Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned betting system

There used to be a racing book available via mail order called Be A Successful Punter With Fineform As Your Guide. It was a bit of a mouthful, but I was convinced that it would put me on the path to riches.

The Fineform 'system' took out full-page advertising slots, proclaiming huge numbers of winners, not to mention the computer straight forecasts and tricasts it pinpointed. I was beyond persuaded and submitted a cheque for £20 (it was the 1980s). What could possibly go wrong?

The system was based on the recent form figures of each horse, with bonus points for course-and-distance winners. The highest points total a horse could achieve in a race was 13. These were, supposedly, the best bets, the ones that were going to make me rich. You don't need me to tell you what the outcome was.