If you’re a beginner to horse racing, this is the guide for you. But if you considered yourself an expert, these tips can also be extremely helpful. Many of the most experienced bettors fail to understand them.
Handicapping
In horse racing, handicapping is considered an art form. It is the ability to analyze information collected from past races to predict the performance of the horses in a certain event. Over the years, several different handicapping systems were developed.
The overall goal is to make them as simple while also taking advantage of all the information available as efficiently as possible. To put it very basically, a handicap race is a horse race in which the horses are evaluated on their ability and weighted accordingly.
The paddock
The paddock is the best place to go if you want to take a good look at the horses that will be competing in the race. This is the area where they are saddled before going on the track and also walk around a ring.
If you are thinking of backing a particular horse, this is the ideal time to assess and adjust your bet. Pay close attention to details such as alertness, calmness and dexterity.
Form history
The form history of a horse is nothing more than the record of its performance and bloodline. Along with information about the horse´s trainer and owner, the form of history can be extremely helpful for your bets.
Speciality newspapers and other media formats publish these records.
Selecting your horse
After going through the three steps above, you should have enough information to consciously back a horse. You can go on some pretty useful sites to learn about the odds, such as oddschecker.com.
Racing schedules
You simply can’t bet on every race throughout an entire day of events. The odds would be totally against you. Given that, you must be selective and strategic with your approach. That’s the key. Look at the racing schedule beforehand and decide which races you are going to bet on. With time, you will discover that certain conjugations of tracks, jockeys, horses, trainers and owners produce some performance patterns.
Understanding that will allow you to bet on the races in which you are most knowledgeable.
Statistics
Horse racing statistics range across an enormous and overwhelming number of variables. Some are much more key than others, though. And you need to learn which statistics impact the performance of a specific horse the most.
Free resources for research
Browsing the web for the best horse racing resources to do the research for your bets is nowhere near complicated. In fact, the majority of the absolute best websites for horse racing insights is free to access. Your only job is to look for them. These sites will help you become a master in analyzing data and placing informed bets. The more information you have, the bigger the chances of winning will be.
Going through the seven points above is not complex per se, although it takes a bit of your time and attention. However, ignoring them leads with almost 100% certainty to failed bankroll management.