What I Should Know About Handicapping and Betting

[I am being encouraged by friends and new acquaintenaces at my home race track to write some articles for beginners.]

What is horse handicapping and what should I know about betting?

Handicapping a horse race is about determining which horse (or horses) could win the race. Betting is about determining what kind of a bet to place and how to configure it. Let's talk about handicapping first. When you go to a race track you can purchase a newspaper called the Daily Racing Form (DRF). The DRF has long been the means to getting a look at the Past Performances (PP) for all horses in a race. If you have the internet you can use your PC to access the PP's before you ever get to the track. Just go to DRF.com, pick the track and date. Reading the DRF PP's, if you are new to it may seem quite formitable. If you want to become more serious about handicapping and picking potential winners I suggest you study the form (DRF) and become familiar with the terminology in it. Those who do not use the form may resort to tip sheets. These are put together and sold by individuals who rate horses in a race. I have found that if you are at the track strictly for fun then tip sheets may be an easy way to skip the handicapping, use someone elses picks and have fun.

Placing a bet is determining what kind of a bet you will make and how you will structure it. There are many bets that can be structured. 50 years ago when I first went to Saratoga Race Track, close to where I lived at the time, there were three main bets that you could make; WIN, PLACE, and SHOW. Today there are many more bets that can be made at the track, at a simulcasting location, or over the internet. I'll list a few of them. WIN, PLACE, SHOW, QUINELLA, EXACTA, TRIFECTA, SUPERFECTA, DAILY DOUBLE, PICK 3, PICK 4, PICK 5, PICK 6. Each track across the country has some or many of these bets that can be placed depending on the race.

Doing your homework: A lot of homework can be done ahead of time to prepare for placing the bets you will make. As I mentioned before for those of you, especially starting out, you may prefer not to do any of this homework. You can buy tip sheets at the track and rely on someone else's opinions. You can decide whether you want to become a serious player or go to the track just to have some fun. It's up to you.

I hope this helps out the beginner to get started. Here are some links to past articles in my blog for further reading.

http://handicapbet.blogspot.com/2007/11/can-i-play-horses-over-internet_29.html

http://handicapbet.blogspot.com/2007/12/stay-on-top-of-your-handicapping.html

http://handicapbet.blogspot.com/2007/12/tote-picks.html

Betting Strategies

Fifty years ago when I first started betting on the horses, the win, place and show bets were about the only choices you had. If you wanted to bet you had to go to the race track to do it. At that time the computer wasn't used to determine the payouts. It was done manually at the track.

As the years passed and the computer started to be used to determine the payouts the exacta and the quinella were introduced. Then came a new stream of what became known as exotic bets. The trifecta, superfecta, rolling doubles, pick 3, pick 4, pick 5, and pick 6 all became popular.

In 1993 the internet opened up betting from a personal computer. As the race tracks one by one began to allow betting from all over the country through simulcast betting at the home track, it then became possible to bet from your computer at home. Youbet, Expressbet, TVG, Twinspires (and others) were internet websites that allowed betting at most tracks around the world.

The process of betting now becomes quite complex. You have so many choices that you must resolve where, when and how much you're going to bet. Here is where betting strategies come into play. I remember as a kid going into a candy store and there were so many choices that with the dime I had to spend I had to decide which were my favorite candies and how much to spend on each. That's the situation that one is faced with today with horse betting. You have a bankroll that determines how much you have to wager with. If you bet exotics you must calculate and know for a particular bet what the cost will be. Your choice of bets, their cost, how the bets fit into your bankroll and how many of your bets have positive payouts will determine your success or failure. There is an old track saying "you can't win them all but you can lose them all". Let's summarize with some betting strategies.

Betting Strategy #1:
Determine the track and the race you're going to bet on.

Betting Strategy #2:
Determine the kind of bet that you are going to place and figure out what it will cost.

Betting Strategy #3:
Keep track of the running balance in your bankroll. Never exceed your bankroll if losses accumulate. Don't bet money that you can't afford to lose.

