First Class Racing achieved a 33.9% bank growth during their proofing, earning a spot amongst BetChat's team of pro tipsters.
The service is aimed at "small bank bettors", so you only need a 20 point bank to get started, rather than the 100 point plus banks that tipsters usually recommend.
It is run by tipster Mel Gee, who has been involved in the betting industry since he was 15 years old and claims to be able to "read a horse's form like a librarian can read the alphabet!".
His selective strategy means that there are no long losing streaks and a high strike rate, meaning bigger profits for smaller betting banks.
He bets exclusively on Class 1 races, finding the best of the best horses to bet on in with their ideal conditions. So, along with the horse showing good form, everything else has to match up perfect too, from the racecourse to the jockey, trainer and even the weather.
It does mean that there aren't bets every day, as it's very much a quality over quantity type of service.
All bets are sent out via the Telegram app, with one channel for tips only and a community channel so that you can chat with other members and Mel himself.
So far, all of BetChat's services have earned a pass from us (read the reviews here, here and here!), so we are hoping First Class Racing will follow in their footsteps.
We will be following the service for the next few months and will report back with an update of our results each month.
Month One Update
It was an interesting start to our First Class Racing review as there were just 5 bets for the month due to the selective nature of the service. We recorded a small profit of 0.35 points, which based on the advised 20 point bank worked out as a 1.8% increase.
Mel is extremely disciplined with his tips and doesn't just recommend a bet for the sake of it.
He explained more about this in one of the tipping messages received earlier in the month:
"It's been a busy week with a lot of top class races to consider.
I find it quite easy, normally, to identify a horse that I consider better than the rest and ought to go very close to winning or placing to make profit or at least reduce a loss.
This week, that "special" bet has not identified itself.
I could easily place bets this weekend on horses I consider have very good chances but, long term, some will win and many will lose thus taking away any profits. Unless, of course, I get lucky! I am in the business of making solid bets that bring a return and a win % of over 50% confirms this."
Key Stats
| Advised Odds | Available Odds | BSP (before comm.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Bets | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Total Stakes (pts) | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Profit/Loss (pts) | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.29 |
| Profit/Loss (£50 stakes) | £17.50 | £17.50 | £14.50 |
| Strike Rate | 60.0% | 60.0% | 60.0% |
| ROI | 7.0% | 7.0% | 5.8% |
| Overall Bank Growth | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.5% |
| Bank (20pt starting) | 20.35 | 20.35 | 20.29 |
Results
| Date | Race | Selection | Stake | Available Odds | P/L | Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/01/2022 | Warwick 1.50 | Threeunderthrufive | 1.00 | 1.62 | 0.62 | 20.62 |
| 29/01/2022 | Doncaster 1.35 | Third Time Lucki | 1.00 | 1.73 | 0.73 | 21.35 |
| 29/01/2022 | Cheltenham 3.05 | Champ | 1.00 | 1.50 | -1.00 | 20.35 |
| 12/02/2022 | Warwick 2.05 | Edwardstone | 1.00 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 21.35 |
| 12/02/2022 | Newbury 2.25 | Clan Des Obeaux | 1.00 | 2.38 | -1.00 | 20.35 |
Month Two Update
It was a quiet month again for First Class Racing with just 2 bets between 15th Feb - 14th March. One lost and one won to give a profit of 1.25 points.
Cheltenham festival started the day after our results for the second month and day one was an excellent start, but unfortunately we had to wait until our next update to report those results.
