HOW TO WIN BACKING HORSES.Bet On Horses and Win.From the outset can I say that backing horses and showing a profit is hard - very difficult. Personally i mainly bet on sports events and bet on racing sparsely. However,there is nothing like a day out at the races or an afternoon indoors watching racing on the television and having a few bets to make it more enjoyable. Some guidelines below should at least cut your losses and maybe just tilt a losing day into a winning day. Consider these following points when backing horses.................... Only bet in singles. This is crucial - those multiple bets that bookmakers keep promoting is because that is where they make most profits. Just think about it,for example when placing a bet of 3 doubles and a treble. If your first selection loses you have lost 33% of your selections,but you have lost 3/4 of your money ! - just one double remains and the other 3 bets are already lost. Its even worse for yankees and higher multiple bets - stick to singles only !. There is actually one bet that may be acceptable from a betting point of view - Lucky 15. This bet pays double,and sometimes treble(betfred) the singles odds if you have one winner. This just about makes the Lucky 15 bet ok,but don't do Lucky 31 or Lucky 63 as the effect of single winner on those bets will not influence overall losses enough. Select Your Races Some races are easier to win than others and some races should be avoided. I would suggest you play the horses in this order - Flat Grass Racing - Flat Dirt Racing - N.H. Hurdle Races - N.H. Chasing Races. Avoid races where luck plays a major part - you can study form all day,but if your selection makes a bad jump or falls then it was all a waste of time. Age Catches up with Horses. We all have our favourite horses and often back them even when they are passed their best out of some sort of loyalty. In my opinion a flat race horse is at its peak aged 4 or 5. Move that age range up to 6 if the distance exceeds 1mile 3 furlongs as a horse will lose its speed before stamina. National Hunt horses are at their peak when 5,6 or 7 for hurdles,and 6,7 or 8 for chasers.Again nudge up slightly the age range for extreme distances or heavy going where stamina comes into play. As always there are exceptions,and if betting in apprentice races or amateur races(particularly ladies races)older horses are a definite advantage when considering a bet. It seems somehow these older horses respond to gentler handling in these races than they get from hardened professional jockeys and take charge themselves and run above their normal form. 3 Runs Before Handicap Race. Horses have to run 3 times before they can run in handicaps so a rating can be allocated. Many trainers will not let their horses show their best in those 3 maiden or novice races,so that an artificial or low handicap mark is given to their horse. This obviously gives them a great chance,and they often put a good apprentice on board just to cement a winning debut in handicaps. Keep your eye out for these horses that run first time in handicaps after the dead 3 runs in preliminary races. Never chase a gamble. On the track or in the betting shop you will often see a horse being gambled on from a big price down through to a much shorter price or even favourite. Resist the temptation to get on board this gamble - you are too late !. The ones in the know who started the gamble are on at much bigger prices than you will be able to get. Not all gambles come off of course and while it is profitable over time for the instigators who maybe have 20/1 about the horse,it is definitely a losing tactic for latecomers who maybe only get 5 or 6/1 for their bets. Forget Tote Betting Unless Making Jackpot Bets. The Tote odds often look attractive when you have taken say 3/1 and the Tote is paying 5/1. However if you had had that bet on the Tote then that 5/1 would have shrunk by your own actions of backing it. The Tote Pools are incredibly low at most meetings now and i would never have decent bet on Tote Singles,Exactas,Tricasts etc. Jackpots,Scoop 6,Placepots are ok as they have high volume action with big payouts - but some punters would be surprised at how much the Tote deduct from these pools - up to 27% the last time i checked. Place Your Bets Online ! Place your bets online and you are guaranteed to get your account credited with winning bets. How often have you thrown away winning betting slips and tote tickets ? - plenty,although you don't even know it. Late withdrawals,non runners,stewards enquiries and mistakes on tv and papers can all mean you discard winning bets. Quite a few times winnings have appeared in my betting account that was not expected due to above reasons or my own carelessness. One occassion was £600 for placepot due to a stewards enquiry that went on past the following race that i was unaware of and gave me 3rd spot from 4th. Boy i was lucky to get that stewards decision - and lucky that i bet online as it would have been in the bin if placed in betting shop. Horses for Courses. You need to use common sense when betting horses that have won on one sort of track and are now running at completely different venue. By that i mean if a horse has won on say the wide open spaces and a straight 7 furlongs at Newmarket,there is no guarantee that horse will win again at a track like Chester where it will run a full tight bend and short run in - in fact it probably won't be suited at all. The opposite can be applied when a horse has won on one track and then races at similar venue. So if a horse performs at the quirky switchback Brighton course,it is more than likely that horse will love to race at Epsom which is very similar. Group the different tracks into categories and apply the above when making final selection. Right or Left Handed. Same as horses for courses,some horses prefer to race right handed,and some left handed - depends how they race and which leg they favour. Most tracks are left handed so not so significant,but you may find some horses that definitely excel racing right handed - keep your eye on them and wait until they go to suitable track. Unfit or Over Raced Horses. Until recently you could not back a horse that had not had a run for several months - you just did not know if it was fit or not. Not such a problem now as most trainers have their own all weather gallops which can operate in all weathers and keep their string fit. Mind you,there is nothing like the track to completely tune up a horse and if the trainer makes that first run at local track it may need the race - but if it is sent on a 300 mile trip to race you can be pretty sure the animal is fit and ready !. One thing that surprises me lately is how often horses run now - particularly at all weather tracks. Sprinters can race next day without harm,but many horses now seem to race after 2 or 3 days even over lengthy distances - i would not back a horse that is over raced and think there may even be an animal welfare aspect that should be looked at in some cases. Open Account with Betting Exchange. Where else can you get place only bets,multiple bets,sp forecasts,tote bets all in one place - all at the prices you demand ? Trainers are more Important than Jockeys. Punters always seem to go on about their favourite jockeys and follow them blindly. However few seem to pay as much attention to the trainer - take it from me the trainer is the one to follow and analyse. They spend the hours plotting and planning a horses career and race schedule - and its the trainer who has to answer to irate owners,not the jockey if things do not go well !. Analyse the stats for trainers,where they go to win,if they gamble or not,who rides etc. and a pattern will soon emerge as you get to know their tactics. Don't Be Afraid to Back 2 or More in a Race. To repeat from earlier - bet in singles only !. But don't let this prevent you from backing 2 or even more in one race. The only proviso i would say is make sure that even your lowest odds winner will at least get all your stake money back,but in most races every selection,no matter how many you have should show a profit. By Pendil at .©,Best 10 Gaming sites This article can be reproduced by anyone,so long as article is reproduced in full and intact with all links unchanged.End of article. |
|