Gain An Edge In Betting The Horses. Articles | Horse Betting

By: Richard Bleuze

Using trainer patterns and jockey-trainer combos will help you gain an edge in betting the horses.  I suggest that you get a copy of the Daily Racing Form to gain an edge in betting the horses. 

If you want to make horse betting enjoyable and to gain an edge in betting the horses, then remember the following:
1.  you are playing against fellow horse bettors and not the House.
2.  know the horse racing percentages.

Always remember to play with discipline since most horses bettors do not and thus you have an immediate edge in betting the horses on the crowd.

The techniques that I am about to describe below assume you have absolutely no handicapping skills at all. If you are an average handicapper who knows the difference between a playable and an unplayable race you should be able to benefit even further from these simple strategies.

Before I begin, the information that I am about to give you applies to horse racing in the United States.
 
First, favorites win approximately 33 percent of all races and finish second 53 percent of the time.  Second choices win approximately 21 percent of all races and finish second 42 percent of the time.  In addition, you might even want to consider the fact that third choices win approximately 14 percent of all races run over the course of a year.  Remember theses racing percentages if you want to gain an edge in betting the horses against the horse betting crowd.

In addition you should remember the following percentage facts:
1.  favorites in 6-horse fields win approximately 40 percent of the time at an average win price of just over even money.
2.  favorites in 12-horse fields win approximately 27 percent of their races at an average win price of almost 2-1.
This thus tells us that favorites in larger fields win a lower percentage of the time but pay better.

In addition to the above racing percentages, you can use the jockey and trainer statistics, trainer pattern statistics and jockey-trainer combo statistics to slant the odds in your favor to gain an edge in betting on the horses.

As a general rule, you are looking for jockeys who win at a clip of 20 percent or better can be like money in the bank.  However, jockeys who win at a clip of 15-20 percent are worth a second look.  Usually jockeys who win a high percentage of the races they ride in not only have their choice of the best mounts, they also generally have skill sets that are much better than their fellow riders.

Can jockeys that have a lower winning percentage win? Sure, but not often enough to make them part of a profitable horse betting strategy.

You will often find that the top percentage jockeys are on at least one of the top three public choices in a race and sometimes on all three.  Thus, you want horses that have top jockeys that are among the top three public choices.  In addition, you can then look at the trainer percentages and the jockey-trainer combo percentages to see if these numbers improve the odds even further in your favor and thus gain an edge in betting on the horses.

If you really want to win your horse bet, then you should really be looking for is a top jockeys on a horse trained by someone with a 20 percent clip or better.  As a general rule, trainers that win at a 20 percent clip win for a reason.  Besides brains and talent, these trainers have the ability to attract the best jockeys. 

Jockey-Trainer Combos will help you gain an edge in betting the horses.  Thus, high percentage trainers can win at an even better rate with a top jockey.

Another statistic to look in regard to the jockey-trainer combo percentage is the number of times that this jockey and trainer have hooked up, and what their win percentage is when working together.  If this percentage shows a high percentage, then this indicates that the trainer is trying their best to win.

Finally, find the statistic that shows the basic trainer patterns.  As a rule, you will find trainer patterns such as the horse's current situation in this race and show percentages such as dirt to turf switches, 61-90 days off a layoff, route to sprint, etc.  A high percentage trainer pattern usually increases the odds of winning in your favor and thus you are able to gain an edge in betting on the horses.

If you want to gain an edge over other horse bettors in the crowd, then find three public choices then look at the percentages.  If the percentages are good all around, bet the horse to win and place.  You should bet twice as much to place as to win. 

If the percentages are not good, then do not bet this race.  This is where discipline to wait comes into play.  Every horse bettor wants action at the racetrack, but you have to wait for the perfect opportunity if you want to win long term.

In conclusion, there are two things that you must do if you want to make a profit betting horses:
1.  learn to apply the proven percentages above
2.  have the discipline to wait for the right horse in the right race.

If you follow the above, then you will gain an edge in betting on the horse!

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