There are a number of ways to improve your own handicapping and money making ability. By making slight changes to the way you view horse racing, these tips will guide you down the path of becoming a more insightful bettor.
Focus on one track – By learning as much as you can about a single track, you will be narrowing your focus. This will allow you to discover more details and nuances regarding that track. Things like track biases, individual jockey’s strengths and weaknesses, and the talents and specialties of certain trainers will become clear for you as the meet progresses.
Study class – On a horse’s past performance chart, the type of races that were previously run can illuminate some of the mystery of which horse is best to bet on. To give an extreme example, if a horse was a consistent threat in a stakes race yet never won, when that horse drops down to an allowance race, the stakes horse has a clear advantage over other horses, even winners, if those other horses ran in lesser-valued races. The horse that has the most class has the best odds of winning simply because it used to running in faster races.
Learn to read past performance charts completely – There is so much information packed into a horse’s past performance chart that it is easy to overlook important details. For example, a horse might run with consistently high speed numbers, yet the chart shows that the horse runs best from the rail. If that horse is placed in a far outside position, the numbers that it ran when starting inside might not be duplicated in the current race. It is important to look at the total picture rather than just bits and pieces for reasons like this.
Learn how to maximize your winnings – This is a hard task for many bettors. So much emphasis is placed on which horse will finish in which place that many bettors, even experienced ones, don’t know how to properly spread out their wagers. This skill can make an average handicapper a winning one; the lack of this skill can make a great handicapper a losing one. Learn which bets you are best at, and which ones you can eliminate because they bleed money.
By knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a horse bettor, you can apply these changes to your betting style and thus become more likely to win at the racetrack.
