Cleeve Racing is a relatively well known independent horse racing tipster service. It aims to provide subscribers with a broad spectrum of betting advice with a view to generating a profit.
What does the product offer?
I have to be rather open about Cleeve Racing and say from the get go that I rather like what is on offer, in no small part due to the fact that this is a genuine service. There is a very strong focus in everything that the team behind Cleeve Racing have to say on the sport of horse racing as well. This might sound like a rather obvious subject choice given the nature of what is on offer, but truth be told, there are far too many tipsters who want to sell you the idea of a quick buck or some fantasy pen name.
Even the headlines for Cleeve Racing are no nonsense. “Our Flat members ended the Flat season £1,500 in profit” the team proudly proclaims “Now our attention is firmly on the Jumps…”. Compare this to the “Bookie Bashing Ex Trader Who Banks £100,000 Per Year” that seems to have been popping up everywhere and you can see instantly that there is a difference in approach to marketing. One only hopes that this difference extends to all elements of the Cleeve Racing service.
In terms of what you are actually getting yourself into, Cleeve Racing has operated in pretty much the same way since at least 2014 (although the service has supposedly operated in some shape or form for the last 7 years). Selections are issued each week on a frequent, although not quite near daily, basis (although it does say in the sales material that there is coverage of all the big festivals as well as Saturday TV racing). The bets are advised as a combination of win and each way bets with a focus on longer odds. All of this means that you won’t often have more than 4 bets per day to back.
One of the things that stands out about Cleeve Racing is how they issue selections. When you receive your email you can expect a massively detailed analysis explaining the logic behind choices. You can also expect to see some potential alternative bets for a race too. This is all a massive positive and is just another way that Cleeve Racing demonstrates that there is a clear focus on the sport and tips rather than pushing a quick buck.
With all of this out of the way, there is only the numbers side of Cleeve Racing’s offering to consider. There is a firm staking plan in place which involves betting anywhere from 1-3 points on bets (this is advised in the aforementioned writeups on bets). This is a fair amount and Cleeve Racing doesn’t ever feel like it is stretching your bank or putting it at any unnecessary risk.
Rather unfortunately there is no published strike rate for Cleeve Racing. This is more than made up for however with the inclusion of full proofing for the service which clearly demonstrates where there have been winning and losing runs. If I am completely honest, what I can say is I wouldn’t expect too high a strike rate from Cleeve Racing.
How does the Cleeve Racing work?
There is very little in the way of specifics for how selections are made for Cleeve Racing. This isn’t the be all and end all however as the analysis which are provided more than demonstrate a knowledge of the sport of horse racing. There is plenty of talk about other horses in the race (as well as the selections that the Cleeve Racing team are issuing) and a number of topics can be discussed.
For example, one analysis talks of the horses position in a race as well as looking at the results from last year. They also talk about weight and strength. In another, they take a different approach and are talking about the recent form and how the horse rides over a certain distance and the speed of the course. There is also mention of the jockey’s experience at the particular course. All of this bodes well and leaves you in no doubt as to why you are backing a horse.
What is the initial investment?
At the time of writing there are a number of different membership packages for Cleeve Racing. These are a monthly subscription, a quarterly offering and finally, tips for the year. These are priced at £40, £99 and £329 respectively. There is a “no quibble 100% refund for the trial month subscription only”. Unfortunately, this no longer seems to be an option (at least that I can see). All payment is handled directly through a proprietary system.
What is the rate of return?
As already touched upon, for the flat season, Cleeve Racing ended up with a profit of £1,500 to £20 stakes. This means an overall profit of 72.87 points. With the national hunt season now underway, profits have continued to grow. Interestingly, Cleeve Racing has averaged around 100 points of profit every year since November 2014.
Conclusion on Cleeve Racing
In some ways, judging Cleeve Racing is a difficult thing. It doesn’t have the loft income projections of a premium Betfan service (irrespective of how inflated their results are. Nor is Cleeve Racing a particularly cheap service with a monthly subscription costing you towards the top end of what I feel most tipsters would look to charge for their selections. All of this is overshadowed however by the fact that this is a genuine product.
The results aren’t phenomenal, but they are also believable and as such, I find that I can have more confidence in backing them to required stakes. Even if these ride a little high. The important thing to keep in mind here is that Cleeve Racing has made a profit. I would even say that in a pinch, you could call it a good one.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a serious service for those who take their horse racing seriously. If you’re looking for a quick boost to your betting bank or week in, week out winners, then Cleeve Racing won’t be for you. If you are looking to build any kind of long term income from horse racing however then I believe that Cleeve Racing is something that should be on your radar at the very least.
The fact is that if you are a more prudent investor (which I do consider myself to be), there is little harm in keeping Cleeve Racing on the back burner, if only to see how it handles the jumps this year. With that out of the way, you can start afresh next year with a full season of both flat and national hunt racing ahead of you. Should Cleeve Racing flop, then there hasn’t been any real loss incurred in watching from afar.
