Sport is made for betting

Some Australian states and other racing jurisdictions around the world are going backwards because of the pig-headed stubbornness of crusty old farts in charge of racing. Faction fighting over exclusive TV rights, trying to protect the totes from outside competition via unconstitutional laws or anti-competitive product fees etc. Victoria opened itself up to corporate bookmakers and Betfair betting on their high-quality racing with product fees based on profits rather than turnover (like every other business in the world), and suddenly a flood of money is coming in. This previously untapped resource is now bringing in the bucks and the same companies are investing plenty to sponsor races throughout the state. Racing Victoria details growth Meanwhile in NSW, head muppet Peter V'Landys is bleeding the state's racing industry dry, taking the corporate bookmakers and Betfair on in court, in a case he simply cannot win, based on any reasonable understanding of business law in the 21s...

Four women's quarter-finals and none particularly straightforward. Safina was in trouble against Mauresmo, a player with more mental strength would have finished her off, but it wasn't to be. Lisicki is flying, based on a big serve and heavy groundstrokes. But this is the same style as Safina which puts the German teen at a disadvantage. She won't be able to outhit the Russian, she needs to be able to mix it up a bit to frustrate her. Venus is the strongest favourite of the day against Radwanska but I think she's a silly price. Radwanska is an exceptionally smart player, varying her style to best suit the matchup. The h2h stands 3-1 in favour of Venus, but I think she's worth a small lay at the odds. Make up your own mind whether you want to trade it or not. If you read my outright previews, you'll know I'm on Venus for the title, so it's a little bit of insurance for me. Azarenka beat a wounded Serena in Miami but also had her on toast in Melbourne back...

A lot of folks don't like harness racing but it's how I first got into betting with my mum taking me along to the local track most summer Saturday nights back in Australia when I was a boy. Take a look at this clip from a race last week at Gloucester Park in Perth, Western Australia. Complete carnage! If you've ever watched cricket on TV from the WACA in Perth, this is the track right next to the stadium. All horses and drivers (not riders as mentioned at the end of the clip) got out of it with no more than minor bumps and scratches.

Not sure if you had time to catch this 'article' which was linked from my news feed yesterday. News of the World claimed to interview a high-roller by the name of Elliott Short, who boasted of winning millions on Betfair. It sounded like a glory-seeking tosser making ludicrous claims, and it turns out it probably was.... The guy claimed to have been made redundant as a £22k per year city trader, then turned his hand to Betfair and was making millions. He boasted of laying the favourite, hoping the second fav would win - but if that lost, he'd also make money too. And he was winning up to £1.5 million at a time.... the Betfair market can't absorb that even in a championship race unless you drip feed it in over at least an hour. Betfair's response: We have been contacted by several customers in relation to an article in Sunday’s News of the World. We would like to make it clear that Betfair was not asked to comment on, or validate any aspect of, the article ahead of p...

Great result on Saturday courtesy of Lisicki, unfortunately the two men didn't offer a squeak. Onto Monday... Teenage American qualifier Oudin has come from a set down in all three rds so far, which shows a great deal of determniation, a trait often lacking on the women's tour. I'm yet to catch any of her matches live so I'll be making a point of doing so tomorrow. Radwanska played a defensive game against Li, just hitting soft shots back and watching the Chinese player self-destruct. Just a watch match for me, but I'll probably lay Radwanska if she goes a set up purely on the Oudin resilience factor. Azarenka has dropped just five points on first serve in two and a half matches. Incredible stat. She faces Petrova who beat her here in two breakers last yr. The Russian needs to play a lot better than she did against Dulko, but you know she can from her earlier rounds. Ivanovic showed her best form in months against Stosur, if she lived up to that form, she could stre...

Another good day with plenty of volatility to lock in profits in the two matches highlighted yesterday. Stosur played a shocker against Malek, did everything she could to lose it but the German wasn't good enough to close it out. If she playes that badly again, she'll get hammered, no matter how bad Ivanovic plays. On her French Open form, she should win this. Ivanovic was much better in the second rd as she was in R1. Tough one to call, with probably be a trader's delight with ebbs and flows throughout. Davydenko holds an 8-0 h2h record over Berdych, yet he is odds-against?? The Czech has a lot of hype about him, particularly on grass, but usually under-delivers. Nikolay isn't the fav of most punters, but he is doing well and proceeding under the radar so far. Those h2hs usually turn around at some stage, at least once, but hopefully not here. Hanescu has been serving brilliantly and has a few more weapons than Simon, who has troublesome knees and is going for his shot...

It's time to support our American racing friends at Chicago's Arlington Park. Get behind their campaign for more respect from track owners and hopefully reduce the obscene takeout on some of their tote pools. For more details and links to free formguides, visit Horseplayers Association of North America blog site .

Far better result yesterday with two good winners and a couple of matches that were at least tradeable in-running. Let's see how we can go for Friday. Cibulkova and Zvonareva both retired in doubles on Thursday due to injury - they're both due to play R3 matches on Friday. Watch the prices drift accordingly. Dulko will find it hard to back up after knocking off Sharapova, but she does hold a 2-2 record against the heavy-hitting Petrova. Bartoli is in awesome form and loves grass, but Schiavone leads the h2h 3-1, and all matches have gone to three sets. Laying Bartoli and Petrova to trade out in-running, I think both of those matches will be tight.

Let's try posting a bit earlier today... There may be a tad of bias here being Australian, but I think Hewitt is a live chance against del Potro today. I've never been a huge fan of his to be honest, but I marked del Potro only a slight fav - he has to be a lay at 1.45. Lleyton's last five losses here have been to Federer (x3), Djokovic and Baghdatis (the year he made the semis). He loves Wimbledon and will make sure he keeps the ball low, making it tough for the 6'6" Argentine to get a rhythm. Baltacha is favourite in a match at Wimbledon. I don't care who she's playing, that has to be a lay! Flipkens isn't great, but nor is she hopeless. Gonzalez has complained of knee soreness and plays a very promising kid in Leo Mayer. I've seen him live a couple of times in recent weeks and have been very impressed with his game. Lay the 1.25 for two units, with one unit traded back at 1.5 or so in-running. Cuevas beat Rochus in five, not a great achievement, ...