It's that time again when we run the numbers over the 365 days in the previous year to see who made highest profits.
In years gone past we have been mesmerized by the outstanding profit performances coming from Australia's racing media, pro punters and others who tip and bet at theGreatTipOff.com. This year is no different.
The Profit On Turnover (POT) category saw a popular racing resource claim all three top spots. While two pro punters and a racing editor achieved the highest Cash Profit in 2018.
This year's highest grossing winner, using an even stake on each tip placed throughout 2018, was Brisbane punter Tezzaraki.
Punters lucky enough to follow the pro punter from Queensland, bagged an incredible $14,220 from $100 win bets. While those who chipped up enjoyed multiples of this amount.
Residing in the picturesque Morton Bay region Tezzaraki notched up statistics that casual punters would only dream of.
The runner-up to Tezzaraki comes from the News Limited stable of racing experts.
Lincoln Moore, who posts his tips for Adelaide races in the Adelaide Advertiser and at Super Racing, managed to make his followers a healthy $6,360 from $100 win bets placed on each of his 2018 selections.
Unlike most punters, Moore is required to submit his tips up to 72 hours before the races jump in order to meet editorial deadlines. Despite this challenge he still managed to finish second amongst a long list of Australia's racing media and the punters at theGreatTipOff.com.
Moore placed 741 tips in 2018 and found 215 winners at average odds of $3.74 which represented 8.6% POT for the year. Outstanding even without the handicap of the deadlines.
The second runner-up came from the Hervey Bay region of Queensland. Registering 277 tips, Geomel found 49 winners that averaged odds of $6.71.
Punters following the pro punter received $5,160 profit from $100 win bets and more if they chipped up.
Geomel's effort represented an outstanding 19% POT for the year. A level that any professional punter would be envious of.
This category tests for profitability regardless of the volume of bets or tips placed during the year. Incredibly all three place getters came from Australia's racing media.
What was even more amazing, the Top 3 tipsters represent the same racing resource - Sky Racing.
There's yet another interesting attribute that the three place getters share, they focus on specific regions of the country where local knowledge provides an edge.
Taking the top award in 2018 was SKY racing commentator Ben Walker (pictured). Walker, who focuses on racing in the Western NSW region, finished the year with a massive 54% POT from his 93 tips posted.
Walker found 33 winners which represented a 35% strike rate. A statistic that any punter would happily take, especially at odds averaging $4.35.
The runner-up was SKY Racing colleague Pat Comerford who notched-up 35% POT from 95 tips at average odds of $4.94.
Comerford, a local breakfast presenter in the Northern Territory, calls races at Pioneer Park Alice Springs for SKY Racing, where he has clearly developed a strong understanding of the local thoroughbreds.
As part of his race calling duties Comerford recorded a tip in each race that he called for SKY Racing and in the process became one of the most profitable tipsters in 2018.
The second runner-up is yet again from the SKY Racing stable. Sunshine Coast commentator Damien Courtney finished 2018 with an enviable 27% POT.
The Queensland racing analyst found no less than 42 winners from 99 tips giving him a cracking 42% strike rate.
Considering that over 1,000 tipsters posted their selections throughout the year, including Australia's racing media and punters who bet and tip at theGreatTipOff.com and it's affiliated sites, the SKY Racing trifecta is a colossal achievement.
Here is a list of tipsters that just missed out in either category and are well deserved of a mention.
*Winning Post tipsters were added to the site in August.
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