Betting the ponies

[moo321]

I haven't the slightest clue how to handicap a horse race, but I'd like to learn. What factors should you consider? And how do you bet; just pick favorites, or come up with your own odds for each race and bet when the line deviates from this?

[daddybo]

Originally Posted by moo321

I haven't the slightest clue how to handicap a horse race, but I'd like to learn. What factors should you consider? And how do you bet; just pick favorites, or come up with your own odds for each race and bet when the line deviates from this?

I used to handicap dogs... I wrote a program that kept up with the stats and output trifecta bet combinations on the likely winners. Won some money too.

Horses.. no idea. It seems it would be a little harder since jockeys are involved and there are usually more horses in a race than dogs... I'll bet somebody here knows.

[InPlay]

Originally Posted by moo321

I haven't the slightest clue how to handicap a horse race, but I'd like to learn. What factors should you consider? And how do you bet; just pick favorites, or come up with your own odds for each race and bet when the line deviates from this?

Buy a book and start to learn from the book. Their are just to many angles to try and explain it to you. Andrew Beyer is one of the best to learn from. Stick with the Beyer's book. He has many methods , and you can learn a lot. Favorties at most racetrack tracks win about on the average of 29 to 31% of the races, so with the average pay out of $5.00 or less thats a sure way to go broke. No money ! No value ! The morning line odds are set by the track handicapper and I doubt if you would know more then him.

When you gamble in the casino on most casino games, other than poker, you are wagering against the house. When you bet on a horse or dog race (also jai lai) you are not playing against the house. Instead you are making a parimutuel wager and are in essence betting against all the other players wagering on that event.

The entire money bet on the event goes into a large pool. The holders of winning tickets divide the total amount of money bet on the race (the pool), after deductions for tax and racetrack expenses. The money take out is similar to the rake taken out by the pot in a poker game played in the card room. However unlike the small rake in poker, in the parimutuel pool this “rake” can amount to 15 – 25 percent of the total prize pool.

Most players visiting the track or off track betting facilities have little knowledge of the history behind parimutuel betting. Because the modern day facilities use computer calculations that are displayed on large electronic “Tote” boards players may think that this form of wagering is fairly new. The history of parimutuel betting goes back quite a few years.

[ChefJJ]

InPlay's choice of suggesting a good book is a great idea. If you have little or no exposure to the horse racing scene, that is a great place to start.

And the image of Andy Beyer's book is a primo one. Great book. His older book on speed handicapping, although made relatively ineffective due to nearly everyone using the speed figures, is good too just to get in his mind.

good luck