Learn to punt like a professional

Watching your horse fly past the winning post is a great feeling For many people, part of the joy of horse racing is picking a winner. Some people join office sweepstakes especially for the Grand National, even though they don't bet any other time of the year. Some will have an occasional flutter when there's a horse with their spouse's name running.

Others will spend plenty of time pouring over forms to calculate exactly which horse stands the best chance of winning. If you're interested in fitting into that latter group, these tips might help you.

Become the Bookmaker

The first and maybe most important tip is to think like a bookmaker. When you're looking for a potential winner, a good strategy is to go through each horse in the race and - one by one - give them the price you think they deserve. Take into account: their recent form, ground conditions, race length, jockeys (and the weight they're carrying), any changes in the yard and if they've ever raced other horses in the field. Everything you can find about them, look into it.

With all of that information in mind, set prices for every runner in the race.

Once you've finished, compare the prices that you've set with the prices from a couple of different bookmakers. If there are any horses that are priced wildly different, look at those horses once more to check you haven't missed anything.

If you haven't, and there's a horse that you've put at much shorter odds than the bookmakers, then that's your horse. It's up to you whether you bet to win or to place, but use common sense on the longer priced horses.

Choose Your Races

Another worthwhile tip is to choose the races that you bet in wisely. Generally speaking, bigger races with large fields - like the Grand National - can throw up some unexpected results.

While there's no harm inlooking for the winner in large field races, it's often a little easier to focus on races with fields of a slightly smaller size. Some people find they're better at finding value in handicap races, whereas others prefer conditions races, as the horses don't have a weight disadvantage.

If you're particularly interested in the bloodlines and heritage of horses then you might have an advantage in Maiden races. On the flat, Maiden races can often be decided by a horse's bloodstock, though bear in mind that the bookmakers will have looked into this too.

Choosing the right kind of race for you can be quite a personal decision. However, most people stick to flat racing or national hunt (jumps racing). In order to know everything you can possibly know about your races of choice, it's easier to stick to one or the other.

Seek Out Offers

Our final tip is to always look out for value where you can. A simple way of doing this is regularly searching for bookmakers who provide the best offers. Many offers will apply to new sign-ups only, so try to only sign up for a new betting account if there's a good deal available.

At the moment, there are a lot of Royal Ascot free bets offers flying around ahead of the famous festival - looking for simiar deals ahead of major race meetings is a good idea too.

Deals can range from free bets to deposit-matching bonuses to money-back guarantees if your horse fails to finish. All of them give your bottom line a little boost, which can make a big difference over a period of time.

Of course, the most important tip of all is to have fun with your detective work. Looking through forms, searching for betting offers and making your decision should feel like a puzzle rather than a chore!