Horse Racing Handicapping Instructions to Find Horses Ready to Win
If you want to learn how to handicap a horse race and find horses ready to win, or if you want to know when a horse will run a good race, there are a few steps you can take.
Like everything else we do in life, there is a right way and many wrong ways to go about looking for good bets.
Let's talk about the most important step or lesson first.
I am talking about your plan.
While going to the horse races can be enjoyable entertainment, betting on horse races involves real hard cash and involves risk.
Even when you are spending money on entertainment, you still have to plan your spending and stay within your budget.
Therefore, it is important, before you begin the actual handicapping process, to assess your financial resources and set limits on what you can afford to risk.
You need a plan and please remember the old saying, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
" The second step in finding horses ready to win, in other words, good bets, is to look for a horse that has been competing at or above the class level of today's race.
As you look through your racing program, circle each horse who has raced at today's level.
It is an often overlooked fact that most horses that win are either racing at the same class as their last race or dropping down in class.
Next, look to see if the horse has ever won at the distance and surface it is running at today.
For instance, if you are handicapping a mile race at Saratoga, then check to see if the runner ever won at a mile distance on the Saratoga surface.
For each horse that you have circled, that also won at the distance and surface, put a check mark beside that horse.
The final step is to find any horse you have circled and checked that has also raced in the last 30 days.
This usually really narrows down the field and sometimes even eliminates every horse in the race.
You will not find a horse that meets all these conditions in every race, but when you do, it is a contender.
There is a big difference between a contender and a guaranteed winner, however, and before you bet the horse, make sure you are getting good value for you money.
Some handicappers never take less than 2-1 odds while others have more complicated betting restrictions.
Like everything else we do in life, there is a right way and many wrong ways to go about looking for good bets.
Let's talk about the most important step or lesson first.
I am talking about your plan.
While going to the horse races can be enjoyable entertainment, betting on horse races involves real hard cash and involves risk.
Even when you are spending money on entertainment, you still have to plan your spending and stay within your budget.
Therefore, it is important, before you begin the actual handicapping process, to assess your financial resources and set limits on what you can afford to risk.
You need a plan and please remember the old saying, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.
" The second step in finding horses ready to win, in other words, good bets, is to look for a horse that has been competing at or above the class level of today's race.
As you look through your racing program, circle each horse who has raced at today's level.
It is an often overlooked fact that most horses that win are either racing at the same class as their last race or dropping down in class.
Next, look to see if the horse has ever won at the distance and surface it is running at today.
For instance, if you are handicapping a mile race at Saratoga, then check to see if the runner ever won at a mile distance on the Saratoga surface.
For each horse that you have circled, that also won at the distance and surface, put a check mark beside that horse.
The final step is to find any horse you have circled and checked that has also raced in the last 30 days.
This usually really narrows down the field and sometimes even eliminates every horse in the race.
You will not find a horse that meets all these conditions in every race, but when you do, it is a contender.
There is a big difference between a contender and a guaranteed winner, however, and before you bet the horse, make sure you are getting good value for you money.
Some handicappers never take less than 2-1 odds while others have more complicated betting restrictions.