There is a card game called Napoleon which is where the nap of the day comes from in the context of horse racing. Rather than put forward a selection for every race a tipster can hand pick his best fancy and this is known as the nap of the day. On a typical midweek racing day in the UK there are at least three meetings. There are usually seven races on each card which means 21 races or more. It is difficult to assess the form for so many races so a tipster could focus on a niche type of race to identify the nap of the day. The Racing Post print a naps table which is a record of how each tipster has performed with the nap of the day. Even though by definition the horses are short priced the strikes rates for the nap of the day are quite low. The table shows how difficult it can be to handpick one horse to be the nap of the day.
Nap of the Day and Next Best
The nap of the day is the horse who the expert believes has the best chance of winning a race on a particular day. The horse with the second-best chance of prevailing in the eyes of the tipster is called the next best. Selecting a second horse from the racing programme gives a tipster a second chance of finding a winner without tipping a horse in every race. There are no tipster leagues for the next best, but you would assume the nap of the day produces the better results. The nap of the day and next bets are selections that the tipster rates highly and over and above the selections from other races. Some bettors like to combine the nap of the day and next best in a double which benefits from multiplied odds. If the nap of the day and next best are both 2/1 the double pays 8/1 (2 +1 x 2 +1 -1). A tipster who has a good record with the nap of the day and next best will be followed by punters in singles and doubles. Both have to win for the double to collect and depending on the odds the bet can produce a decent return for a small stake.
Royal Ascot Nap of the Day Royal Ascot is a huge Flat meeting over five days in June and there is a massive amount of betting interest. Tipsters try to give winners for each race but specify the nap of the day. The meeting features Group races and competitive handicaps. The prize money is generous, so every horse is running on its merits. The form can be difficult to assess, and the fields can be big so there is some value in identifying the nap of the day at Royal Ascot.
