Every punter has a system, but few involve 40-strong teams using bespoke software to routinely deliver seriously fat profits. Jay Johnstone looks to Hong Kong for the closest thing to a sure bet.



Crisscrossing telephone wires snaked along the carpeting of Rod Dufficy's cluttered home office near Hong Kong's Happy Valley racetrack. Dressed down in baggy black velour tracksuit bottoms and a matching gym shirt, Dufficy, 32 at the time, sat at a large L-shaped desk, rocking back in his chair and eyeing three computer screens crowded with numbers. He was cramming for a race that began in 22 minutes, calling up information from an online database and sifting it through a betting-analysis program built into his system.



The Australian was one of Hong Kong's elite breed of super-successful professional gamblers, computer-assisted horse bettors who work in teams and net millions at the races each year.