Interview with Neil Gray from WhatToLay.com
by Paul Whelan

Paul Whelan chats with Neil Gray who created the WhatToLay.com service. Neil talks about becoming the next Wimbledon Champion, Team GB's prospects for the Olympics, and his mother-in-law...

PW: Hello Neil, thanks very much for taking time out to answer some questions for us. Let's get straight into it. How long have you been interested in gambling and how did you get involved?

NG: Longer than I care to remember, I think I first got involved when a friend of mine told me that he could make a lot of money by backing odds on shots on the horses if he only had the money to place the bets with. So when I looked at his records and the results he had been producing I stumped up some cash and off we went all over the UK backing odds on shots over the jumps. It was well before betting tax had been abolished so we used to take the cash to the courses. From there it has never really stopped.

PW: If you could choose to be a professional sports person, in what sport would you like to excel?

NG: Roger Federer. Tennis is one of my passions and I would love to be able to play just 10% as well as the king of the courts.

PW: If you could attend one sporting event anywhere in the world, which would it be?

NG: It would have to be the Dubai Gold Cup I think just for the experience and the whole atmosphere.

PW: Where would we find Neil Gray on a typical Saturday afternoon?

NG: More than likely on the laptop trying to find a few good trades on Betfair, if not probably on the tennis court trying to emulate the man above.

PW: Which sporting event do you look forward to every year, and why?

NG: The Grand National, it's just a huge day and the size of the crowd is immense. I love all the pre race build up and the race itself. Even though its not a race I get involved with, to difficult to find the winner, however I do usually end up in the usual sweep stake somewhere. An interesting thing though, I spoke to a Professional gambler who I work quite closely with and he stated that many Professionals play big at Aintree and win some serious cash as the race is never quite as competitive as everyone thinks it is.

PW: How did you get the idea for WhatToLay.com?

NG: I have been laying horses for a long time now, I suppose pretty much since the exchanges started really. Over the years I have done the rounds with the Tipsters and the systems just like many other people and have wasted a lot of money, you know the story. So I decided that I could run a genuine service with selections that don't involve big liabilities like some other services and which the average man in the street can get involved with.

PW: Can you tell us a bit more about the web site?

NG: The web site is really just really a promotion of our service, the place where people can find out about us and what we are doing and trying to achieve. I do have plans to expand the web site over time with relevant articles and information relating to laying horses. A major area which I want to expand into is trading as some good opportunities to make a profit do arise. Take today for example, one of our selections was available very early on at odds of 7.5 and by mid morning the price had drifted out to 17 and even 18.

PW: What will my readers gain most from visiting your web site?

NG: Firstly, to be able to review our results and also to take a look at the staking plan which we have carefully researched and which we find works the best with our selections without incurring large liabilities. Secondly I think the best part of our service is the charging structure. We believe it is somewhat unique and have tried to make it as fair as possible. Many other services charge quite high monthly subscriptions which I believe are way too high. We have adopted a structure where you pay at the end of the month to continue receiving our selections for the following month based upon how we have done in the current month. Basically if we don't win you don't pay and I don't think we can be fairer than that.

PW: Have you had good feedback from visitors and members so far?

NG: Yes, people seem to like the charging structure as it is not expensive and if they do not get the goods from us it costs them nothing. We have also had positive feedback about our selections and results as well as the staking plan. The biggest issue with laying horses is the liability when one goes against us and manages to finish first passed the post. A lot of services fall down as the liabilities are just too big and banks can easily be wiped out. We avoid this at all costs by keeping liabilities as low as possible and our staking plan maximises our profits but limits the liabilities.

PW: Do you have any further projects on the drawing board?

NG: Yes, we want to produce some videos an trading on Betfair, I know there is a vast amount of information on this subject out there but we want to try to break this down into its simplest form with live examples and try to make it as easy to follow as possible so that someone who has never even used Betfair before can understand and apply the techniques. Perhaps the most important project though, is that I am currently talking to someone who is an expert on handicapping. His depth of knowledge as to how the handicappers operate is vast and he has spent and continues to do so analysing handicapping and the methods the handicappers use so that he can stay one step ahead. We are currently piloting place lays and hope that if all goes according to plan as we expect that we can bring this addition to What To Lay for our members in the near future. This will have to be a limited membership though as the liquidity in the place market is not the same as in the normal win market so we will have to be careful not to affect the market.So it will probably be on a first come basis and we will have to close the doors fairly early on, so it will be worthwhile checking back periodically as I believe this project is very exciting and I am confident we will produce excellent results from it.

PW: Everybody is an expert in the betting game, and that’s what makes it so appealing, but is there any advice you can give my readers when it comes to making money from betting?

NG: Firstly do not gamble with money you can not afford to lose, that's just common sense but extremely important. Secondly try to avoid the HYPE, this game is full of it, try to assess everything you are being told for yourself, if someone is promising to make you £100.000 's in just a few month's, it is extremely unlikely that you will. Finally one of my Golden rules is never chase your losses. You will always have losses as long as you are betting, you have to learn to accept them and move on. Chasing your losses will inevitable incur more losses. Before anyone shouts, hey that's all well and good Neil but your staking plan seeks to recover losses. Yes it does but it bails out and accepts losses before the liabilities become too big which is why we have adopted it and why we profit month on month by using it.

PW: So... what does the future hold for Neil Gray and WhatToLay.com?

NG: Well, to continue to bring a Professional service to the general public and develop further with our ongoing projects but importantly to continue to produce the results so that we can all make good money.

PW: The Olympics have just started, do you think Team Great Britain will have a successful Games?

NG: That's a tough one, I think we have some opportunities for medal's, it all depends upon how the athletes perform on the day and cope with the adverse conditions they will face. A bit like horses really, you can never be sure how they are going to perform on the day but let's hope we can bring back a few medal's.

PW: Completely off topic, but finally, What's the funniest thing to have happened to you in the past seven days?

NG: That one's easy. My Mother-In Law visited last Sunday and before leaving she had a call of nature. I heard a shout from the bathroom, the toilet seat had broken whilst she was on it and slipped off taking her with it. I have never laughed so much in my life, I was still laughing on Monday.

PW: I can't believe you finished with a "my Mother-In-Law" joke!! Great stuff. Thanks again for your time Neil, and best wishes for the future.

Paul Whelan developed the SkyBlueKangaroo.com web site along with fellow horse racing enthusiast Scott Daniels. Today he was talking with Neil Gray from WhatToLay.com
Visit Neil's web site at www.whattolay.com