Horse Racing Handicap – 3 ways to pick a winner
Betting in horse racing revolves around choosing the horse with the best chances of winning and handicap racing is the best way to do it. This is a view that experts have supported over the years.
A lot of theories regarding handicap horse racing have been developed lately and these theories or angles as they are called, are proving to be very useful for those who are serious about their bets.
1. Speed Obstacles
The most common handicap angle in horse races, this theory requires the rider to look up numbers that indicate the speed at which each horse has run in previous races. These numbers are available on the Daily Racing Forms, but the Internet, with its plethora of analytical articles and discussions, provides the best information. The horse with the best timing usually wins the race. This angle has its drawbacks. The fact that the information is readily available makes it somewhat ineffective. Easy access to speed numbers allows everyone and anyone to use them to pick a winner, thus minimizing individual winnings. But despite this, this is an effective angle and is used by most of those interested.
2. Handicapping the coach
This is another common and effective angle in handicap horse racing. It is generally accepted that a trainer has the ability to extract the best performance from a racehorse. Researchers have realized that horses trained by specific trainers come out winners more frequently than other horses. There are some trainers who have a knack for turning a horse that is a poor bet into a winner by improving its performance. Knowing how a horse, at the beginning of his career, is moved to a winning position by the trainer, or how a trainer makes a winner out of a horse he has recently come into, will be useful to the rider. Information about the performance of coaches is also readily available and this limits the financial gain from this angle.
3. Speed handicap
A speed handicap is a system in which the rider selects a winner based on the horse’s speeds in the individual stretches of the race. This theory defends the idea that a horse that gallops early runs fast and gains a lead at the start of the race is more likely to become the winner. If a horse had raced at very high speeds despite losing the race, he had better chances of winning the current race. This is what this angle suggests. This theory also has its drawbacks. The calculation of a particular horse’s performance in relation to its stride may not have taken into account other aspects such as track and weather conditions. Each horse has its own individual abilities and handicaps which makes it difficult to compare horses based solely on their speeds.
These and other handicap horse racing angles, such as Class Handicapping and Physicality Handicapping, are arguably the best ways to select a winner in a horse race.