Horse Racing Tips: Top Five Tips on Making the Best Bets
Horse betting is one of the most lucrative betting markets globally. In the U.S. alone, this sports betting vertical is worth close to $3.5 billion. Such a lucrative offering means that punters from all walks of life can make a fortune in this industry by upping their ante and becoming the best at horse race betting.
You don’t have to be a high roller staking thousands of dollars on horse races to become a seasoned and successful punter. Even if you are a hobbyist or a casual punter, you can still prune up your horse betting mettle and handicap winning horses even on the major races.
Let’s be honest. Horse race betting isn’t necessarily a walk in the park. Some of the most successful punters have spent a lifetime on the racetracks and have amassed an intricate knowledge of horses. Becoming good at this often involves sheer hard work. There is often hours and hours of hard work behind successful handicapping that gives you that rare edge in the horse tipping.
Like any other sports betting vertical, successful betting is often a long-range prospect. Sometimes, it takes even years to develop your winning edge.
If you are going to be successful in horse racing betting, you must learn to cultivate this long-term and strategic mindset. Good wins are quite encouraging but don’t be too discouraged when you hop onto some losing streak. Instead, use this ‘misfortune’ to sharpen your skills. Keep in mind that the shrewdest of horse racing punters also have their losing streak once in a while.
There is a lot that goes into handicapping a winning horse. Like in every endeavor, punters have disparate opinions on the key factors to analyze to pick the winning horse. Of course, there is the element of luck but handicapping is a lot more about strategy. It’s like picking stock and gives the punter a degree of control. Horse race betting wouldn’t be so much fun and engrossing if it was down to plain old luck. It’s the handicapping that transforms this into something of a cerebral exercise.
In this article, we offer you some useful tips on how to ante-up your horse racing betting game and maximize your chances of picking the winning horse.
Read the day race day programs and familiarize yourself with the races
Successful handicapping often hinges on how well you are able to read the race day program. The information may appear routine and ‘harmless’ but there might be plenty of clues in there that might help you place winning bets.
For example, the race day program might include statistics as well as the horse racing history for a given race. The lingo and the lines of numbers included in the program might look cryptic and even intimidating to a newbie but once you get a handle of them and are able to process and interpret this information, they will be invaluable in your horse racing betting.
Look at the jockey’s performance history
Check out the program for the jockey’s performance history. A jockey that often finishes in the top 3 or 4 places irrespective of the horses they are riding is obviously talented. If this same jockey is riding a horse that isn’t a hot favorite, then a punter might bet on that horse with the expectation that the jockey’s talent might ride this middle-of-the-pack horse to the top spot.
It isn’t just enough to evaluate the history of the jockey. It is also important to look at their performance history with a particular horse. If the jockey-plus-horse combination has consistently clinched top three finishes, chances are that they will attain a top three finish in the race you are betting on.
Observe the horse in the paddock
If you want to do horse racing betting like a rocket scientist, then you must factor in the minutest of details. That could include observing the horses in the paddock.
The horses are usually paraded in the paddock area of the track before each race commences. Use this opportunity to watch the horse and see how it looks and behaves before it begins the race. This information can be particularly useful if you have condensed your horse picks to about two or three horses from the program. This observation in the paddock might be the dealbreaker that helps you pick the winning race.
Horses are living, breathing beings with souls. Like us, they can have their terrible days and the ‘mood’ of the horse might affect its performance on the tracks. Look at the ‘moods’ of each horse. Do they look lively and energetic? Is the horse sweating excessively? That could be a sign that it is nervous. If sweat spots are noticeable close to the horse’s kidney, the horse might be unwell and might not perform as anticipated.
There are other unusual behaviors that should kick off the alarm bells such as a horse that is turning in circles in the paddock or one that is rearing or biting. If the horse is seemingly restless in the paddock, they could be wasting precious energies that might win them a race on the course. The best horse to wager on is one that looks calm but alert in the paddock.
Look at the classes or competitions the horse races in
Horse racing involves different competitions or classes. The higher the classes, the better the horses and the more lucrative the purses. The four main horse racing classes include the following: –
- Maiden races
- Claiming races
- Allowance races
- Stakes races
In racetracks, competitions often entail horses that are at the same level. The classes that the horses fall in will depend on their performance. Irrespective of their class levels, the horses can move up or down these classes and this upward or downward shift may have a bearing on how a horse will perform in the next race.
For instance, a horse that has been consistently performing at the top level in claiming races might be outclassed by horses that are accustomed to performing in the allowance races. It might, therefore, be imprudent to handicap such a horse for an allowance race.
Look at the odds
To choose winning a horse, you have to use a lot of variables to ‘compute’ the best odds for a particular horse in a given race. One of these variables is the odds. This is a very critical variable which applies in any sports betting activity.
Like in team sports, each horse has its odds of winning included in the race day programs. The lowest odd is often the favorite to win the race. These low odds, based on excellent past performance, aren’t a guarantee of success but you will win consistently if you go for the race favorites.
The statistics speak for themselves. Punters who pick the race favorites to win always get a pay off 33% of the time. Punters that pick the race favorites to place are right 53% each time while punters who pick the race favorite to show will reap a pay off 67% each time!
Horse’s past performance on a particular racetrack surface
Horse racing track surfaces aren’t uniform. Track surface types range from grassy to natural dirt and all-weather tracks. The track type might seem like an innocuous detail but horses will give varying performances on different tracks. There are horses that will give a stellar performance on grass surface but not necessarily on dirt and so forth.
The race day program should include the past performances of every horse on the different surface types. If you are on a grass track and the horse you are betting on has performed better on dirt track courses in the past, you should be wary about betting on that horse and look for other picks that have done well in your current track.