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13 Feb 2018

Great Tips on How to Pick Winners


Horseracing is revered around the world and one of the reasons why it’s so adorned is that it is very unpredictable. Stats show that the favourites win only 30% of the time and that the best horses do not necessarily come out as winners. Such unpredictability makes horseracing fun and entertaining, but it also makes it complicated, especially when it comes to betting. Despite this, thousands of punters around the world keep placing bets on horseracing and surprisingly many actually do win. What is the trick then? Well there isn’t any single one to pin point, although there's a combination of factors and to consider which are often preached as trusted tips from the experts. To help you become a winner, here are some of the tips that will come in handy when picking the right horses for each race.

Distance

One of the first things you need to look at before you start picking your horses, is a race card. One of the key things on a race card is that it highlights the distance of a race. This is a crucial element in determining which horse to pick and which one not to pick. Often, the distance on a race card is written in a specific format, for example “5f 213y”. What this means is that it is a 5 furlong and 213-yard race. The bigger the ‘furlong’ and ‘yard’ figures, the longer the race. What's interesting to note is that some horses have preferences when it comes to distances; some love short distances while others favour longer distances. Know the distance preference of your horse and you will surely increase your probability of winning.

Track/Course

On a race card, one of the first things you will notice is the track or place where the race will be. This is usually written in bold at the top of the first page of a race card. Before you go peruse other stats, keep this in mind and make it one of the most important factors when picking your horse. There are generally three types of tracks i.e. dirt, turf and synthetic. Just like distance, horses have a preference when it comes to a specific track, some favour dirt or turf, and others simply do better on synthetic. Know the track preference of your horse before placing your bet if you want value for money.

Post Position

The post position refers to the horse’ stall before a race. It may be nearer to the field of play or on the outside nearer to the rest of the ground or stands. The post position is a key element in horseracing depending on the distance of the race. For shorter races with only one turn, statistics show that the horses on the outside posts often win, while for longer races with two or more turns, horses starting from the inside post positions also come out as a winner.

Time Between Races

For various reasons, horses may be out of action for shorter periods like a week or for longer periods such as 180 days or more. For a punter though, there's no value in picking a horse whose last five starts were all wins, but the last race was 180+ days ago. Experts recommend that horses that come back from long layoffs, get a race or two to get to peak fitness. This provides you with a good indicator before you start placing bets on them. Anything less than 60 days is considered as the right time between races.

Combined Starts


Another crucial factor is to look at is the combined starts a horse had in the past two years. It’s advisable to pick horses with a combined total of fewer than 14 starts in the previous two years. Very few can manage to handle many starts and therefore, lightly raced horses nearing their peak are the best bet.