How to get an edge backing odds-on shots this jumps season

It’s hard to avoid odds-on shots over jumps at this time of year. Many maiden and novice races are priced as one-sided races with a hotpot seemingly only needing to negotiate the fences or hurdles to justify favouritism.

However, statistics tell us that if you blindly follow odds-on shots in jumps races for long enough you will run out of cash. Runners in this price range last year returned a £1 level-stakes loss of £46.35, despite 61 per cent winning, and between January and September this year horses at odds-on returned a negative balance of £70.59.

That said, while I largely agree with those tipsters who claim you should never back horses at odds-on, areas do exist where these shorties are regularly showing a profit, and the following pointers will hopefully improve your chances of being able to spot when an odds-on shot is likely to offer value this jumps season.