The Worlds Greatest Horse Race Handicapper - Winning Over $670 Million

My friend and mentor Australian Alan Woods, passedAfter investigating what the Computer Group was
away on January 28th 2008 at the age of sixty-two.doing with computers in sports betting, his priorities
He was, without a double the world's most successfulchanged. With a couple of programmers, he would
horse-racing gambler. It was estimated that at the timeestablish a new purpose and change the sport
of death last January, he was worth overforever.
£320m ($670 million US). For twenty years, heHong Kong is the perfect spot for professional
was regarded as one of the world's largest puntersgamblers. Racing is controlled by the not-for-profit
and was generally named as one of the three biggestHong Kong Jockey Club, and is scrupulously honest.
bettors alive. We called him "Mister Huge".You don't want to be caught fixing races in China and
He did not see racing as a sport of horses andhave the authorities find out. Untrue results or race
humans, he only saw it as a never ending string offixing hurts computer calculations. Hong Kong racing
statistics and numbers. He did not socialize with thefeatures huge betting pools with a limited number of
upper crust of racing. In fact he couldn't' evenhorses and jockeys. He would build a database, his
recognize common names of Jockeys, trainers, orprogrammers would write a program and they would
important racing personalities. He would brag that hemake history. Hong Kong racing is packed with multiple
had not been to a racetrack for over twenty-fiveexotic wagering providing numerous financial
years. He was the best of the game and had littleopportunities for computer wizards.
interest in the beautiful animals that make up the sport.For twenty years, Woods would rise to the zenith of
Alan was strictly a numbers guy.this business and become one of the world's largest
Born in 1945 in Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Alanhorse players. His teams of computer experts and
showed an early brilliance for mathematics. He was amoney running agents made it all work. He directed his
losing punter at university and did not develop gamingempire them from a luxury high-rise apartment in
interest until later on. He was a mathematician andManila.
worked as an actuary in the 1970s. His job was toOver the journey he had his ups and downs but it's
figure out how long you would live if you smoked tworeported that during one race day in 1995, Woods
packs a day and did not exercise. The insurancemade $8 million. It was estimated that in the 2006-07
companies would then sell you insurance based on hisseason, Woods accounted for 2% of the $71.46 billion
numbers.total Hong Kong Jockey Club betting turnover.
In the mid 70's, he was intrigued by reading a copy ofHis downturn only came when he ventured outside of
The Revere Point Count Strategy on blackjack cardthe Racing world. In the late 1990's, he took a
counting. This was his initiation as a serious gambler.$100-million stock-market hit when he attempted to
For three years he undertook disguises to avoidshort the NASDAQ index just weeks before the
identification as he traveled from Australia to Lasbubble actually burst. Had he waited sixty more days,
Vegas, playing alone or with teams of blackjackhe would have been a billionaire.
pirates. In 1982 he was tired of the travel, fakeBut it is showing how effective computers can be to
identities, and dodging the casino bosses, he headedthe professional punters in succeeding at horse racing.
for Hong Kong. He was successful in the world ofThough Alan is gone, another cancer victim, his legacy
card counting, but it was a drop in the bucketwill live on.
compared to what was ahead in horse racing.We will miss you my friend.