The Racing Portfolio is a new product which is being offered by Michael Carr of Lucrative Racing. It is something of a package deal, with the focus being on his All Weather Warriors and Hurdle Heroes tipster services.
Introduction to The Racing Portfolio
There are a lot of reasons to dislike a straight up tipster service, with one of the most cited options that I see being that you are entirely at the mercy of somebody else. If a tipster decides that they aren’t going to tip for a week, well, tough luck. If they hit a losing streak and refuse to consider changing their approach… Well, you didn’t like money that much anyway, right?
Now most of the time, I have ended up leaning into actual betting systems as a way of getting around this. Because honestly, there are some bloody good ones out there that will allow you to find profitable bets in your own time. All using their own different approaches. And then you get something like The Racing Portfolio. Which is a bit unique, if I’m honest (especially in the current climate).
You see, what Michael Carr does with The Racing Portfolio is attempt to marry the convenience of a tipster service (for those who want that, or perhaps sometimes just can’t be bothered), with the informative elements of a betting system. Now it isn’t too ambitious. I have seen this kind of thing before, but is it done well enough here to really be something worth considering?
What Does The Racing Portfolio Offer?
Trying to break down everything that is involved with The Racing Portfolio is a bit of a difficult thing to do simply because there is so much of it. None the less, I feel like Michael Carr puts his tipster services front and centre. And as such, I believe that these are probably the best place to start.
Now, as I have mentioned there are actually two different tipster services involved with The Racing Portfolio, and not surprisingly, each of them is somewhat different. However, there are also areas whereby there is a lot of overlap and that is the first topic I want to cover.
Bot All Weather Warriors and Hurdle Heroes are near daily horse racing tipster services (they both have the odd no bet day). Logistically, The Racing Portfolio as a wider service operates almost exactly how you would expect. Selections are sent out by Michael Carr directly to subscribers via email. From here, it is simply a case of placing the bets with a bookie or on a betting exchange.
Both services also have a lot of similarities in terms of the bets. The Racing Portfolio utilises a mixture of win and each way bets, and you will see them in both All Weather Warriors and Hurdle Heroes (albeit with more of the former than the latter). Individually, neither service is particularly high volume with most days providing 3-5 bets on a given day. However, what Michael Carr doesn’t mention (and you may not have considered) is that this will mean placing anywhere from 6-10 bets across both services.
There are still a lot of similarities between the two services, but for now, I want to talk a little bit about the differences between the two elements of The Racing Portfolio. Now the first of these that I am going to look at is the All Weather Warriors, which, as the name suggests is based all around betting on all weather racing.
The All Weather Warriors tipster service has a strike rate of 40% which is the better of the two. That is a strong positive, however it does generally involve betting on somewhat lower odds. This is something that is ultimately reflected in the profits (a topic that I will come to a little later). There is still a decent range here though and you won’t be just backing at evens and less.
Next, I want to talk about Hurdle Heroes. As the name of this service suggests, all of the tips that you receive will be for National Hunt racing. Now, whilst I just mentioned that the strike rate is lower than the all weather tips, you are talking about particularly small margins. In fact, Michael Carr claims that there is a strike rate of 38%.
In terms of the staking plan, there are a huge number of different staking plans that are available. In fact, Michael Carr makes this a part of the selling point for The Racing Portfolio. There are a number of different approaches to staking (something that I will come back to shortly), but by and large, the advice for he tips elements seem to be level stakes or using a compounding plan.
From here, there are a lot of bonus products that need to be discussed. In fact, across the entirety of The Racing Portfolio, Michael Carr has included 3 of them. The first bonus is probably the most robust and could be seen as an independent service in its own right. I certainly feel that the addition of this is what takes the wider service to the next level.
So, the “Shortlist” or Shortlist Selections (depending on which part of Michael Carr’s video you are watching) provides a number of selections that have been shortlisted as potential bets. However, in many respects, this isn’t the point of this side of the service. Instead, it is the tools that allow you to look at trends that make this aspect of The Racing Portfolio stand out.
There are seven different trend categories included, and 35 individual trends that these are made of. These look at different elements of a race and demonstrate win rates etc. From here, Michael Carr says that you can use this data in order to find the best selections for yourself. However, you are still ultimately choosing from his selections (which is a point that does need to be mentioned).
As well as all of this, The Racing Portfolio comes with comprehensive training for using the Shortlist. This includes a number of step by step tutorials. And finally, there is one thing that Michael Carr does which I don’t think I’ve ever seen from a tipster before. He aims to provide regular performance updates, including talking about what isn’t working, why it isn’t working, and what he is doing to fix it.
On top of all of this, there are also yet another 2 sets of bonuses as well. These include an archive of racing strategies from Michael Carr. This is ultimately composed of 12 downloadable strategies covering a range of different topics. These include, flat and festival racing, chasing and heavy going, place and lay betting. As if this wasn’t enough, there are also new strategies added seasonally.
Finally, Michael Carr offers a video tutorial library. He claims that these will help you to build your own racing strategies. Furthermore, we are told that this bonus element of The Racing Portfolio will offer a number of new insights including the ability to compile odds like the pros and find profitable festival wagers. Like other elements, new tutorials are to be added seasonally.
How Does The Racing Portfolio Work?
