Horse Racing – 4 Tips for finding winners
If anyone tells you that it is easy to make money from horse racing is probably a bookie, a tipster or a dreamer. Make no mistake it is tough, not impossible but definitely tough. The problem begins even before the horse race starts, do you take the available price when you place your bet or do you leave it and accept the starting price at the off? Whatever you do it is a fair bet that you will have made the wrong choice, take the starting price (SP) and you can bet the price will tumble. Take a price and it is a fair chance your selection will drift in the market like a helium balloon.
Obviously bookmaking is a business and the odds are stacked in favour of the bookie, if they were not betting as we know it today would not exist. But it is not only the bookies who are after your money, there are a whole range of “experts and tipsters” willing to relieve you of funds in exchange for tips and inside information of very dubious value. So how can we poor punters profit in such a minefield?
I have four tips which I hope will help you tread a safe path towards racing profits.
Tip One:
Look at the racing form but do not just take it at face value. Just because a horse has won its last three races does not mean that it will win the fourth. Many horse races are handicaps and the more successful a horse is the higher the extra weight it will have to carry and this extra weight will eventually lead to even the best horse being beaten. Also the underfoot conditions may have changed since the horses last race and a horse who performs well on firm going may not be near as good on the soft. A far better guide is to look for a jockey/trainer combination with a good record in the type of race being run. This is a good starting point for finding a winner.
Tip Two
Look at the horse’s last three races and the speed figures that it was given. You can find these speed figures in the racing press and online and they on how the horse did in its races and takes into consideration the track it was racing on and the opposition it Was facing. Compare these speed figures against the other horses in the race and it should give you some idea of your selections chances.
Tip Three
One phrase you often hear in racing circles is “horse for courses” which basically means that for some reason or other some horses always seem to run better on some courses than on others. One classic example of this is the all weather track at Southwell. This is the only fiber sand course and while some horses hate the deep sand track other love it and perform particularly well on the surface.
Tip Four
Look for value. About 30% of favourites win races and because of their short price you could not possibly make money by purely backing favourites. Equally you will lose money consistently by going for outsiders or long shots. The answer is that you have to look for value. The problem of course is how you define value and I think that this is possibly the most important skill in horse race betting. Every punter has to make up their mind what is and what is not a value bet. An example of a poor value bet is an unraced two year old coming from a top stable who is odds on. A good value bet might be another horse from a small stable that has a good record of first time winners in two year old races priced at 5/1 or more. I know which I would like to have my money on.
