Newspaper tipsters can be a good source, but DO NOT follow them blindly. As the statistics below for March 2023 to February 2024 highlight, even the most successful one in the last year - Patrick Weaver of The Star - would have made you an 8.6% loss if you had put a level stake (to win) on all his selections.
From time to time, newspaper tipsters can enjoy a bit of a run, but it never lasts, which is why some punters are convinced that laying horses, rather than backing them to win, is an attractive way of making money from racing.
Bestbet's analyses of where the newspaper tipsters are generally successful or unsuccessful help to identify which newspaper selections are worth backing. For example, since the beginning of March 2023, Marlborough of The Telegraph has had an excellent tipping record at Cheltenham and Aintree, while a few tipsters floundered badly when it came to Cartmel, Fakenham, Newbury and Salisbury (see below).
Drilling down into the detail even further, sometimes a good guide is seeing how a particular tipster does at a particular course at this time of the year. Here's a tempter from our archives, which only our subscribers have unlimited access to: April 2023 at-a-glance, May 2023 at-a-glance and June 2023 at-a-glance.
PERFORMANCE IN THE LAST YEAR based on the official SP and a level stake
| PATRICK WEAVER - STAR | ROB WRIGHT - TIMES | THE SCOUT - EXPRESS | |||||
| MONTH | RETURN | MONTH | RETURN | MONTH | RETURN | ||
| February 2024 | -15.9% | February 2024 | -11.9% | February 2024 | -7.3% | ||
| January 2024 | 9.2% | January 2024 | -17.3% | January 2024 | -18.4% | ||
| December 2023 | -10.6% | December 2023 | 0.6% | December 2023 | -17.9% | ||
| November 2023 | -20.5% | November 2023 | -3.0% | November 2023 | -16.9% | ||
| October 2023 | -0.1% | October 2023 | -17.7% | October 2023 | -17.9% | ||
| September 2023 | -5.1% | September 2023 | -11.2% | September 2023 | -15.1% | ||
| August 2023 | -25.5% | August 2023 | -19.1% | August 2023 | -27.3% | ||
| July 2023 | -3.1% | July 2023 | -20.9% | July 2023 | -7.2% | ||
| June 2023 | -14.4% | June 2023 | -8.9% | June 2023 | -13.9% | ||
| May 2023 | -3.7% | May 2023 | -14.7% | May 2023 | -9.5% | ||
| April 2023 | 4.4% | April 2023 | -3.1% | April 2023 | -5.8% | ||
| March 2023 | -17.7% | March 2023 | -17.1% | March 2023 | -5.3% | ||
| OVERALL | -8.62% | OVERALL | -12.20% | OVERALL | -13.54% | ||
| TEMPLEGATE - SUN | MARLBOROUGH - TELEGRAPH | ROBIN GOODFELLOW - MAIL | |||||
| MONTH | RETURN | MONTH | RETURN | MONTH | RETURN | ||
| February 2024 | 0.5% | February 2024 | -17.3% | February 2024 | -20.6% | ||
| January 2024 | -11.8% | January 2024 | -2.7% | January 2024 | -13.9% | ||
| December 2023 | -22.5% | December 2023 | -12.6% | December 2023 | -10.6% | ||
| November 2023 | -19.2% | November 2023 | -9.3% | November 2023 | -17.5% | ||
| October 2023 | -15.1% | October 2023 | -25.1% | October 2023 | -23.7% | ||
| September 2023 | -18.3% | September 2023 | -10.7% | September 2023 | -10.0% | ||
| August 2023 | -13.2% | August 2023 | -13.9% | August 2023 | -31.9% | ||
| July 2023 | -15.0% | July 2023 | -13.2% | July 2023 | -5.4% | ||
| June 2023 | -24.0% | June 2023 | -21.7% | June 2023 | -11.4% | ||
| May 2023 | -4.1% | May 2023 | -22.7% | May 2023 | -7.5% | ||
| April 2023 | -4.5% | April 2023 | -15.1% | April 2023 | -15.1% | ||
| March 2023 | -14.0% | March 2023 | -0.2% | March 2023 | -13.6% | ||
| OVERALL | -13.55% | OVERALL | -14.21% | OVERALL | -14.79% | ||
| NEWSBOY - MIRROR | AVERAGE | ||||||
| MONTH | RETURN | MONTH | RETURN | ||||
| February 2024 | -15.6% | February 2024 | -12.6% | ||||
| January 2024 | -15.2% | January 2024 | -10.0% | ||||
| December 2023 | -6.7% | December 2023 | -11.5% | ||||
| November 2023 | -19.6% | November 2023 | -15.1% | ||||
