British victory took place in the following year. He continued picking up the pace and soon before long he had made quite the name for himself.

Going Through the Card – and Bankrupting the Bookies

In 1996 at the British Championship Day at Ascot racecourse, Dettori achieved the incredible feat of winning all 7 races in a single day – called “going through the card” – something that made him an instant legend amongst punters and bankrupting at least one bookie in the process and costing others millions of pounds. One of the bankrupted bookies, Gary Wiltshere, lost over £800,000 that day as punters piled on more and more of their cash on Frankie’s horses as the day went on and the unfortunate layer was forced to sell his house, car and most of his possessions to pay everything back.

It is a feat that had very few jockeys have ever completed and the combined odds in the morning of Dettori winning all seven races was around 240,000 to 1. It has been compared to a golfer birdying all 18 holes on a golf course or a footballer scoring five consecutive hat-tricks. 

Scandal Strikes

However, in the late 90s scandal struck Dettori as he was investigated for using illegal substances during the racing season. He admitted that he used diuretic drugs in order to keep his weight down. He also admitted to using an even wider range of drugs on a regular occasion before it had been banned in 1998. He underwent numerous drug tests which confirmed the extensive use of these drugs and the regularity by which Dettori used them.

A Close Escape and Life Away from Racing

Despite this spat between Dettori and the Jockey Club, he received an honorary Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2000. Thereafter he decided that it was time for him to give the competitive world of horseracing a break. In the same year he was in a plane crash whilst on his way to Sussex. The pilot was killed but Dettori escaped with a fractured right ankle and an injured thumb.

He starred in the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport, but soon retired in 2003 as the team captain. The reason for this was that he was stung by a question regarding his retirement from horse racing. Since that quiz show he has found his way back to professional horse jockey racing and started immediate training. In 2004, he competed in his first championship since his retirement and he was awarded the British Champion Jockey award. In 2006 he experienced another bout of bad luck when thieves broke into his house and stole some of his gold medals and a gold trophy he had won in Japan.

One of the only English races Dettori had not yet won was the Epsom Derby. However, he completed and won this race for the first time in 2007 on board Authorized. The day after he had won this race he won the Prix du Jockey Club on Lawman, notching a memorable double derby. Dettori would capture his second Epsom Derby eight years later on Golden Horn in 2015.

The Face of Yoghurt

His face soon became popular and commercial once again. Soon after he completed his double derby, he became the face of Jockey yogurt. This was sold across Europe and was especially popular in France. By adding his face to the campaign, sales shot through the roof during the years that followed.

In 2012 his past run-ins with drugs surfaced again when he failed a drug test in France. In December of that same year he was suspended from professional horse racing as he tested positive for using illegal substances. This prohibited substance was believed to be cocaine, something far worse than his previous contraventions. He released a statement through his lawyer in which he apologized and said that he realized that he had let down the sport, its participants, and its fans.

In 2013 he pursued more commercial aspects when he entered the eleventh series of Celebrity Big Brother – he was voted off fifth. After his 6-month ban was lifted, he continued to ride again professionally, starting with the Epsom Derby in 2013. A week after he started, he won his first race yet again.

Still Going Strong 

He has been a retained rider for Godolphin Racing, but soon quit this to become a freelance rider. He has signed contracts with other endorsers, but it would seem like he prefers to ride solo. He has since then competed in many different events all over the world from Britain, to Europe, to middle-eastern countries such as Bahrain. It is clear that he is not yet ready to hang up his shoes for a final time.

Standing in at 1.64m, Dettori is the perfect build for a jockey. He currently lives with many others in Stetchworth near Newmarket in Suffolk. He is married to his wife Catherine, and together they have 5 children: Leo, Ella, Mia, Tallula, and Rocco. He is a typical English boy when he is at home, supporting his favourite football team Arsenal all the way. He also has an insane passion for food and in 2004 he opened a little restaurant in London: Frankie’s Bar and Grill with chef Marco Pierre White as partner. Together these two have opened 3 other restaurants in their names all over the world.

With such an effusive personality, exhilarating style and brilliant career, it is no wonder that Frankie Dettori is perhaps the best known jockey in British racing – a true racing superstar. 

Interested in getting some free tips for horse racing? We have put together a detailed guide of the best ones we have found – and you can read it here.