Betting Strategy #4:
Use discipline in the bets you make. Know when to "fold'um" if you hit a losing streak. Be able to accept your loses and never "double down".

May luck be with you.

A Starting Point for Betting Simulcast Tracks

Several years ago I set up a web page for myself that would allow me to go to the resources that I needed to get ready for a day of racing. It became popular by word of mouth to others, especially those horseplayers at Remington Park my home track, who also started using it. That web page has had over 125,000 hits in the last several years and is reached at
http://billwinters.org/handicap2

There is a selection bar on this page that includes the following: Race Tracks/E-ponies/Equibase/Handicapping/Twinspires/Brisnet/TVG/Racing Channel/Daily Racing Form
A click on "Race Tracks" takes you toUSA Horse RacingTracks - Listed by State.
http://www.officialusa.com/stateguides/horseracingtracks/index.html

A click on E-ponies takes you to Computer-based handicapping - the best source for free picks
http://www.e-ponies.com/

Official source for thoroughbred racing information
http://www.equibase.com/

To listen to daily free audio selections/ race of the day free selection
http://www.trackmaster.com/

A Churchill Downs Corp. Wagering Site
http://www.twinspires.com/content/

Bloodstock Research Information Services
http://www.brisnet.com/

TVG Interactive Horseracing
http://www.tvg.com/

Provides Toteboards for Thoroughbreds, Harness Racing, and Greyhounds
http://www.racingchannel.com/

America's Turf Authority Since 1894
http://www.drf.com/

I have found that the favorite link used by many horseplayers is the E-ponies link with the free computer-based handicapping free picks. I have done some studies on the E-ponies picks and can offer some advice. Just picking the top choice in each race is a losing proposition over the long run. Choosing the top three choices will get you close to making some money in the long run. The best advice is to use some handicapping tools along with the E-ponies free picks. I like Brisnet's Ultimate PP's.

Enjoy and good luck.

What are some of the horse betting sites on the internet?

If you go to your local track and watch the simulcast monitors you will see advertised several horse betting web sites depending on the track you are watching. For example, if you are watching Churchill Downs the betting site you will see is TwinSpires.com. This is the betting site that is a Churchill Downs Company. Twinspires has three sister sites at the present time: Brisbet.com, WinTicket.com, and TsnBET.com. Churchill Downs Incorporated has a number of race tracks. The tracks that have 'live' racing right now are: Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, Calder, Fair Grounds, and Hoosier Park. HRTV carries all of the Churchill Downs Incorporated race tracks in case you want to watch on your TV.


Magna Entertainment Corporation is another company that owns a number of race tracks around the country. These include Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream, Laurel, Lone Star Park, Magna Racino, Pimlico, Portland Meadows, Remington Park, Santa Anita Park, The Meadows, and Thistledowns. All of these tracks you can bet on at XpressBet.com.

Another popular betting site is YouBet.com. It is US based and is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. A Google search on 'horse betting sites' will produce a number of other betting
sites also.

Can I play the horses over the internet?

I was asked the other day "is it possible to play the horses over the internet?" I'm a senior citizen approaching 70 and I have a lot of friends who have played the horses over the years at their local race track. Many of them are now familar with simulcasting at the local track but don't realize that it is now possible to bet on the horses from the comfort of your home over the internet. I's true. You can.

I spent most of my career working with computers since the mid-1950's. The capabilities today over the internet are so awesome and the technology changes so fast that vast numbers of people don't realize where we are today. For just a sampling of what's available let me start with cable and satellite television. There are two horse racing channels that together cover most of the tracks in the US and around the world. One is TVG Interactive Horse Racing (offered on Direct TV and Dish Satellite Network and Cox Cable). You can find it on the internet at TVG.com. The other is HRTV (Horse Racing Television). It is located at HRTV.com on the internet. TVG offers betting in several ways. If your lucky enough to be located in a state where TVG can operate you can bet from TVG's web site or directly from your TV. You can bet on HRTV tracks over XpressBet.com if again you are in a state where XpressBet can operate. Check HRTV.com and TVG.com to find out if you are in a state where betting is permitted.