| October 2023 | -10.4% | October 2023 | -15.7% | ||||
| September 2023 | -29.6% | September 2023 | -14.3% | ||||
| August 2023 | -8.7% | August 2023 | -19.9% | ||||
| July 2023 | -20.4% | July 2023 | -12.2% | ||||
| June 2023 | -16.6% | June 2023 | -15.8% | ||||
| May 2023 | -23.5% | May 2023 | -12.2% | ||||
| April 2023 | -19.3% | April 2023 | -8.4% | ||||
| March 2023 | -12.8% | March 2023 | -11.5% | ||||
| OVERALL | -16.98% | OVERALL | -13.41% | ||||
BEST RETURNS IN THE LAST YEAR based on the Official SP and a level stake
| Marlborough | Cheltenham | 65.6% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Aintree | 51.3% |
| Rob Wright | Chester | 47.8% |
| Marlborough | Aintree | 38.3% |
| Patrick Weaver | Sedgefield | 37.8% |
| Templegate | Sedgefield | 32.1% |
| Patrick Weaver | Warwick | 30.7% |
| Patrick Weaver | Worcester | 28.1% |
| Rob Wright | Warwick | 27.6% |
| Marlborough | Goodwood | 26.9% |
| Patrick Weaver | Aintree | 25.7% |
| Patrick Weaver | Brighton | 23.1% |
| Patrick Weaver | Perth | 22.0% |
| Patrick Weaver | Catterick | 21.6% |
| The Scout | Taunton | 21.2% |
| Patrick Weaver | Ripon | 20.5% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Chester | 20.3% |
| Templegate | Goodwood | 19.3% |
| Rob Wright | Epsom | 19.2% |
| The Scout | Doncaster | 18.6% |
| Rob Wright | Aintree | 18.2% |
| Marlborough | Beverley | 17.9% |
| Rob Wright | Ludlow | 17.6% |
| Templegate | Thirsk | 17.4% |
| Patrick Weaver | Bath | 17.3% |
| Patrick Weaver | Market Rasen | 17.3% |
| Rob Wright | Kelso | 17.2% |
| Patrick Weaver | Sandown | 15.8% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Chepstow | 15.4% |
| Patrick Weaver | Redcar | 15.3% |
| Newsboy | Cartmel | 14.9% |
| Patrick Weaver | Ayr | 12.5% |
| The Scout | Beverley | 11.1% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Windsor | 11.0% |
| Rob Wright | Doncaster | 10.8% |
| Rob Wright | Catterick | 10.1% |
WORST RETURNS IN THE LAST YEAR based on the Official SP and a level stake
| Robin Goodfellow | Yarmouth | -33.2% |
| Patrick Weaver | Nottingham | -33.3% |
| Patrick Weaver | Cartmel | -33.9% |
| Marlborough | Wincanton | -33.9% |
| Newsboy | Musselburgh | -34.0% |
| Rob Wright | York | -34.2% |
| The Scout | Goodwood | -34.5% |
| The Scout | York | -35.2% |
| Rob Wright | Fakenham | -35.5% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Redcar | -35.6% |
| Templegate | Cheltenham | -35.9% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Ayr | -36.0% |
| Newsboy | Yarmouth | -36.2% |
| The Scout | Brighton | -36.2% |
| Marlborough | Taunton | -36.5% |
| Patrick Weaver | Newbury | -36.8% |
| Newsboy | Southwell | -37.0% |
| Rob Wright | Plumpton | -37.1% |
| Newsboy | Newbury | -37.6% |
| Marlborough | Newbury | -38.0% |
| Newsboy | Newmarket | -38.1% |
| Rob Wright | Beverley | -38.6% |
| Rob Wright | Ffos Las | -38.7% |
| Newsboy | Perth | -39.0% |
| Newsboy | Ascot | -39.7% |
| The Scout | Redcar | -40.4% |
| Newsboy | Pontefract | -40.6% |
| Templegate | Salisbury | -40.8% |
| Patrick Weaver | Pontefract | -41.5% |
| Marlborough | Carlisle | -41.5% |
| The Scout | Fakenham | -41.7% |
| Rob Wright | Cartmel | -42.0% |
| The Scout | Bangor | -42.9% |
| Marlborough | York | -43.2% |
| Marlborough | Exeter | -45.1% |
| Newsboy | Nottingham | -45.1% |
| Templegate | Cartmel | -46.8% |
| Robin Goodfellow | York | -47.1% |
| Marlborough | Chester | -48.2% |
| Marlborough | Fakenham | -49.1% |
| Robin Goodfellow | Thirsk | -49.6% |
| Newsboy | Salisbury | -50.1% |
| Patrick Weaver | Yarmouth | -50.7% |
| Rob Wright | Salisbury | -50.8% |
| Marlborough | Ascot | -54.3% |
| The Scout | Cartmel | -54.9% |
| Templegate | Hereford | -55.2% |
The statistics above are for the period 01/03/2023 to 28/02/2024. These tables are updated annually, in March. Primary source: napchecker.com