Honestly, there isn’t a lot of specifics in terms of how The Racing Portfolio works. And I feel like that is reasonable due to the nature of the product. However, Michael Carr does provide at least some insight into his selection process.
He claims that ultimately, a lot of what he does is based around the fact that he is a bit of a nerd. And resultantly, we are told, he loves “pouring over raw racing data, and using it to find new and exciting ways to profit”.
As well as this, we are also told that The Racing Portfolio is built on 15 years of Michael Carr’s personal experience betting plus 8 years in horse racing. Now, all of this is entirely unsubstantiated. And that counts somewhat against The Racing Portfolio if I’m entirely honest. I’ve long said that when you are purchasing a product, you should be able to make an informed decision about what you are getting your self into.
With that said, I definitely think that there are some mitigating factors involved here. Key to this is the fact that Michael Carr has been running Lucrative Racing for a long time. A look at this website demonstrates a fair knowledge of horse racing, as well as a focus on betting as an investment. As such, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to expect similar from The Racing Portfolio.
What is the Initial Investment?
When it comes to the costs involved with The Racing Portfolio, there are a lot of different numbers that Michael Carr throws around, most of which are what he claims the “actual” value of the service is. This includes a cost for the core product of £60 per month. The Shortlist is supposedly worth £39 per month. Meanwhile, the two additional bonuses are priced at £25 per month each.
This means that if you believe Michael Carr, the “real world” value of The Racing Portfolio is £149 per month. However, you aren’t actually being asked to pay this amount. Instead, you are actually being asked to pay £49 per month for full access to everything. Alternatively, and representing better value for money, you can sign up for a full year for £299. On top of this, you can also trial The Racing Portfolio for 5 days for just £1.
On top of this, Michael Carr also says that he provides two “ironclad guarantees”. The first of these is a rather typical 30 day money back guarantee. This means that if you are struggling with The Racing Portfolio or it isn’t for you, then you can claim a refund in this period.
The Racing Portfolio also comes with a 1 year guarantee. This states that if after 12 months, your Annual Return on Investment isn’t 100% (effectively meaning that you have doubled your money)AROI profit in made in a year (double your money), or you get your second year for free.
What is the Rate of Return?
Ultimately, Michael Carr says that the aim for The Racing Portfolio is to produce an annual ROI of 200-400%. This target income is supposedly “based on the historical performance to date”. This in turn seems to be based on the fact that Hurdle Heroes has an annual ROI of 329% and a points profit of 548 points (since December 2017). Meanwhile, we are told, All Weather Warriors has an annual ROI of 250% and 416 points.
Meanwhile, the Shortlist has an annual ROI of 327% and a points profit of 544 points.. All of this is of course very much in line with those predicted aims. It is also worth keeping in mind the point that if you don’t at least double your money, you get a second year free. This strongly suggests that Michael Carr is confident in the ability of The Racing Portfolio to at least achieve this.
Conclusion for The Racing Portfolio
I don’t necessarily want to say that The Racing Portfolio is something that is entirely unique. The truth of the matter is that I’ve seen products that have at least been cut from a similar cloth before now. However, what I don’t think that I’ve seen is something in this vein that is so… well rounded. Now that doesn’t necessarily mean that this is a perfect product, but what Michael Carr has done is definitely impressive.
Now, one of the first things that I want to talk about is the volume of content that you get with The Racing Portfolio. It is quite obvious that there is just bloody tons of it. And honestly, I don’t see all of it as being entirely necessary if I’m entirely honest. But what Michael Carr does that is good, is very impressive.
So, first things first, those two tipster services. Obviously at the moment, The Racing Portfolio is pretty much set up towards the winter months. However, I do believe that there are plans to alter this in the future. With that in mind, on the off chance that this was a deal beaker for you, I wouldn’t really worry too much.
Importantly, the results so far are pretty impressive if you factor in everything (a point that I will be returning to shortly). And for me, that is ultimately the bottom line. But what really stands out is that Michael Carr is able to offer all of The Racing Portfolio for the price that he is. I have seen much worse tipster services offered for a lot more money.
And if that were the end of everything, I wold be inclined to wrap everything up by saying that this is something that is worth your consideration. However, there are a few elements that I also think that you need to really keep in mind if you are looking to sign up for The Racing Portfolio.
First of all, those numerous bonus products that provide you with training and videos and whatnot. They are not a key part of the experience of The Racing Portfolio. Don’t get me wrong, I you see them as money for old rope (by which I mean you were considering The Racing Portfolio anyway), then they are a welcome addition. However, I don’t think it would be prudent to make them a part of your decision making process.
This brings me to the element that personally, I find to be the most important. And that is that first “bonus” product, the Shortlist. Because in many ways, I feel like this is actually the standout element in my book. What it opens up is very impressive, albeit at the expense of ease. Whilst I am somewhat doubtful of the way that Michael Carr talks about this as you developing your own betting strategy, realistically this Shortlist does involve more work than just following tips.
And for me, that work is the real deal breaker here. If you are able to invest the time and energy that this requires, then I believe that The Racing Portfolio really does become worthwhile. If you are simply buying into this as a straight up tipster service, I think that you can certainly do a lot worse than what Michael Carr is offering. Of course, I also believe you can potentially do better.
