Horse Race Betting Tips?

[jbosker84]

When I was 18, we had a Greyhound dog track in town and used to go there every Saturday and actually had a lot of fun for a few hours with as little as 10$! I would keep it simple and do a 2$ quinella for each race. Of course I would buy their cheap 2$ program and make my picks. Everytime I came out with more than the 10$, usually at least double. But horse racing seems to be just a bit different. Does anyone out there have any good systems for horse wagering?

 

[orchidra]

When I was 18, we had a Greyhound dog track in town and used to go there every Saturday and actually had a lot of fun for a few hours with as little as 10$! I would keep it simple and do a 2$ quinella for each race. Of course I would buy their cheap 2$ program and make my picks. Everytime I came out with more than the 10$, usually at least double. But horse racing seems to be just a bit different. Does anyone out there have any good systems for horse wagering?

I was once told, the only way to make money following horses, was to follow them around with a bucket and shovel. Looking back, I wish I had taken that advice.

I started betting on horses (Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds) when I was still at school. I have had some big wins, but overall, I'd hate to think how much I've lost. I have even raced (owned) two and they both never looked like winning a race. Now days, I hardly ever bet on them, and prefer sports betting instead.

A day or night at the races can be fun, provided you don’t bet more than you can afford to lose. In my young and silly days, a group of friends and I (all hard core gamblers), would have a side bet on the last horse to finish a race (loser take all). There was a catch though, the winner (or should that be loser) had to shout the next round of drinks. We had a lot of fun and also drank too much.

Now back to your question. “Does anyone have any good systems for horse wagering”. I don’t think there are any good systems, else we would all be wealthy people. However, I’ll tell you a story about an observation, rather than a system.

Orchidra (my Cardschat username) was a lightly raced mare in new zealand (late 1970’s and early 1980’s). She was having her first start for the season and had not raced for about six months. I noticed that she had always won after a lengthy spell. She was racing in the 2nd leg of the daily treble, so I decided to take the field (10 starters) x Orchidra x the field (14 starters). Orchidra won as expected and outsiders won the other two races. So for an outlay of $140, I collected well over $5,000. After another spell of about 4 months, she had her next race, which was also part of a treble. I did the same thing and collected over $2,600.

I tell that story because over the years, I have noticed that many horses who had previously won after a lengthy spell, would win again after another long spell.

Good luck.

 

[jbosker84]

Thanks for the advice! I also enjoy sports betting but have been doing much better with horses. My main bet has been scouting out long shots to show. It seems that I get 1 out of 3 or 4 right, on average. It's a slow gain but it's been consistent for me so far. It's a pretty simple bet without having to bet large with the keys and the boxes. I used to like getting the programs and and looking at average times, what position the dog did well in. It's different in horse racing but the dog races, it would be alot of inside/outside positions did well consistently. I would bet 1/8 for dogs but with horses I'd bet 3/4 or 4/5.

 

[proud2Bwhack]

go right to the money and find out who averages the most $ per race, then find the second highest, those two horses win 50% of the races.

 

[TH13gambler]

you have to be very patient and often not bet daily. Or try betting exchanges, wehre you can bet in running of races.

 

[ChickenArise]

I have been playing the ponies for a long time and in handicapping I look for a few key items.

Pay attention to the morning line and compare it at 3 minutes to post. If a horse goes off well below its morning line and you see money pouring in on it at the 3 minute mark be sure to include it into your exotics.

A horses that won in a higher class recently and is dropping in class today often wins except when coming off of a layoff of 21 days or more. If this horse is coming off a long layoff, make sure he has performed well in the past after a lengthy layoff.

Look for horses that had a poor last outing at a higher class but did well at this class on a previous date.

Look at the comment line to see if a horse had trouble in its last few races at this class but looks otherwise capable.

A horse that raced evenly at a higher class but dropping in class today should be included in your contenders.

Always include a horse that won its last race by 8 lengths or more no matter what class he is racing in today.

If you like a long shot, a good play is to wheel him on top of the field (or all other contenders) and back (field on top with long shot in 2nd place) for the exacta.

The best jockeys get to select which horse they think they can win on. Never underestimate a change to a winning jockey.

 

[jbosker84]

Thank you all for the advice! My next question, is what is the best site to find ifo on the horses' lasts races? I used to get the program at my local dog track and you could see the times for each of their last five races and their starting positions(that way you can see how they deal with being inside, middle, or outside starting positions). Equibase is OKAY but I still don't get a clear picture of that horses' ability and speed. Also what are the classes of races from lowest to highest?

 

[ChickenArise]

Thank you all for the advice! My next question, is what is the best site to find ifo on the horses' lasts races? I used to get the program at my local dog track and you could see the times for each of their last five races and their starting positions(that way you can see how they deal with being inside, middle, or outside starting positions). Equibase is OKAY but I still don't get a clear picture of that horses' ability and speed. Also what are the classes of races from lowest to highest?

Re classes: https://www.thoughtco.com/understanding-the-types-and-classes-of-horse-races-1880414

Re Stats : DailyRacingForm at https://www.drf.com/ but its subscription based.