What Does A NAP Mean In Horse Racing?

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What is a NAP in Horse Racing?

In horse racing, a NAP, or best bet of the day, refers to a tipster or punter’s most confident selection of the day. It is the horse they believe has the strongest chance of winning on a given day or at a race meeting. 

Where Does the Term NAP Come From?

The term comes from the 19th-century French card game Napoleon, where “calling Napoleon” meant a player was confident of winning all five tricks in a hand.

Why are NAPs Important in Horse Racing?

Let’s imagine you’re going racing for the day or settling down for an afternoon in front of the TV, with plenty of races to analyze. The likelihood is that there’ll be several horses that you fancy but one that you consider to have the best chance. Over time this has become known as the NAP, usually, but not always a strongly fancied runner that is likely to be well supported. You are likely to have a larger bet on this than other selections that you think have a chance, but can’t back with the same degree of confidence. Placing a bet on your best bet of the day is done with a confident swagger as opposed to a speculative couple of quid on an outsider. A winning NAP is incredibly good for a punter’s morale and mindset. Of course the opposite can be said of a loser!

What is the NAP of the Day?

Generally speaking the NAP can be found in any newspaper, the racing correspondent will list his selections for the day including his NAP and NB (next best), the horse(s) considered to have the best chance of winning. When daily papers had much larger circulation tipsters such Templegate in The Sun or Robin Goodfellow in The Daily Mail had huge followings and their NAPs were massively overbet. For this reason, although they had a decent strike rate, rarely did they show a profit over a season.

How to Use the NAP of the Day

This should be straightforward shouldn’t it? Simply place a bet on the NAP of someone who spends his life following racing and enjoy a steady profit with minimal effort. The problem is that plenty of others are attempting the very same and invariably there is no value at all in the selections, they are almost always underpriced. In which case can profit be made in laying these selections rather than backing them? Bear in mind that these selections have been made up to 24 hours in advance and the weather, and consequently the conditions, including the going and any draw bias, can change considerably. This can present an opportunity for laying the NAP selection. Have a look at the two tables in the Racing Post, the Naps Table and the Press Challenge. Pundits who dedicate their working lives to finding winners on the whole are performing pretty dismally. Patterns develop and it should be very realistic to show a long term profit in laying the selections of these so called tipsters. This will not be a high risk, speculative strategy, but choosing a handful of consistently poor tipsters and laying their fancied runners can provide a steady ROI over a period of time. As always, lay these runners to small amounts within a designated betting bank. 

Who Provides NAP Tips?

You’ll find NAPs just about everywhere, on a daily basis I receive emails with free tips, that’s without looking at the Racing Post or any other daily paper. It pays to be wary of free tips, they’re usually dangling a carrot for a paid service, and a goose that lays golden eggs isn’t usually for sale. But there are long established services that have stood the test of time that can be worth looking into. The Race Advisor site highlights strongly fancied runners every day, that’s as good a place to start as anywhere.

How Much Should You Trust Tipsters?

Without a doubt there is a lot more chaff than wheat to sort through. A pal of mine who is very well connected runs a service where you place £30 of your money, on his behalf, on his tips. There is zero risk, beyond reputational, for my friend and he celebrates his wins in spectacular style. As much as I enjoy his company I wouldn’t be placing big money on his tips which are generally easy to identify anyway. There are undoubtedly tipsters that consistently show long term profits, but they don’t come cheap and to make a profit from backing their tips will involve fairly hefty stakes. 

Are NAP and Tip Providers Regulated?

For better or worse racing tipsters aren’t regulated, over the years I’m sure countless people have been duped into parting with good money to chancers and shady characters masquerading as professional gamblers. Social media is full of them. Seldom is there any recall, so before investing any of your hard earned cash do plenty of thorough research into past results.

How to Identify a Good NAP Bet

The Racing Post and Race Advisor contain a plethora of information on the most tipped and strongly fancied runners each day. As previously stated although these will have a good strike rate they rarely represent value. Some of the best bets can be identified when a tipster has NAPPED a runner that doesn’t have an obvious chance of winning. Have you missed something or does the tipster know something you don’t? Be sure to look twice at a long priced NAP, there is usually a good reason why it’s considered the best bet of the day that you hadn’t immediately considered. At the very least consider backing these each way.

