Australia's brigade of media tipsters got 2021 off to a sensational start.
Not only did one of them climb to the summit of the monthly leaderboard, but three of the top five spots for Profit on Turnover (POT) were taken out by media experts.
But the pro punters weren't all that far behind, and managed to pick up two of the podium positions for POT.
Read on to discover all of January's top performers.
In a huge result for the media brigade it was one of their mob who picked up the top gong in January.
We're speaking of WA form expert and part owner of OzRace, Chris Blackwell.
Best Horse Racing Tipsters for January
Blackwell has earned plenty of mentions in the past, but we reckon this might be his best performance on record.
He tipped no less than 30 winners in January, at a juicy average price of $6.09.
Blackwell has always had a happy knack of finding the overs, and he did exactly that at Pinjarra on the 14th, nailing $54 pop Stable Secret.
It's no wonder then that Blackwell clocked off with a bumper 71% POT.
Chris Blackwell goes big at Pinjarra
Securing the sliver with an ultra-impressive 67% POT of his own was Latham Anderson.
A fellow Sandgroper, Anderson is starting to make his presence felt as one of WA's best up-and-coming tipsters.
He bagged 32 winners in January, at a strike rate of 33% and an average price of $5.13.
With numbers like this, it's no wonder Anderson is listed as a pro punter.
We're heading across the ditch now because it was Bigrig13 who bagged the bronze.
The Kiwi pro punter and value finder was up to his old tricks in January, steering his followers into some juicy roughies.
His 6 winners across the month saluted at a mind-boggling average price of $25.73, to drive a 64% POT.
And looking at the price of Bigrig13's winners since he joined the site in 2018, it's clear the sort of horses he likes backing.
With a whopping 88% of his winners getting home at odds greater than $12, there might not be a better value punter on the site.
Bigrig has some big stats
There have been some huge monthly cash profit hauls in the past but what Shane079 dished up has to be right up there.
The New South Welshman tipped an outrageous 203 winners at an average price of $5.73, so you know the total profit had to be big.
And wasn't it ever, with Shane079 breaking the bank to generate $16,180 in cash profit.
What an effort.
Coming in next thanks to a fat $9,810 in cash profit was pro punter Spartacus.
The Queenslander's 88 winners saluted at a strong average price of $4.33 to match an impressive strike rate of 31%.
While this was certainly a month to remember, Spartacus's tip stats suggest that results like this are no flash in the pan.
He's currently boasting $8,030 in cash profit from almost 1,000 tips over the past 365 days.
To be able to maintain this level of cash profit over such an extended period is a very hard thing to do.
Rounding out the podium was Perth local Asiandaveblue1951.
In contrast to the two blokes listed above, this pro punter was all about the value.
He tipped 5 winners in January at a eye-watering average price of $30.54.
A phenomenal effort considering Asiandaveblue1951 only tipped 63 horses across the month.
It's no wonder he clocked off with $8,870 in cash profit.
| Media Outlet | Tipster | Winning Tips | POT |
|
|
Chris Roots | 27 | 63% |
| Michael Manley | 24 | 59% | |
|
|
Brendan Delaney | 8 | 40% |
|
|
Steve Zammit | 21 | 33% |
| Peter Staples | 17 | 30% |
It wasn't just Chris Blackwell who flew the flag for the media brigade, with plenty of their number showing exactly why they're working in the industry.
Faring best was racing writer and tipster for the Sydney Morning Herald, Chris Roots.
Roots' 27 winners came at a strike rate of 38% and an average price of $4.34, to generate a bumper 63% POT.
Considering he only tips at the metro meets on Saturdays, in what some would say are the hardest races to find a winner in, Roots's January effort really was something special.
It was on the final Saturday of the month that the Herald Racing tipster made his mark.
Chris Roots finished the month on a high
Coming in next was veteran horse racing journalist and regular contributor to theGreatTipOff.com, Michael Manley.
Manley raked in a 59% POT for his followers in January, thanks to 24 winners at a stellar strike rate of 41%.
The Melbourne form expert also notched up his third consecutive profitable month at Flemington in the process.
Punters are sure to be all over Manley's Flemington tips in February.
RSN race caller Brendan Delaney was next over the line.
He finished up with a fat 40% POT after nailing 8 winners at a juicy average price of $5.26.
As well as a terrific January performance, Delaney is also boasting an all-time POT of 12%, despite placing in excess of 500 tips.
What an effort.
Racing journo Steve Zammit also had a month to remember, after recording an impressive 33% POT.
The writer and tipster for the Telly nabbed 21 winners at a very accurate strike rate of 40%.
The Sydney form specialist fared very well at Rosehill, recording his second straight monthly profit at the track.
He's definitely one to follow for the Sydney Autumn Carnival.
SKY Racing's Peter Staples is the last cab off the rank this time, thanks to 17 winners at a strike rate of 41%.
The Tasmanian racing writer and form judge is arguably the best media tipster in the country right now.
Not only did he notch up a 30% POT, but he made it his eighth profitable month on the bounce.
It doesn't get much better than that.
A couple of other well-known racing brains also did enough to get a shout out for their January effort.
The first is Glenn Munsie from the TAB, who bagged a 51% POT after jagging 11 winners from 27 selections.
Remember, to be listed on the competition leaderboard tipsters need to provide at least 30 tips during the month, which is why Munse just missed out above.
But there's no doubting the quality of his January tips, with his 11 winners greeting the judge at a handy average price of $3.71.
His standout selection came at Rosehill on the 16th, where Munsie made Tycoonist his best bet, before it went on to salute at mouth-watering $16.10 odds.
Incredible tipping.
Glenn Munsie tipped punters into plenty
The other tipster to show his class was none other than Tom Waterhouse.
The ex-bookie steered his followers into a fat 35% POT, proving his racing pedigree is no joke.
What was even more impressive is the fact that Waterhouse's winners came all over the country, and weren't just limited to Sydney metro racing.
Tom's tips are sure to be very popular in 2021.