We asked some expert punters how they would make money in horse-racing if:

• race courses and races were changing from day to day (ie the business environment changing rapidly);
• there were many more horses in training (ie more competition);
• horses were strikingly more ‘trainable’ (ie innovations becoming more common and more radical);
• owners and trainers were preoccupied with trying out new ways of getting the best out of their horses? (industry increasingly preoccupied with innovation).

Their answers included:

• bet on more horses (ie increasing one’s chances by spreading one’s risk);
• bet your money on trainers (ie backing skill/expertise);
• invest in a horse transport business (ie services to participants);
• buy a bookmaker! (ie services to backers).

(Originally published in Applied Creativity, May 2010, and still more relevant!)