I asked ChatGPT to make my bets at the Exeter races and here’s how it went

Attending the races is a rite of passage for any Exeter Student. It’s a chance to sport a thrifted flat cap, avoid people holding microphones, and turn your student loan into a small fortune.

Tried of leaving previous races with my wallet feeling significantly lighter, I decided to adopt a new strategy. This time, I enlisted ChatGPT as my own personal bookmaker.

Swapping questionable intuition for algorithmic recommendations, I provided ChatGPT with all the relevant odds, horse names, and a generous £50 budget in the hope it could transform my fortunes at the track, here is how it went.

Race one: The safe bet

For the first race, ChatGPT advised me to play it safe with a £5 win bet on the “strong market favourite” Hot to Go (5/4), followed by a £5 each-way bet on Grey Lagoon (9/1).

I was primed and ready, standing in a sea of Quarter zips and Afghan coats, feeling a little less like a gambling amateur. ChatGPT’s picks seemed like sound logic, back the favourite and have a cheeky punt on an outsider for the plot. I was confident I’d see some return.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Hot to Go started well, leading out of the blocks with a form it couldn’t keep, weakening rapidly throughout the race to finish in an underwhelming eighth place. It was a similar story for Grey Lagoon, who was challenging for a podium finish but tired and crossed the line in fifth, missing out on any placement returns.

I was £10 down after just the first race; ChatGPT had fallen at the first hurdle.

Race two: The comeback

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After a quick side quest to retrieve a pint to help mend the financial wounds of the first race, it was time to place my bets for the next race. I committed another £10 to the AI’s grand plan even though my faith in its effectiveness was admittedly shaken.

ChatGPT’s rationale was to back another favourite to win: Of Corse I Can (3/1), alongside another bet on a solid outsider, Blackacre (7/2).

What happened next was dramatic to say the least. A two-horse race from the very start with Of Corse I Can in the mixer. It battled for first place, neck and neck with another horse, before finally asserting itself in the closing moments of the race. The clear winner.

A £20 return was in my hands, covering my losses from the first race. And despite Blackacre’s forgettable fourth-place finish, I had broken exactly even. ChatGPT had redeemed itself and the comeback was on!

Race three: Money down the drain

The highs of the second race were short-lived as ChatGPT returned to its losing ways. My hopes were pinned on a £10 each-way bet for Bluegrass (9/2) and a £5 win on Courageous Strike (3/1).

It was a catastrophe. Bluegrass plodded home in a dismal seventh, while Courageous Strike managed a slightly less pathetic, but equally pointless, fifth. Neither horse ever even mounted a challenge for top spot or a podium finish.

ChatGPT had put me back in the red, and my pint suddenly tasted a lot more bitter.

Race four: Out of the running

Race four threw a spanner into the works. ChatGPT’s main pick, Diplomatie, was marked as a non-runner. Stranded with neither the time nor the phone signal to consult my digital bookie, I was forced to act on my own intuition.

In an attempt to reclaim some of my losses, I put a £5 win bet on the favourite, Busy Being Busy (7/4). What followed was heartbreaking. In a photo finish, it was revealed my horse had lost by a few mere inches.

I was now £20 down, and left wondering what might have happened if ChatGPT’s choice had actually run.

Race five: The outside chance

With the possibility of heading back to campus in the red growing more likely, I consulted AI for one last roll of the dice. In a dramatic shift in strategy, ChatGPT told me to “go against the grain” with my last bet of the day.

It suggested a bold £10 win bet on Riskintheground (7/2), as the heavy favourite Blueking D’oroux (2/9) offered very little value. A win in this last race would cover my losses and leave me up £15, but a loss £30 down.

Both Blueking D’oroux and Riskintheground started well, and by halfway, it had become a clear two-horse race. A direct duel between ChatGPT’s pick and the favourite.

Blueking D’oroux was mounting a challenge as they entered the final stretch, but Riskintheground held strong, pushing ahead to win by three-quarters of a second.

Against the odds, ChatGPT had somehow pulled it out of the bag. I was £15 up. A long shot off a small fortune but just enough to treat myself to a TP Saturday ticket off Overheard.

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