HORSE Racing Buddy Club, a new venture with five horses in training, is a vision I have had for some time. The intention was to form a large community of like-minded individuals who enjoy racing and wish to have a small interest in a number of horses at an affordable price. Thankfully the uptake has been strong and we are looking forward to having runners over the Christmas period.

Similar to most kids without a racing background, I was introduced to the sport through the Grand National. I think Papillon was the only winner I found in those early years but it sparked my interest in the sport. In my teens, a group of us used to head to the local bookies during Cheltenham week to place a couple of small bets. We would then sit at the back of the class, waiting on the results to filter through.

Our local race meeting, Killarney, was a huge social occasion every summer, with anticipation building for weeks beforehand. Somehow, I found myself being the one that my friends and extended family would come to for tips. In the days leading up to the meeting, everyone would text asking for my opinion on one horse or another, or just randomly seeking a bet for the week. It was something that I found myself enjoying – the work involved and the personal satisfaction of having tipped a winner, although that wasn’t always the case!

Mick Winters, Jim Culloty, Rebel Fitz, Missunited, Lord Windermere are some of the names that come flooding back from those times. I knew that I loved what I was doing but never dreamed that one day I could make a career out of it.

I studied first year law in college but left after a year to work in the hotel industry. Racing remained a big part of my life throughout those years – I often supplemented my wages by making money from betting on the side.

Social media was relatively new at the time but there was a sudden explosion of betting tipsters with ads popping up all over the internet. I became intrigued by the whole set-up but having delved deeper I discovered it was all about affiliates and hits.

To my mind, these tipsters were only out for what they could get [it has since changed and there are many reputable services out there], as opposed to the best interests of their clients. Having felt there was a gap in the market for a genuine, honest form student who could offer advice on the sport, I set up a web page called Horse Racing Punts For You.

Initially the service was free but having found I was taking upwards of four or five hours a night working on selections, I decided to introduce a small fee. In 2018, I changed the name of the service to Horse Racing Buddy [easier to search] and charged €20 a month. Since its inception the service has returned a profit, though obviously we have losing days and weeks along the way. I am a strong believer in finding value bets as it is only by doing so that you can profit long term.

Syndicates

I have been involved in a couple of horses in various different syndicates. While it was only on a very small scale, it was something I really enjoyed. Earlier this year, I came up with the idea of introducing a racing club to the existing service. Initially it was a separate part of Horse Racing Buddy but I later decided to combine the two and rebrand it as Horse Racing Buddy Club.

I am the agent for the club with my close friend Gavin Nolan the second signatory. He knew trainer Brendan Murphy, so we approached him with the view to leasing two horses (True Commitment and True Dreamer). Later, we branched out and added Ross O’Sullivan (Spinacia), John McConnell (Dothislikethis) and Eddie Harty (Dromod Lad) to our band of trainers. All the horses are leased as the risks are almost non existent for owners; we can switch over to a new horse should one of our original number get injured or not prove up to the task.

Almost 90% of our membership had never been involved in ownership before, so it’s an exciting journey for them.

Recently I have added a new string to my bow: doing a weekly voiceover which is streamed into over a hundred independent bookmakers every Saturday. That role came about through a Horse Racing Buddy Club member who does audio-visual work for the shops. I select one or two horses each weekend, with the prices subsequently enhanced by the bookmakers. It has only been going a few months but thankfully I am showing a profit. I don’t get paid for the work but Horse Racing Buddy Club receives good publicity in the shops so it’s a win-win situation.

Looking farther ahead, the ambition is to improve the quality of horse we for the club, increase the number of members, which in doing so will allow us to lease more horses. Long term, I’d love it if our name and colours become familiar to Irish racegoers and we reach a level where we can compete on the bigger stage.

Kieran Looney was in conversation with John O’Riordan

Contact

See horseracingbuddy.ie

or email horseracingbuddy @outlook.com