NTF Q&A – Tom Segal (Pricewise)
Name – Tom Segal
Occupation – Tipster
Years involved in racing – Roughly about 20 years not very good with dates
First horseracing memory – Whitbread Gold Cup at Sandown sometime in 70’s
Background…
What first stirred your interest in horseracing?
Living next to Sandown
How did you become involved in the tipping side of horseracing?
Doing the odd Spotlight shift when I started at the Racing Post some 15 years ago
Career to date…
Proudest moment of career to date?
None, just doing my job
Which race that you personally made a Pricewise selection in stands out in your memory and why?
Sea The Stars in 2000 Guineas, spotting a great horse before many others
Which race do you wish you could relive and analyse/make a selection in again (good or bad)?
All the ones I don’t find the winner of, no preference
In the punting seat…
Most enjoyable aspect of being ‘Pricewise’?
The puzzle
How much ‘homework’ do you undertake before each selection?
Nowhere near as much as many think. 20 minutes maybe, big believer in keeping things simple
Which area of your selection process do you consider to be the most important?
Price and jockey
How thoroughly do you analyse your own selections after the race has been run?
Don’t. Never fester on the negative.
Apart from price what do you feel is the most important factor when analysing an ante-post market?
Trainer I suppose but price is by far the most important.
Best and worst tracks from a tipping perspective?
Worst Cheltenham and Goodwood, best don’t mind anywhere else
How do you deal with losing runs?
Like everyone else not very well, but I’ve done my job for a long time now and highs and lows don’t effect me so much anymore.
Wish list…
Which race do you wish you had been given the opportunity to make a Pricewise selection in?
I do all the big races so none I can think of. Very little interest in low quality stuff.
Which other sporting event do you wish you had been able to make a Pricewise selection for?
NFL
Which other sporting event would you like to have the opportunity to be involved in?
Superbowl
Racing and the general public…
In your opinion what could be done to attract new fans to the sport?
Nothing that no one hasn’t said before. Make it cheaper and shorten the time between races 20 mins is plenty. 10 race cards too.
Do you think Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, etc…) has had a positive impact on racing and how else do you think it could be used to further promote the sport?
No idea don’t use it, never will either.
Improving the sport…
What one thing would you like to see implemented to improve horse racing –
a) on-course? Shorten the time between races
b) off-course? Just improve the quality by getting rid of all the rubbish meetings
The Cheltenham Festival…
Is there too much emphasis placed on the Cheltenham Festival and do you think it is starting to devalue the rest of the National Hunt calendar?
No and no.
Would a 5th day at the festival strengthen the meeting or weaken it?
Weaken it massively. Too many crap races now, we don’t need any more.
Horses to follow…
Which horse are you most looking forward to following at this season’s Cheltenham Festival?
Minsk
Which Novice has impressed you most this season (hurdler or chaser) with a view to next season?
Grand Crus by a country mile
Which 2yo from 2011 should we look out for in 2012?
Akeed Mofeed (John Oxx)
Dark horse to follow for the 2012 flat season?
Pour Moi’s half-sister Kissed
Quickfire…
Cheltenham Gold Cup or Epsom Derby?
Not fussed give me the Stewards Cup any day of the week
Frankel or Black Caviar?
Frankel but I’ve never seen Black Caviar
A P McCoy or Ryan Moore?
Ruby Walsh
20 runner long distance chase or 35 runner 5f sprint (for punting purposes)?
Sprint every time
Just for fun…
If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?
Time travel. No losers then.
Many thanks to Tom Segal for agreeing to take part in the NTF Q&A session.
In case you didn’t already know Tom Segal’s Pricewise column can be found in the Racing Post.
Ben (NTF)
Excellent!! Hope there are lots more interviews to come – let me know if you need a hand getting any racing folk to join in – I know quite a few!! K xx
20 mins analysis
Price and jock most important
That is what I will take from the above
Many thanks for this q and a
Very good, Ben. A real scoop from a big hitter.
Disagree with the comments on time between races for the big meetings. Seems like a very short time when you have to get bets on, collect winnings, return to whichever bar for a pint, get something to eat, find a place in the stand.
For quiet meetings I think it would work though.
Great interview Ben….like the price and Jockey comment!
some very short and sharp answers there (quite blunt) but i guess thats how he is, i shall call him John Smith from now on (No nonsense) 😉 keep them coming ben!
Thanks Ben he sure is a man of few words seems modest as well I like the fact that horses price ,jockey & trainer are his prime factors as we all say we want value but some times fail to spot what it realy is
Great stuff Ben, really enjoyed reading this. 🙂
Great interview Ben with the ever concise Mr Segal. There’s a lot to be said for keeping it simple and there’s a lot of over analysis in the horse racing game. It’s a shame we’ll never get him on Twitter!
Just like to thank Ben for the ease he made this Q&A for me. Sorry if I came across a bit short, didn’t mean to, but thought the idea was to be short and snappy.
Good luck at Cheltenham everyone.
Tom
Excellent interview- very enjoyable. Jockey and price..interesting stuff. Keep up the good work, have a lucky festival:)
Great read Ben, I can’t believe Tom only gives the Stewards Cup 20 minutes, that’s where I’m
going wrong, selection problem solved !
Thanks,
Pete.
Find the comment about losing the low grade meetings, yet putting on 10 race cards at others odd. It would just be redistributing the crap. Otherwise excellent stuff.
[…] the weekend I read an interview that Tom Segal gave at NTF and to say some of his answers surprised me is an […]
thoroughly enjoyed the read….entirely agree with the PRICE AND THE MAN ABOARD. Unfortunately…..Mr pricewise is so good that the PRICE is usually c… on his selections….but, hey what a fellow.
What a good read….. I entirely agree with his comments about the PRICE and the person aboard. He is so good that the price on his recommends is usually c… so I do not use him……….but I wish he drank in my local.
could shutthefrontdoor still run in the champion bumper
What am I missing ? Interview with Tom done years ago ? How does this relate to 2018 ?
Hi John
Never said it related to 2018. The Q&A sessions I used to do were always well received and I’m simply pointing back to one of them in case anyone wanted to read it again or indeed read it for the first time.
Some people may find it interesting still, or indeed it’s at least interesting to see how some of the answers worked out (or didn’t work out).
Thanks – Ben (NTF)