Ideas for Handicapping Horses

Placing a bet at a horse race is a gamble, with a number of factors determining who crosses the finish line first. Any bettor who follows horse racing seriously knows that handicapping often increases the odds of placing a winning bet. To handicap successfully, gather all the available information to make educated decisions before heading to the betting window.

  1. Morning Workout

    • Horses that are scheduled to race that day are brought to the track for a morning workout. Several statistics about horses are available in racing forms. After narrowing down contenders to two or more horses with similar past performance statistics, look closely at how well they performed during the morning workout. At some racetracks, spectators are invited to watch morning workouts. A horse that runs well during the morning workout sometimes continues his stride at the racing event.

    Track Conditions

    • The racetrack surface is either dirt, which is the main track, or the grassy turf surface. The breeding of a racehorse plays into whether the horse runs better on dirt or turf. If a horse is running for the first time on the opposing surface, look at her stats for past performance. If she did not have a good showing on one, she may do better on the other. Weather is also a contributing factor on how well the horse runs on a particular surface. If the track is wet or muddy, determine which horses have done well in past races under similar conditions.

    Medication Change

    • A horse is sometimes given a medication in an attempt to improve his running time. Only two drugs are approved for this purpose, Lasix and bute. Lasix is the more widely used of the two, as bute is only legal at a limited number of tracks. It is extremely common for a horse to improve her run when she is taking Lasix for the first time. Racing forms typically denote if a horse is running for the first time on Lasix.

    Jockey Change

    • Jockeys are certainly an important factor when handicapping a horse race. A bettor sometimes place his bet on a particular jockey, while another puts more emphasis on the jockey-horse pairing. Jockeys who are performing at the top are given the better mounts. When a change occurs, check the prior statistics to see if the jockey has ridden this horse before and how well he did. Additionally, check to see who the pulled jockey is now riding, as that could be the better bet to place.

    Equipment Change

    • Another change to look for when handicapping is if a horse is running with blinkers, eye patches that block his peripheral vision. Blinkers diminish the distraction of horses running beside him, hopefully resulting in better focus on the finish line.