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MEET MARC LAMBOURNE

What sets Marc Lambourne apart?

The wagering landscape has changed substantially over the years. The growth of analytics and computer modelling has altered the way people bet on racing.

The abundance of data available, as well as live raceday coverage and replays at the click of a finger have all been major factors in this transformation.

But what sets Marc Lambourne apart? Old fashioned instinct.

The great form analysts will always remind you of the need for intuition, even with the wealth of raw data at your disposal.

“I was working on my own ratings. Compiling a rudimentary data base, like everyone else.” Lambourne said.

“However, my form assessment was a bit different to how it was going at the time.

“If you think, late 80s we saw a lot of automation start to creep into form. People wanted to construct programs that could spit out automatic prices. I’ve never been like that.

“So I’ve constructed my markets since 1988 in an intuitive way.

“I based it on my observations of how the ring works. And what type of horse relates to what type of chance. I would correlate that with the insight you get from watching and logging results.

“I can go anywhere and frame a market because I don’t need a database.

“My form is highly reliant on knowing the horses, so I’d have to get to know them first. But for me it’s all about knowing their profiles and working off that.”

Lambourne loves the challenge of trying to unlock a meeting based on years of building a knowledge bank.

“Every week you’ve got a set of meetings. And in those meetings, you’ve got eight, nine or ten puzzles that I’m looking to solve.

Lambourne’s background is built around that same passion for racing, and something in the back of his mind was always calling him to the track.

“Since I was ten, I’ve been doing the form. Looking at certain metrics and heading to the track to see how they play out,” he added.

“I started as a bookies clerk when I was at Uni. I chucked in Uni to go full time racing. My goal at that time was to become a bookie.

“Along the way I was asked to assess form for a bookie. And that started me on my lifetime journey of form assessment.”

Lambourne co-hosts Racing Rant alongside Glenn Pollett, and he reflected on why this was such an important project.

“Racing Rant (Previously the punters show) started in 2009. It grew out of the fact that once upon a time, anyone who was anyone was at the track,” he explained.

“We were also quite dismissive of the mainstream media. Because we didn’t feel they had the fundamental understanding we had on the track.

“As people stopped going to the track and social media was born, we saw an opportunity to bring some intel to those platforms.

“People off the track were only getting the mainstream, not the depth of character and knowledge that you have when you grow up at the track.

“Suddenly people could tap into that knowledge and intel, which brings some fresh people into this community.

HOW DID YOU COME TO USE BETFAIR?

“In 2003, I had a coffee with one of my contemporaries and were discussing this thing called Betfair. And we were so excited.

“Finally, the world was coming to a real world of wagering. Something everyone understood, which was an exchange.

“Racing had diminished a little bit as a public pursuit and left the mainstream. I saw this as a way for racing to return to mainstream. People understood the stock market, they understood wagering. They might not have played the stock market, but they at least had a basic understanding of it.

“If you bring that to racing you will get new punters and new fans.

WHY DOES BETFAIR STAND OUT FOR YOU?

“I’m now at the point in my wagering journey where I only use Betfair.

“With the concentration of the corporate wagering landscape the early market opportunities aren’t on the scale they once were.

“I perceive now that most of the opportunities in wagering are very late…the last five minutes. Betfair is the place to live in the last five minutes. That’s where everyone is.

“I like to look at my rated prices and how this interacts with Betfair in those last five minutes.

“Horses that are being consistently undervalued in the late betting. Someone has a bee in their bonnet about a favourite for example.

“I focus heavily on last minute betting and the Exchange only, and focusing on horses the market really wants to lay. Is this the under valuation that presents an opportunity?

“You need to watch Betfair in the closing minutes before a race over a period of time.

“Just observe. You will have to dip your toe in the water to get that experience, but spend a long time observing and understanding first.

HOW IS BETFAIR ON YOUR SIDE?

“Betfair is on your side because winners are welcome.

“It’s the only place where you don’t have account managers saying, “you are winning so we don’t want you.” You won’t get chased out of the facility. You can play there when other parts of the landscape find you undesirable.”

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