Thoroughbred horses are remarkable animals. They can sustain their speed over distances of one mile or more while carrying 120 pounds, and they sometimes run as fast as 40 MPH. It should come as no surprise that power is an important consideration in handicapping. EZ Horse Betting offers you a power factor horse betting system that you can use at your favorite online racebook to pick winners that the betting public might overlook.
Assessing Race Horse Power
Determining how much power a horse has can be a tricky job for the handicapper.ย Thankfully, the information you need to make an informed decision is as close as a copy of the Daily Racing Form. Past performances can be used to gauge a horse’s power. If you don’t like to use the past performances in the the DRF, you can always obtain them from Equibase. Once you have a the PPs for today’s race, you’ll want to grab a pencil and some paper to jot down some notes.
For the purposes of the Power Factor System, we will look at the early and late stages of a race. These stages are considered to be critical. Horses expend a lot of energy in both of these stages. In the early going the horse is running hard to establish position. In the late stages, the horse is running hard to try and pass tired rivals or maintain a lead. These are the stages when we can best make judgments about a horse’s power.
In the early stages the handicapper wants to see a horse that has been on the lead or within two lengths of the leader at the first quarter mile mark. This will be the listed on the running line in the past performances. Horses that have established such a position in the early stages of a race are displaying power. They are able to harness that power and turn it into early speed.
Many people like to watch a horse that comes from far behind the pack to win a race. While this is exciting to watch, the fact is that most late runners do not win their fair share of races. It is simply asking a horse to do too much when they are taken to the very rear of the pack in the beginning. There have been rare examples. Zenyatta was one. But that doesn’t change the fact that these horse are the exception and not the rule. And, as you will see, Zenyatta fits out winning profile of a power horse. So, in her case, it didn’t matter.
Horses that succeed at racing are horses that can establish a good early position. You want to identify any horses in today’s race that were on the lead or within two lengths of the lead in the early stages of their last race. When you have found them, circle their numbers in the past performances.
Now, you must turn your attention to the latter stages of a race. You will be looking for horses that passed tired rivals in the stretch run. Again, the running line will give you this information. You will be able to see where a horse was before it entered the stretch, and you will be able to see where it finished. So, if a horse was in sixth place entering the stretch and finished second, this horse was able to pass four horses in the late stages of the race. That is an indicator of power. Once you have found horses that satisfy this requirement, circle their number.
What you have now done is determined which horses have the most power for today’s race. You will focus only on the horses that have their number circled in your past performance. All other horses will be eliminated from consideration today.
Using Replays to Assess Horse Power
If you happen to be one of the smart handicappers that has signed up with one of our recommended online racebooks, you will have an easier time assessing horse power. Most racebooks will provide you with free race replays. You can find the date of a horse’s last race, search the replay library for races ran on that day, and locate the film. You can then play it back and watch the race at your leisure on your mobile phone or tablet.
The reason replays can be beneficial is that you can see things the running line won’t tell you. Suppose that one of the horses you eliminated from contention was actually in contention during the early stages but was cut off by another horse? Perhaps a horse stumbled leaving the gate and never gained position. A horse may have been poorly ridden by a jockey and was unable to break free from the pack at the end of a race to pass its foes.
Use the replay and the information provided by the past performances to get a clearer picture of the horse’s true power. After watching the replays you may need to go back and circle some more numbers. It is vitally important, however, that you do not make an excuse for a horse that does not deserve one.
Putting It All Together
If a race has a field of ten horses, you should have no more than ten numbers circled on your past performances. If you have more than ten numbers circled, this means that the race is very competitive. It may be in your best interest to pass the race and wait for a better wagering opportunity. There is nothing that says you must bet on every single race that is held on a given day at the race track.
You have narrowed down the field of horses, but how do you go about picking the winner of the race? Granted, your job is much easier now, but you still have four horses to choose from. The answer is to now go about your regular process of handicapping to choose a horse from the four. You will then bet on the horse you have chosen.
The reason for approaching the Power Factor system this way is that it simplifies the handicapping process. It also saves a lot of time. Despite these shortcuts, the system can still be very effective in producing winners. That is what EZ Horse Betting is all about. It will take you less time to handicap a race with four legitimate contenders than it will to handicap a race with ten. And, if you are playing a lot of races, you simply do not have time to handicap every race on multiple cards.
We recommend that you only bet your selection to Win at odds of 3-1 or better. This means that your horse should be 3-1 on the tote board close to post time. If you cannot get these odds on the horse, pass the race. There will be a better opportunity somewhere down the road.
Are you ready to try the Power Factor Horse Race Betting System? Then why not create an account with one of our recommended horse betting sites. You will be given free past performances to aid your handicapping, and most racebooks will also provide you with a horse betting bonus when you make your first deposit. 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!
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