Geoffrey Riddle

I am betting.betfair’s rugby union expert and live racecourse reporter. I also work freelance covering both rugby and racing for the Sunday Times, Reuters, AFP and I am the racing correspondent for the National in Abu Dhabi.

I have covered rugby for over ten years, working for several of the national newspapers as well as writing for the Racing Post for seven years.

In 2007 I helped set up a market-leading rugby database for Bettorlogic, and during that season’s World Cup it registered a profit of 44% on turnover on handicaps alone. I still derive most of my rugby wagers from it, and try to take a forensic view on rugby betting at all times.

At the racetrack for Betfair I cover the live market movers, while keeping abreast of all the racecourse rumour and latest information from connections and betting 'faces'.

My whole approach to punting is focused on trying to swim against the tide, which sometimes can pay off with a handsome dividend, but can also go spectacularly wrong.

So trading Biarritz at 25-1 to win the 09-10 Heineken Cup went pretty well, as did backing Look Here at 40-1 in the Oaks in 2008. But laying Binocular in the Champion Hurdle and Sea The Stars in the 2,000 Guineas, and then again in the Derby because I didn’t believe he was the second coming was horrendous. Betting, eh?