Horse racing handicapping

Questions and Answers

How did the word handicap come around in the world of horse racing?

Q) Where did the word come from.......not what does it mean

A) The word handicap means "to put at a disadvantage". As has already been explained, horses are alloted weight in handicap races according to their ability, therefore the better horses carry more weight. The point is to try and make all horses in a race run to the same level. In most other races, all horses will run off the same weight, although fillies get a weight allowance from colts as they are usually smaller and in mixed age group races the younger horses get a weight allowance from the older horses. Addition: You need to be more specific in what you want to know! Try this link for more of an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handicapping

what is a long handicap in horse racing?

A) The lowest weight a horse can be alloted in a race is 10st, if the horses ability is so poor it should be carrying, say 9st, but has to carry the minimum allowed,this is known as a long handicap. Basically the horse has to carry more weight than it's ability deems it should!!

I need a site to find good horse racing handicapping for Mounteneer, Pen national and aqedack race track.s?

Q) I need a free sites, free handicapping. DRF did not help.

A) equibase.com

what is the best horse racing handicapping software?

A) Your own experience and research. If the handicapping software was accurate, all the bettors would be millionaires!

best horse racing handicapping system?

A) Well if u know how to read a DRF then u should know to watch that track to see if the conditions is a Speed or Closers bias..A lot of tracks will have A lot of speed horses that day or closers..Also to watch to see if that horse is a conditions horses or not..Do your homework..buy the DRF the day before and look it over but NOT looking at 1 race too long or u wil start overlooking things. Also 1 of the KEY things i look for is...DOES this horse not want to win..running 2nd and 3rd alot this is a key i use all the time on hitting BIG tris and supers..So GL and hopefully u will Start winnning

Why should turns be considered when handicapping a horse race?

Q) Question is two fold - a) why are number of turns considered significant and b) how do narrow or wide turns play to a horse's strength, pending their running style?

A) Turns require that a horse change leads, ie, which foot to put down first. Thus, a jockey's ability comes into play, to get the horse to change leads properly. And also to get close to the rail so as to "save ground," which could make the differnece between winning and losing. The reason quarter horse riders rarely become thorobred jocks is that they have trouble on turns. Narrow turns tend to favor "speed horses," animals who can get away from the gate quickly. Wide turns (such as at Belmont Park) are kind to longer striding horses.Configurations of most tracks are found in the Racing Form and usually online at each track's website

What is the most important factor when handicapping a horse race?

Q) When looking at the DRF, there are so many things to consider (the type/class of a race, most recent performances, surface, distance, trainer, recent workouts, trainers/riders record coming off 60+ layoff, etc.). Which has the most impact on the outcome?

A) A combination of the class of the race and the past performance of the horses in it. For example, in a $3,500 claiming race it is entirely possible that a Longshot will win if its past performance is better than the Favorite's (think Maiden race), so then an overlayed horse may actually be a better choice than an odds-on; while in a stakes race I would never assume that - I'd bet the Favorite to Show. I'd want the horse to have failed in the past at the wrong length or wrong surface rather than at its customary one; I'd want it to have had at least one miserable performance (without injury) that it recovered from somewhere in its racing history. I wouldn't get myself too bogged down with trainer of record in the last race unless he/she was so lousy that the owner changed, which is a sign that the owner is really trying to win and not just trying to condition the horse. Same for the jockey. A lot of times the horses with the best trainers/jockeys have their odds kicked down so low you can't win anything significant yet you can lose it all if they miss. As for surface, never bet a turf favorite to win if the race is being moved off-turf due to rain - that's because turf specialists usually have larger feet, so they bog down worse in mud. In all the stats I have analyzed it seems that Turf Stakes races involving Fillies and Mares running at 1 to 1 1/2 miles are the most erratic in the results of the odds of the winner. Workourts are meaningless as they can be rigged - a friend of mine swears that sometimes they take horses out to a secret pasture and show the serious bettors/potential buyers what a horse that "has no chance" can really do. Coming off a layoff is VERY inportant. In all my studies a horse that has run a good performance within the last 15 days has the edge over a horse with a similar but older performance; this is especially true if the oldest race happened 6-9 months ago, in which case the horse with the oldest race may come in last - I've seen it. In my opinion the easiest general way to handicap is to pick those that finished in the top 33% of the achievement average of all the horses in their last race, then eliminate the oldest performances, then consider a solid underlayed first favorite and a horse that is a strong contender yet an unjustified-overlay (should be bet on but the public is passing - I don't mean it went from 5 to 2 up to 50 to 1!) But make sure to check the class level of past races and watch for drops/raises in class or to see if any of the horses in the particular race have run against each other - if so, unless one of them won that race, the one that finished in the money or outranked the competitor has a slight edge. The reason I don't like to bet one that won against today's competition is that it may suffer from the "bounce" - but I would put it in an Exacta/Trifecta box. Hope this helps.

Can anybody reccomend a horse racing "tipsheet" company I notice there are a few online?

Q) I notice there are several offered online, does anybody know any particularly good ones? I would be especially appreciative if anyone could reccomend a sheet that's known for good harness racing handicapping?

A) I don't know directly about a tipsheet, but http://betting.betfair.com/horse-racing is a good place to look for UK Horse Racing tips and inside info.

how do you find the turn time when handicapping horse races?

A) you need to know the track configuration,1/2 mile,1 mile,1 1/2 mile,etc. where the horse has already run.then how long the race was and where they started the race...turn times are very hard to handicap...you have different race conditions like surfaces and weather to consider also...not to mention the number of horses in the field and the post positions...the only way would be to have a front runner run the same distance at the same track, good luck finding that. i hope this helps.

best handicapping program for horse racing?

Q) or systems

A) To me, there is no one real best handicapping tool for horse racing, because each tool provide different kinds of information. However, to me, there are some key information that's definently needed: * Past performances * Yearly statistics and statistics on certain tracks * Jockey and trainer stats (both year and at the track's meet) There are many different tools for this, both on paper and on the web. In my case, being in the U.S., it's the Daily Racing Form.

horse racing handicap forms?

A) Check any news stand selling newspapers and/or magazines. If you live in a state which offers satellite Off-Track-Betting parlors, usually the store selling newspapers closest to the OTB facility will carry forms. or, you may check with any local patron at the OTB parlor or racetrack as to where he/she got theirs.

Does anybody know a great free website for handicapping tips for the horse races?

Q) I love the racetrack but I am a crappy handdicapper. Looking for help.

A) www.dailymotion.com www.gofish.com www.googlevideo.com www.yahoovideo.com and you can download them