Advantages and Disadvantages of NAP Betting

The advantages of following someone else’s NAPs, or tips in general, are fairly obvious. It can save time and works on the assumption that someone with more than passing interest in racing strongly fancies their selection. The disadvantages are that the bookmaker generally underprices them, knowing that plenty of mug punters will back them regardless and weight of money forces the price down. And more importantly where is the challenge or skill in blindly following someone else’s advice? I want the satisfaction of solving the puzzle that is a horse race having taken numerous factors into account.

Does the NAP Always Win?

If only….you open the paper or website, within seconds see where the NAP is running, place your bet and pour another glass of wine. Simple. Of course, lots of NAPS do win, as previously mentioned there are some very shrewd judges boasting success over many years. But even the most successful punters will show a minimal ROI to level stakes at SP over the course of a year. If you’re paying for these tips then showing a meaningful long term profit is unlikely.

How to Place a NAP Bet

Placing a NAP bet is no different to any other bet, as a rule it’s a straight win single to a reasonable stake. But there is no reason why you shouldn’t back longer priced selections each-way, or combine several NAPs into accumulators such as Lucky 15 or Patent. Taking the 3 or 4 most popular selections on the day throws up plenty of strongly fancied runners for punters hoping for a decent payout to small stakes.

How to Read a NAPs Table

Have a look at the Racing Post Press Challenge table, several interesting points jump off the page. Firstly that none of them show a profit based on backing all of their tips during the year. Surely that’s a great laying opportunity? Not really when you consider this based on SP, which you are unlikely to consistently beat, and before any commission is deducted.

Now take a look at the NAPs table, over a period you’ll get a feel for those who are consistently more successful than others that will present potentially profitable strategies in both backing and laying. Be mindful that most punters, and consequently tipsters, will favour either flat racing or over fences. 

A google search will show up plenty of other NAPs and tipster tables that make for interesting reading. There are some very shrewd and knowledgeable punters around, and racing is like everything else: Knowledge is Power.

Should You Bet On NAPs?

Betting blindly on NAPs, indeed betting blindly on any sort of selection is never a sensible approach. Successful long term punters display judgement, discipline and patience. Backing a horse to a designated stake simply because someone else thinks its a good idea is neither sensible nor rewarding and highly unlikely to produce a long term profit. The most pertinent reason for this is that too many people are doing the same thing, meaning these horses are overbet and therefore underpriced. By all means back NAPs, in the main they are strongly fancied horses, but be selective and flexible and as with every other bet, do not bet at odds that are lower than the price you consider to be value. If you think the NAP should be 6/4 under no circumstances back it at Evens. You’ll miss out on the odd winner but save money in the long term. Always look for value.

If you have the correct mindset for laying, and gradually accumulating small profits on a long term basis, there are ample opportunities when assessing well backed runners.

NAP Betting Strategies

Strategies for backing NAPs should not differ from any other system or approach. Do not chase losses or use suicidal staking plans. Do not back a horse simply because another human being suggests you should. Always back your own judgement. And always look for value. Before placing your bet establish a price below which you will not bet and adhere rigidly to that: if you think the price should be 5/2 do not have a penny on at 9/4. Picking winners is fairly straightforward, simply back the odds on favourites. Identifying value is the crux of the matter and the difference between winning and losing.One way of identifying selections is looking at jockey & trainer combinations. They are humans like the rest of us and consequently are creatures of habit, following the patterns of trainers gave give great insights into the horses they fancy, even if the form isn’t immediately obvious. Just about every racecard will present examples where jockeys riding for certain trainers have a decent strike rate.

Find Your Own NAPs

This has to be the raison d’etre of all racing fans, identifying and backing horses that you just KNOW are going to win. Of course they don’t, but that feeling of complete confidence is as rare as it is stimulating. Back in 1987 I backed Reference Point ante post and then again on the course on Derby day, not for a moment did I have the slightest doubt he would win. The closest I came to that experience was watching Denman win the Gold Cup, another exhilarating front runner. The point being there is no shame in following advice and accepting that others are better informed. But there is no feeling like backing your own judgement and reaping the rewards. Finding your own NAPs through form study, experience and patience is the way forward.

Frequently Asked Questions About NAPs

Where Can I Get a Free Bet for NAP of the Day?

Free bets are commonplace, bookmakers entice new accounts with generous offers, for example Betfair gives monthly free bets to regular punters. You’re not going to make a long term profit from free bets but they come in handy if used as part of a strategy rather than as fun bets. The Racing Post and Sporting Life regularly advertise offers, bookmakers are competing for customers like every other business and shopping around throws up some great deals.