subject: What is a Horse Racing Handicapping Service? [print this page] What is a Horse Racing Handicapping Service?
Trying to make a profit betting on horses is a very difficult endeavor. We needn't go into all the problems and pitfalls that face a handicapper, just try to play the horses and come out ahead for any length of time and you will know what I mean. It is obvious that someone is making money wagering on horse races, but how they do it often remains a mystery to most players. You can read all the books you want by the top handicapping gurus and still not make a profit from your bets.
They say that information is power and we live in the information age. Comparing the amount of information available to handicappers today to what was available years ago, it seems that those who would make money betting on horses would have a much better chance, but yet favorites still win at about the same rate and would-be professional handicappers still struggle to make a little profit.
You can go it alone, if you like, or form a group of handicappers and try to help each other along. It is said that two heads are better than one, but it is also said that most good ideas die in a committee and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. The best handicapper in the group will wind up carrying the others and soon wonder why he or she needs to share information with others when they benefit much more than he or she does.
Getting back to the idea of the wealth of information available today, you can buy a lot of information, but how much of it is good? One type of information that takes a lot of the decision making load off your shoulders is a handicapping service. A handicapping service provides you with the advice of an expert handicapper or computer programs, some services provide both. Some services just provide what they call their best bets. You get the names of a few horses each day which you may then bet any way you like.
Other more advanced services break a race down and tell you which horses are the most likely winners. Some will even explain why. Finally, there are the full handicapping services that use computers to break the races down and also have expert handicappers to choose the best and most likely horses to bet on. The best ones archive their picks and results so you can look them over. If you are trying to handicap the races and make a profit, but have been struggling to do so, then a handicapping service may help.
The best way to use a service is to keep handicapping the races yourself and then compare your own picks to the services picks. In this way you will start to see how it is done and why. You will soon be picking your own key horses and understanding which horses are fit and ready to win.
