A lot of people say that you can't beat the bookmakers. 'Have you ever seen a poor bookie?' they ask. Those people don't know what they're talking about. Trust me, there has never been a better time for punters to make the effort to go to the racecourse to do battle with the on-course layers.

The prime money-winning time is midweek. Weekends are when the public go racing - that doesn't make beating them impossible, but the weight of money is there for the on-course layer to 'book make'. During the week, however, it's a different story. There are too many bookmakers chasing too little money; there are too few punters and the racing is often less than competitive.