subject: Use Sight Handicapping to Spot More Winners While Horse Racing Handicapping [print this page] Very few people who are serious about making a profit at horse racing handicapping bet on a race without first consulting the past performances or forms. It is almost impossible for most of us to pick winners without looking at past performances. Horseracing handicapping is a difficult task and is based on what happened in the past to predict the future.
We look at the past to predict the future but we make our bets in the present and that is when the races are run, in the present. It is, therefore, a big mistake to ignore what is right in front of you, what is happening in the here and now. But go to any race track or OTB parlor and you will find men and women poring over a form or past performances and totally ignoring the horses in the post parade or saddling ring.
Recently I had two experiences that reinforced my belief that you should never make a bet without looking at the horse you are betting on. Both of the races were at Tampa Bay Downs and both were maiden races. In one of the races the favorite looked great on paper. It seemed to be a horse that laid over the field. It was going off at 4 to 5. I didn't want to bet on it but certainly didn't want to bet against it. I decided that this was a race to watch but not to bet on.
The horses were parading by when I noticed the favorite was all washed out. Sweat was pouring off the horse. The lather on the horse and its agitated state made me realize that it wasn't going to win. Though it may have been able to flash some good early speed there would be no gas left in the tank at the end of the race because the sweat that was pouring out of it was the equivalent of energy. I looked through the likely contenders and chose one that not only looked good on paper but also presented well in the post parade.
I wound up in the short line cashing my ticket while a stunned crowd threw away their losing tickets. The answer was right in front of them, but many failed to see it. A little sight handicapping would have saved their losses, but many either didn't know a few simple truths about horses or just plain failed to look.
In the second instance the truth was a little less obvious. I noticed the favorite in a maiden race was what we call "hikey." This is a slang term that means that as the horse walked there was a little jump or catch in its step that indicated some soreness. Soreness doesn't always keep a horse from winning a race. I once owned a trotter named Bomb Strike who had a stifle problem. She would look lame in the post parade and more than once the stewards called her back to the paddock before a race to check her out. Usually, on the way back to the paddock, the soreness would work its way out and she would perform well.
She just needed some good warm-up time to work the stiffness and soreness out. I rested her between races and even had a massage therapist work on her to help her with the problem.
But I realized that since the maiden I was looking at was bet below even odds it was a good opportunity to bet on another likely contender. Once again, the favorite failed to satisfy the crowd and I wound up in short line cashing a ticket.
The lesson to be learned from all this is that conditions and a horse's health can change on a daily basis. The owner's of the horses probably knew their horses weren't going to win and took advantage of that inside information. Even if you didn't know how to see the problem with the horses, using a good tote board method like the one in True Handicapping would have alerted you that something was wrong.
Whether sight handicapping the horses or watching the tote board, the evidence of what was taking place in front of you could have saved you from betting on those losers. But to do that you would have had to forget the past and tune into the present. Learning a few simple ways to spot a problem with a horse, or a healthy horse that is fit and ready to win, or important keys on the tote board are all good ways to spot more winners while horseracing handicapping.
Use Sight Handicapping to Spot More Winners While Horse Racing Handicapping
