How to Explain a Thoroughbred Handicap Sheet

Handicapping thoroughbred races can be as simple as selecting a name you like or picking your favorite number. For people who bet the races as a hobby, or even professionally, it is much more of a science. Any handicapping system depends on how well you understand the past performances of horses. Past performances are listed in the Daily Racing Form or track programs.

Things You'll Need

  • Official track program or Daily Racing Form
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Instructions

    • 1

      Read what type of race it is on the top of the past performance page. It will list the distance of the race, whether it is a maiden race (horses which have never won), a claiming race, an allowance race or stakes race, and the race surface.

    • 2

      Review the horse's lifetime record, which is located to the far right of the page. This will show its number of starts, wins, second-place finishes, third-place finishes and purse money won. It is an indicator of how competitive a horse has been in its career. Compare the records of each horse in the race.

    • 3

      Evaluate recent past performances. Each line is read from the left, and the way the information is presented does not change from race to race. The information includes the race date, race number, track and distance.

    • 4

      Study the running line. Each Daily Racing Form race chart includes a Beyer Speed Figure, post position, where the horse was at the first part of the race (first call), second call, third call, top of the stretch and the finishing position. It will look like this: 94 5 6 5 3 2 1. This means the horse earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, which is an overall ranking of the horse's performance. The horse broke from post five, was sixth, fifth, third and second during the race and finished first.

    • 5

      Make a decision on each horse in the race based on Beyer Speed Figures. The higher the number, the faster a horse has run. If one horse earned a 94 Beyer last race and another horse earned a 72, the one with the 94 is in better form.

    • 6

      Look for consistent horses. A runner that has run second, third and second in its last three races is in good form and can be expected to run well again. Conversely, if a horse has been finishing near the back in its most recent races, it is said to be off form.