How to Read the Racing Form

Reading "The Daily Racing Form" to garner information on specific horses and feeling a bit clueless? That's not surprising - there's a ton of information crammed in there. Here's how to interpret it.

Things You'll Need

  • Calculators
  • Daily Racing Forms
  • Pencils
  • Erasers
  • Notebook Papers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find the horse's name in the upper left-hand corner of the chart, with the owner and trainer listed below it.

    • 2

      Look for the horse's weight, color, date of birth, and breeding across from the name, reading left to right.

    • 3

      Notice the sex on the upper line, listed before breeding.

    • 4

      Analyze the horse's performance over the last two years using the figures in the upper right-hand corner.

    • 5

      Note that the dates of previous races and their outcomes are listed in the first column on the left.

    • 6

      Note the location of the race, distance and times of the race, which are shown, respectively, in the next three columns reading left to right.

    • 7

      Note the track conditions in the next column (see Glossary for definitions).

    • 8

      Read the odds for winning each race listed in the next column.

    • 9

      Consider the horse's weight during each race in the next column.

    • 10

      Read the next four columns. They tell you where the horse was at the one-quarter mark, the half mile, the stretch and the finish.

    • 11

      Read the next column, which indicates who the jockeys were and what their post positions were.

    • 12

      Learn the classes of the races the horse has run in the next column.

    • 13

      Find out the speed at which the horse ran in the various races by checking the next column.

    • 14

      Review the following column, which is called "the company line." It tells you which horse won, which placed and which showed in your horse's previous races.

    • 15

      Find out how many horses were in each race in the final column.