EZ Horse Betting is all about making things simple. Our belief is that you should spend less time handicapping and more time enjoying the wonderful sport of horse racing. Many people want to bet on horses but they don’t have the time to spend analyzing all of the details of each race. For these individuals we have put together a very simple speed handicapping method that will give you a chance to cash some winning tickets at your online racebook.
Handicapping Items You Need
Before you use this 5-step horse betting method you will need to assemble a few items. A pencil or pen will be needed and you might also want to have a pad of scratch paper available. The most important thing you will need is a current copy of the Daily Racing Form with past performances for the race card you wish to handicap. Brisnet past performances will also work. The main thing is to use past performances that include speed figures for each horse.
A bonus if you happen to be using Daily Racing Form past performances is that you will also have access to speed pars for each race track. Having pars will make this simple handicapping method even more effective.
Once you have all your items assembled you should find a quiet place where you can work undisturbed for an hour or so. The best thing about this simple method of picking race winners is that you can handicap an entire card in about an hour. That leaves you plenty of time to enjoy other activities as you await the next day’s races.
Step One—Identify the Speed
This EZ Horse Betting method will address the four major factors of horse racing—speed, form, class, and pace. It will prioritize speed, however. The reason for this is that races are primarily about who is faster. It all comes down to who can cover a certain amount of ground in the shortest period of time. Also, this method is designed for handicapping claiming horses only.
Take out your past performances and turn to the race you wish to handicap. If your PPs have a speed figure par, circle this with your pen. Now, go through the race and look at the last race of each horse in the event today. Note the speed figure that they earned in their last race. If the most recent speed figure earned by a horse is equal to or greater than the par figure, place a check mark beside the horse’s name.
If a horse does not show a qualifying speed figure in its most recent race, look at two races back. If there is one there, the horse gets a circle around its name. If you cannot find a qualifying speed figure in either of a horse’s most recent two races, draw an “X” through the horse’s name. This horse will no longer be consider going forward.
Step Two—Identify Horses in Shape
For the next step you will focus only on the horses with a check mark beside or a circle around their name. You will notice than in a field of ten horses you have likely eliminated half of them from contention. Just doing this will speed the process of your handicapping.
Among the horses that remain, identify those who ran 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their last race. These horses receive a check mark beside their name. That is all you need to do. Do not worry about making a mark beside the horses who do not qualify.
Step Three—Identify the Class
Your third step will be to take the horses that remain and identify those which have the right class level to compete today. This stage of the process is a little bit trickier than the others because you need to have a basic understanding of how racing classes are organized. That’s why we are going to restrict this method to the handicapping of claiming horses.
To find the class of today’s race, just look at the description of the race at the top of your past performances. It will say Claiming 10,000 or Claiming 20,000 or whatever the claiming price is. The claiming price is the price someone will have to pay in order to purchase a horse from this race. Once you know what the claiming price is today, look at the past performances of each horse to see if the horse has ever been successful at this level.
For example, let’s say today is a claiming event for a price of $10,000. You see that Horse 1 has previously won a $10,000 claiming race. That horse gets a check mark. You see that Horse 2 has finished 2nd in a $20,000 claiming race and is dropping in class today to the $10,000 level. This could be a very powerful contender so it gets two check marks. Finally, Horse 3 has never raced for more than a $5,000 claiming price. This horse does not get a check mark.
While this may seem a little bit complicated you will discover that it is actually very easy when you try it. You will learn how to make these identifications quickly with lots of practice.
Step Four—Identify the Pace
What we are going to be looking for in this case are horses who have shown early speed in their recent starts. We want to give a check mark to the horses who will be on or near the lead in the early stages. To determine which horse earns the mark, look at the last race they ran AT TODAY’S DISTANCE. If they have never raced today’s distance, pick the race which is closest.
You will notice in the past performances a designation which shows where each horse was at at various stages of the race. What we want to see is a horse that was first, second, or third at the first call of its last race at the distance. Horses that meet this criteria receive a check mark.
Step Five—Picking the Winner
Now that you have given the check marks for all the various handicapping factors, count the number of check marks each horse received and write that number next to their name. If a horse received three check marks, write 3. If the horse received no check marks and just that initial circle, write 0. Remember, some horses in step one only received a circle around their name. You should only use these horses to form the bottom of exotic tickets.
Once you have all the numbers written down, separate the three horses with the highest number from the rest of the field. It is from these three horses that you will pick a horse to bet on. If there are a lot of ties and you have a lot of horses with multiple check marks, this means the race is competitive and you might want to choose another event to bet on.
Look at the trainer stats for the top three horses in the event. You will make your Win bet on the horse with the best trainer. The best trainer for our purposes will be the trainer with the best win percentage. The second best percentage is your second place horse, and the third best is your final selection.
As you can see, there are many possibilities now that you have identified you top three choices in the event. You can make straight bets or you can make exotic wagers like exactas and trifectas. Your betting choices are limited only by your bankroll and your imagination.
Would you like to try this simple handicapping method for real money? You can open an account with an online racebook today and it only takes a few clicks. Check our Bovada racebook review, Twinspires review or even our Betamerica review. All great choice if you are in the US. 5Dimes review for folks anywhere! You will be able to watch and wager on live horse racing all over the world. Who knows? You could use this method to make a lot of money!
Read more:
