Episode 71 - Andy Holding

Andy Holding is a genuine racing expert having operated at the sharp end of the racing world for over 2 decades. Starting out working in a bookmakers, he made the leap to being a professional punter at the age of 30 and in more recent years has become best known through his work tipping on the Oddschecker website and on William Hill Radio. He also oversees his own Andy Holding Speed Figures website with colleagues Sam Turner and Andy Bate, which was the focal point of a recent in-depth SBC tipster review in February 2024 as we explored the service and tips on offer. Using the data from his speed figures to highlight value bets for members of his service and via his Oddschecker column, Andy outlines how speed figures work, how he uses them and just why they are so useful to accurately pinpoint the relative strengths and weaknesses of a horse and when you should back it. Alongside that, Andy also openly discusses his own betting, the issues facing the racing industry and most revealing of all - names the 4 major bookmakers that still use him as a 'mark' and allow him to get bets down with them. There are some names that might surprise you here! We also get into his Oddschecker column, how he picks these bets and their performance, plus how he copes with the pressures of being a prominent tipster, especially during a bad run. And for those of you listening to this ahead of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, he picks out a trio of big value bets to follow and back. Andy was a fascinating guest, full of insight on his specialist subject and with a long track record of beating the bookmaker. Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:12) Andy's grounding in racing (and betting) (03:50) A mentor who changed everything (04:28) Time! (06:00) Going professional and how Andy 'got in' at the right time (07:10) Opportunities that have arrived along the way (10:35) Speed Figures and how they can provide an objective view (14:30) Market reactions to speed figures and sectionals and how they are still underestimated (17:00) The work that goes behind the scenes at Andy Holding Speed Figures (20:10) Irish Racing and Andy's daily podcast (22:10) Tipping for Andy Holding Speed Figures and Oddschecker (and the differences between the selections) (26:25) Price contractions (28:30) Dealing with losing runs as a tipster (31:00) Andy's betting activity and how he gets on! (33:00) The firms that Andy has a relationship with and restrictions that turn punters away (37:40) Affordability Checks and Andy's thoughts on the future of horse racing (40:55) Some tips from Andy for betting at Cheltenham (with some early selections!) (44:40) General advice for betting on horse racing (47:35) Andy's football allegiances! (49:40) How to find Andy and a special SBC discount Discover More: Learn more on the Smart Betting Club and how we help winning bettors at https://smartbettingclub.com/ Andy Holding Speed Figures: https://andyholdingspeedfigures.co.uk/ Andy Holding Speed Figures Twitter:   / figuresandy   Andy Holding Twitter:   / holding_andy   Andy's Oddschecker page: https://www.oddschecker.com/tips/andy... Podcast feedback - contact SBC on twitter @sbcinfo Read more about each SBC Podcast episode: https://smartbettingclub.com/the-smar...