For the Most Excitement in Sport, Look to Horse Racing
Horse racing is pure excitement. The intensity of man and beast hurtling down the track at break-neck speed never fails to get people on their feet. It also gets people betting, but they usually do not take the time to properly research the horses they stake money on. Making intelligent bets is a matter of researching, and researching well. To that end, here are a few tips to help you make the most of the mountains of available information.
The racing form is a program that lists the day’s races, tracks, times, purses, and horses. It also has a mountain of information about past performance and other pertinent happenings in the horse’s career. This form is the Holy Grail to the established punter and, if used correctly, can make or break him. Know the following abbreviations: “T” – horse won on this track but at a different distance; “D”-won at same distance but different track; “C”-won at same track, same distance; “B”-was the beaten favorite in last race; “W or M”-refers to wet conditions and means the horse has won on slow or heavy tracks (excludes dead).
As a starting point, look to the horse’s recent history and go with winners. While controversy rages on regarding what is the most important influencing factor, many very good punters will tell you that they look first to a horse that has won in its last race and then go from there.
The papers have ratings on each horse; the horse with the best chance of winning is given a 100, and the others all follow behind depending on their likelihood of crossing the line first. Of course, these numbers aren’t set in stone,100 horses don’t finish first all of the time. You’re better off using this as a tool rather than the end all and be all of your decision making.
A favorite only wins 1 out of 3 times, keep that in mind.
Trainers use equipment such as eye blinkers, lugging bits, and nose rolls to control the horse or correct problems it has been having. Take note of any mention in the comments of changes, such as taking off or putting on blinkers. These might indicate a change in chances of winning.
Horses that have dropped in class can be a great deal, if the situation is right. On the form, keep an eye out for an arrow going up or down (or a U or D), which will indicate if they have recently changed classes.
Track conditions are a big factor in predicting winners. Fast, slow, dead, and heavy describe the moisture on a track, with fast being a dry hard track and heavy being a wet track. These words also correspond to a numeric scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the driest and 10 being the wettest. If a horse is a recent winner but has not won in wet conditions, it may not be a good bet. Tracks have their personalities and idiosyncrasies, and you may find it easier to win on some tracks than on others. This is normal, and most veteran punters will tell you that they have tracks they love and tracks they hate. Avoid the ones you hate.
As race day approaches, odds on a horse will change. Keep an eye on the odds for sure, but do not make bets based solely on them.
A firmer is a horse whose odds have moved in its favor, and a blower is one for which the odds have worsened. While these are good things to pay attention to, do not be so foolish as to think that all firmers are winners and all blowers are losers.
The current price of a horse is the product of people’s opinions, not of some concrete reality. Knowing this, look for horses for which your opinion differs significantly from the prevailing one. Take time and do your research, but stick to your opinion.
David Gately has earned a reputation for excellence in horse racing tips. This has come from his highly respected and brilliantly priced weekly horse racing form guide, for the Australian horse races.
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