Key Stats
| Advised Odds | Available Odds | BSP (before comm.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Bets | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Total Stakes (pts) | 2.00 | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Profit/Loss (pts) | 1.25 | 1.25 | 2.23 |
| Profit/Loss (£50 stakes) | £62.50 | £62.50 | £111.50 |
| Strike Rate | 50.0% | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| ROI | 62.5% | 62.5% | 111.5% |
| Overall Bank Growth | 8.0% | 8.0% | 12.6% |
| Bank (20pt starting) | 21.60 | 21.60 | 22.52 |
Results
| Date | Race | Selection | Stake | Available Odds | P/L | Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19/02/2022 | Haydock 2.05 | Thomas Darby | 1.00 | 4.50 | -1.00 | 19.35 |
| 26/02/2022 | Kempton 2.25 | Pic D'Orhy | 1.00 | 3.25 | 2.25 | 21.60 |
Month Three Update
First Class Racing had a much busier time in month three of our review with two major racing festivals, Cheltenham and Aintree, happening in close proximity.
That being said, the tipster was still selective with his bets with a total of 18 tips for the month, netting a profit of 2.86 points.
With this service, the starting bank is just 20 points so we set stakes at £50 per point. After three months we had steadily made a total of £223 profit at an ROI of 18.2%.
Key Stats
| Advised Odds | Available Odds | BSP (before comm.) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Bets | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Total Stakes (pts) | 17.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
| Profit/Loss (pts) | 2.86 | 2.86 | 4.17 |
| Profit/Loss (£50 stakes) | £143.00 | £143.00 | £208.50 |
| Strike Rate | 61.1% | 61.1% | 61.1% |
| ROI | 16.3% | 16.3% | 23.8% |
| Overall Bank Growth | 22.3% | 22.3% | 33.5% |
| Bank (20pt starting) | 24.46 | 24.46 | 26.69 |
Results
| Date | Race | Selection | Stake | Available Odds | P/L | Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15/03/2022 | Cheltenham 1.30 | Constitution Hill | 1.00 | 3.50 | 2.50 | 24.10 |
| 15/03/2022 | Cheltenham 1.30 | Constitution Hill (Place) | 1.50 | BSP | 0.35 | 24.45 |
| 15/03/2022 | Cheltenham 2.10 | Edwardstone | 0.50 | 3.75 | 1.38 | 25.83 |
| 15/03/2022 | Cheltenham 2.10 | Edwardstone (Place) | 1.00 | BSP | 0.35 | 26.18 |
| 15/03/2022 | Cheltenham 3.30 | Honeysuckle | 1.00 | 1.80 | 0.80 | 26.98 |
| 16/03/2022 | Cheltenham 3.30 | Shishkin | 1.00 | 1.91 | -1.00 | 25.98 |
| 17/03/2022 | Cheltenham 1.30 | Galopin Des Champs | 0.50 | 1.91 | -0.50 | 25.48 |
| 17/03/2022 | Cheltenham 2.50 | Allaho | 1.00 | 1.67 | 0.67 | 26.15 |
| 18/03/2022 | Cheltenham 1.30 | Vauban | 1.00 | 2.88 | 1.88 | 28.03 |
| 18/03/2022 | Cheltenham 1.30 | Vauban (Place) | 1.50 | BSP | 0.39 | 28.42 |
| 26/03/2022 | Kempton 2.05 | Fancy Man | 1.00 | -1.00 | 27.42 | |
| 26/03/2022 | Kempton 2.05 | Fancy Man (Place) | 1.50 | BSP | -1.50 | 25.92 |
| 02/04/2022 | Ayr 3.00 | Minella Drama | 1.00 | 3.25 | -1.00 | 24.92 |
| 08/04/2022 | Aintree 3.30 | Fakir D'Oudairies | 0.50 | 0.63 | 25.54 | |
| 08/04/2022 | Aintree 3.30 | Fakir D'Oudairies (Place) | 1.00 | BSP | 0.22 | 25.76 |
| 09/04/2022 | Aintree 3.00 | Edwardstone | 1.00 | 1.57 | -1.00 | 24.76 |
| 09/04/2022 | Aintree 3.35 | Flooring Porter | 0.50 | 2.63 | -0.50 | 24.26 |
| 09/04/2022 | Aintree 3.35 | Flooring Porter (Place) | 1.00 | BSP | 0.20 | 24.46 |