You may recognise our newest analyst, Bryce Parker, from his handywork hosting the Winning Edge Investments podcast, where he so far has interviewed Dylan Gibbons, Anthony Manton, Grant Williams and Dean Evans.

After 12 months of rigorous testing, Winning Edge Investments has just released his brand new service Bryce's Best, and Bryce now sits on the other side of the interview chair as we ask him all about the service and his background.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

I’m Bryce Parker, a 26-year-old from Tasmania originally. I made the move up to Brisbane 5 years ago to get a taste of the warm weather and haven’t looked back. My background revolves heavily around sports. I grew up with a love for athletics, AFL and Cricket and represented Tasmania in all 3 sports. As I grew older my love for horse racing followed and it now plays an enormous part in my life. There isn’t a day that goes by when I am not scanning markets early and looking for the next winner. It is a thoroughly enjoyable pastime that brings people together who share the love of racing, whether it be finding a winner or cheering it home. I can't wait to be cheering home winners alongside members.

How did you get into racing and turn into a successful long-term horse racing punter?

I got into racing properly around 6 years ago. It started as a hobby, watching the occasional race and having a casual bet, but quickly developed into watching every race across Australia consistently for years on end. This enabled me to follow horses, black book those I believed would be hard to beat next start, and gain a large understanding of form lines. My belief was if I could watch every race available, whether it was live or a replay, I’d be able to gain a strong understanding on what horses to back and the prices they were worth backing at. There is a lot of depth behind horse racing and becoming a successful punter. It involves not just finding winners but getting them at the right price and backing them for the right amount. It is a fine balancing act that if well executed I've found can be extremely rewarding and financially beneficial. 

Becoming successful through punting in horse racing involves discipline and learning from mistakes, as much as it is about focusing on what works. I gradually learned over the years where I could find an edge in horse racing and gain the upper hand. That consists around getting early prices and being able to accurately rate the chances of horses. 

Markets are priced by people and they’ll consistently fluctuate. Markets may be priced around a range of things such as times, form lines, weights, and so forth, however at the end of the day markets will always be influenced by people's opinions. For me, gaining the upper hand is all about working out whether you are buying something worth the price, just like shopping. If you can justify a horse's odds and believe it is better value than the current odds that are being offered by bookmakers, then, just like a customer looking for a good price at the shops, you are inclined to back the horse. 

There will always be an element of luck in horse racing, but those who are smart and dedicated to working out prices and staying on top of the markets generally will take luck out of the equation when only backing runners at odds that are justifiable. 

How do you identify your bets? What are the key areas of statistics you analyse? Where do you find the biggest edges? What else do you look at when assessing the right horses and races and determining bets? 

My bets are predominately win bets. A big edge of mine is finding early prices. I find that most of my winners have been well-backed and the market ‘finds’ them. To determine the right horse to back there are a large number of factors to consider. I am always asking myself a set of questions or key criteria before I land on backing a horse

Does it map well? Is the jockey a suitable booking? Is it well weighted? Can it get clean air at the right time? Will it be caught wide? Does it like these conditions (e.g., good, soft, heavy)? Does it have a good record on this track (because some horses love certain courses and others won’t go an inch on the same track). Is this horse in form? Does it need this run to get fitter and does it improve further into its preparation or will it fire instantly? Can it get a soft lead or if it settles further back will it have enough speed to come home and win? Are the stable in form? Is it well-graded or out of its depth? If it can win, what price is this worth?

It’s about ticking boxes and if you can tick them and say, yes this horse can win, it's then about considering what price it should be and if it is backable. 

Key areas and statistics I focus on from a results perspective are Return On Investment, Profit Of Turnover, Units Collected & Win/Loss ratio. All of these are important but maintaining a solid ROI & POT will ensure profit. 

How will your service work? What types of bets will you send, how many bets per week (estimated), unit bank recommended, estimate of weekly units spent? 

My service will involve sending out bets that span from across the country on any given day. I estimate roughly 10-20 bets a week however I don't bet for the sake of it, so some days there will be nothing and others there could be 5 bets for the day. 

Units recommended are about 15 units a week roughly but again this depends on the number of bets sent out and what odds they are. 

What time will bets normally be released? 

Bets will be released days prior to the race starting. I like to take things when markets open so they will be sent out early. 

What information do you provide with each bet? 

A write-up explaining why I think the horse should run well with the justification of its chances. A rated price of the horse's chance as well as any other advice about the selection including factors such as where I think the horse will land in the run, why the predicted weather/track conditions are ideal, why the jockey is a suitable booking and so forth. I like individuals to be informed when making a bet & justify that boxes have been ticked towards making this selection.

I will also provide the number of units to invest on the selection as well as the price of the selection.

What are your previous results? What is a realistic Profit on Turnover percentage?  

Bryce's Best was provided on a public website and in 12 months of full testing delivered +201.3 units profit at 18.7% POT at fixed odds and +190.7 units profit at 17.7% POT at BOB, meaning great results were achieved no matter how you prefer to bet.

That's $20,130 profit for a $100 per unit punter over 12 months.

Which bookmaker accounts are the best to use? What odds comparison sites are the best to use?

I suggest using Dynamic Odds or Betwatch to identify the best odds across the 70+ corporate bookies currently available in Australia.

How will the official odds be recorded?

Odds will be recorded at the price when tips are sent out, less applicable deductions for scratchings etc. Having notifications on with the App so that you can get onto prices instantly will be beneficial to the service.

Do I bet straight away, or wait until close to the race start? 

Straight away unless otherwise stated. However note that at fixed odds the results were +201.3 units profit and at BOB the results were +190.7 units profit so even if you mis the fixed price, taking BOB proves to be an excellent alternative.

Who does this service suit?

Anyone who wants to make money or gain a better understanding around horse racing. I have spent countless hours learning about the ins and outs of racing and want to help others with strong selections and positive results.  

Are bets based on a 100-unit betting bank?

Yes

Any profit guarantee?

Yes for quarterly and annual memberships.

What do you think the racing industry needs to do to stay relevant and to increase the attraction of the sport to a new generation?

Keeping prices and entry fees at tracks attainable for the majority of the public is important. 

I believe the up-and-coming apprentices are exciting for attracting the younger generation. Dylan Gibbons, Tyler Schiller and the like are going to be idols to a next wave of racing fans and up-and-coming jockeys. 

Keeping racing accessible to watch is key. Having coverage for people to watch at any time free to air makes it far more appealing than having it closed off to a select few. It is an amazing sport that has an exciting future which I suspect will continue to blossom.