The horse racing industry and the efficient markets hypothesis

Abstract

Betting on the racetrack and investing in the stockmarket have many characteristics in common. These similarities are discussed in this paper and the applicability of efficient markets theory to the market for horse racing bets in South Africa is examined. Both the weak form and the strong form of the efficient market hypothesis are empirically tested. The results indicate support for both forms although some small deviations from the theory do exist. Most notable of these is that on average long-odds horses win less frequently than suggested by their quoted odds whilst short-odds horses win more frequently than implied by their odds. However, these weak form deviations are not sufficient to enable consistent profits to be made. The performances of ten experts with potential access to inside information are examined and the results indicate that on average they are not able to earn superior investment returns. In fact, all ten had negative returns over the period examined and only three of them did better than the naive strategy of backing the favourite.