The training methods of thoroughbred race horses have been studied by many handicappers so that they can understand what the trainer is trying to accomplish with a horse and also so they can determine if he or she will be successful. Watching the methods of the great conditioners, one quickly learns that getting a cheap claimer to the winners circle often involves different strategies than winning big races.
The first handicapping tip you should learn is that you will probably never make a profit betting on horses unless you understand the basics of conditioning a horse and how the greats do it. When you sit down to evaluate the runners in a race, what you are really doing, other than comparing each of them to the rest of the field, is trying to determine how that horse will run in today's race.
The only way you can gauge the runner's ability is to look at what the trainer has done and try to figure out if the runner will improve, stay the same, or regress. Nothing in the business of betting on horses is static, especially the actual condition of the runners. The trainer is the person who has the most direct effect on the horse. Looking at equipment changes, workout times and frequency, and which races the runner is placed in will help you to figure out what the conditioner has planned for the horse.
You will notice that stakes horses and runners in big races are usually more formful and keep their conditioning longer. The bottom of the barrel claimers usually have some physical problems that limit them and also make them unpredictable. Therefore, at some point between the cheapest claimer and the highest priced performer, you'll notice a difference in the frequency of workouts and the speeds.
Super trainers such as Bob Baffert will often push a great runner such as Coil through a half mile workout like the work that Coil posted before the Travers. Coil went the half in company in 46.12 seconds. While a top performer like Coil can work like that and come back within a week and race a big race against Grade 1 horses, cheap claimers would need more time off and would probably also come back lame from such an effort.
While horses in Starter Allowances and Handicaps may not be of the same caliber as Coil and other Grade 1 performers, it is good to note that when one works fast and is brought right back it is often a very good indication of a sound horse. The cutoff point is usually somewhere around the top claiming prices where horses slip from high priced claiming races into Starter Allowance ranks and back to the big claimers.
Don't look for fast workouts in the cheap claiming ranks and if you do see one, be cautious because it may have taken more out of the horse and it will run a poor race. Therefore, fast works may be excellent indicators of conditioning for the top horses, but often have the opposite effect on cheap horses.
If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://horse-racing-handicapping.co/ and get the truth about betting on horses and winning. Bill Peterson is a former race horse owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill's horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill's handicapping store.
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