Quote Originally Posted by icemantbi:
Honest question here. I love horse racing, I love horses, I love riding them I love everything about them but how does anyone win consistently in this sport? Been wagering on BC and only hit one race so far and that was yesterday. ONE. Too many variables how does anyone make anything? I feel there is better odds buying a lottery ticket 1st parimutuel wagering where you can't lock in specific odds. Maybe you like a horse at 5-1 but then it goes off at 2-1 and you would not have made that wager at those odds. 2nd is the trip. Horse stumbles out the gate your screwed. With harness your horse can break meaning your screwed. 3rd too many choices. With sports your basically 50/50 if you win or not. With horses in a 10 race field tour basic odds are 1 in 10. Heavy chalk going down in flames. Ok then you do Trish/supers/Hi 5 well you may as well buy a lottery ticket. When Northern Illinois beat Notre Dame earlier this year or Kennesaw St upset Liberty not long ago that is a lot easier to predict than some 30-1 bomb in a horse race. I just want to know how anyone can make money in this game
Like anything else, to become/get/maintain success, practice and focus on the basics gradually adding more provided you keep having success.
Here are a few things that I know helped me:
1. Pick/select a (one) track.
2. Study the previous 5 years results, so you'll know the information like the back of your hand.
3. ALWAYS use past performances to analyze the race in determining your choice(s). Two companies that are reliable (data) and secure (safe) to purchase online from are daily racing form (drf dot com) and equibase (equibase dot com). There are others that are reliable and secure but I haven't used them enough to state them here.
4. Develop a selection process that works for your style of wagering that has proven to provide long term success. At first, to me, only do that type of wager - others may disagree, which is fine and that's okay for I know what works best for me.
5. Money management. Have a set amount of money for each race and stick to it. This could also be placed in #4, have the same type of wager each race. It will make learning from the mistakes, and there will be many, easier to identify what went wrong (per your ticket (s)).
6. During the races keep track of how the race was won (gate to wire, off pace, late closer, what path did they use, etc.). Record the winning jockey and trainer - what distance, surface and weather conditions were present - for use later in the day/meet.
7. Jockeys and trainers. Each have more success at various distances and surfaces. You need to learn that. For example, a Chad Brown trained horse racing in New York in a Stakes race for me gets an automatic wager, because of the long term success.
8. Know not all races are created equal. They range from the $5k Claimer to Grade/Group 1 (best/highest level).
I hope this helps you get an understanding of how difficult this wagering sport can be but with knowledge and a little racing luck, one can (and does) profit from it.
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