There is no denying that becoming successful at horse race betting demands understanding many processes. Handicapping is one of the critical fundamentals worth mastering since identifying handicaps will improve your chances of successful wagers compared to other punters. Below is a guide on how and when to use handicaps in horse race betting.
Handicaps In Horse Race Betting
When betting on horse predictions, every punter’s goal is to make the right winning choice. A casual bettor can bet on a horse based on its name, number assigned in the race, and even appearance. However, the handicapper understands that betting relies on luck and instead favours handicaps, giving them a data-backed edge in races. Therefore, more serious bettors go through data from racing charts and past performances to look for details that can provide them with an advantage.
Handicapping Tools
Past performances are perhaps the best weapon tool in any horse bettor’s arsenal. These past performances reveal all horses in a particular race, including in-depth descriptions of their most recent race. This way, you can compare the performances of all horses in a race to determine which one is worth your wager. You can also use a race chart when using handicaps in horse race betting. Race charts differ from past performances since they focus on races instead of horses. As such, you can examine race charts for a more vivid picture of how a race was run. These charts also include exhaustive notes from the chart caller.
The Fundamentals Of Handicapping
1. Speed
Speed is one of the essential things you should look for in every horse race to pick winners. As such, you should have some reliable way of comparing the speed of horses against one another to have a general idea of which is the quickest. You can use the Beyer Speed Figures or finish times to compare horses. This way, you can quickly learn about horses that aren’t as fast as their rivals and use these details to your advantage by steering clear of them when placing your bet.
2. Form
Knowledge about each racing horse’s overall health and wellness can also give you an advantage when placing bets, so keep this in mind. You can look through a horse’s recent past performances to determine its potential health issues. For instance, horses that have finished at the back of the pack in many races have some form of lameness and aren’t fit enough to run the distances asked of them. Consequently, you can eliminate these struggling horses from your bets.
Classes exist to ensure that horses of similar abilities compete against each other and aren’t overmatched. Therefore, you should know each racing circuit and their respective class hierarchies and which horses belong in which classes. This way, you can avoid horses that aren’t running at their level of competition.
4. Pace
It matters whether a horse is a front runner, stalker, or closer, and knowing the running style of each horse can help you understand how each race will play out and which horses to back.
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