Preparing to Trade Part 1 - Horse Racing with John Folan

This series is taking a look at how some of our top traders set up their day for trading. So without further ado let’s see how forum favourite and serial horse racing profiteer John Folan readies himself for a big day of trading.

John how do you prepare to trade the horses?

‘I get up and walk the dogs, I’m currently a part time trader mixed with being a taxi driver so I go to work for an hour or so at the station. If I’m honest I only pop down to see the bloke in the coffee van as his coffee is awesome. Then while I am there I start having a nose through the days racing and make a few notes on any stand outs. Then its home and onto the PC.’

Using your time well there doing what you can at work during the downtimes!

How do you choose when to trade? Is it a set time each day or does it depend on what is on?

‘I am a massive set and go fan, so most of my stuff is in the morning. Usually anytime between 10-12. I like to do a bit of inrunning race back to lay (dobbing). So I only look watch the races I have picked out live to avoid overtrading.’

What external sources or reference material do you refer to before placing a trade?

‘Patternform, Inform, Proform Race Guides for Dobs, Nap Table for lays. Juststarthere is my latest addition. Very good for price movements. I’m looking at backing early and getting out about an hour before the race.’

Do you have snacks and refreshments? If so what works best for you?

‘Coffee and water. I try not to snack. I come away from trading to eat.’

Do you have a time limit on a session?

‘No, I do my preparation in the morning and place my set up and go trades, it takes about an hour. I put stop losses in for my early morning movers and just check in on them at about 12pm and will probably trade out if I’m happy with profit. I then only hit the races I want to trade live. So to be honest I can do 2-3 hours a day and be happy with what I’ve made. If I’ve lost then I won’t look for any others, Done that and normally end up making things worse.’

A great example of how only trading a couple of hours a day can turn over a significant profit there!

What advice would you give anyone preparing to trade your sport?

‘Read the threads on BTC and ask the questions that you think might be stupid. Talk to people on the community they are happy to chat. I’ve got 4/5 people I talk to regularly. You never know what might come of it. You will find someone(or some people) you really get on with. This can be a solitary career but it doesn’t need to be. Don’t go mental learning about horse racing, you are interested in what makes the price move, which is mostly peoples opinions so watch for the patterns. Follow any thread relevant to your sport. There is gold in there. Papertrade… a lot! At times you will lose money. Get over it!’

Thanks John for that great insight into your trading style, we hope this helps some people who are learning to trade horses or even those who work who are trying to learn to trade other sports. John is on the verge of quitting his job such has been his success since he joined BTC, we would love to say it was all because of us but we are only part of the reason, John has had a great willing to learn and motivate himself to work hard on being the best trader he can be. John is a brilliant example of how hard work and a disciplined approach to trading can help you make good profits in the long term.

Next week is Cricket Trading with Pro Trader Richard Futter so look forward to that!