Do Professional Horse Players Win By Following Horses or Handicapping Races?

Here is a question that has intrigued many would-be horse racing handicappers, "Should I just follow horses or should I actually handicap races looking for profitable situations?"

What an excellent question. Of course, there is another way to profit from horse racing handicapping, too. You can also set your own morning line for value, in other words, evaluate each horse in a race and estimate the break even odds on such a runner. Then you sit back and watch the money before the race looking for that horse that is under valued by the crowd.

Some of the most successful people in any facet of horse racing are those who know pedigrees inside and out. They can trace a runner's lines back five or more generations and tell you the strengths and weaknesses of the major sires and dams in the horse's family tree. These same people would usually lean toward following individual horses. They may even become owners or consultants for buyers of thoroughbreds.

Though breeding is crucial for success in horse racing, it often isn't enough. Many well bred expensive yearlings have failed to win a race. While many fortunes have been made in the breeding shed, they've also often been lost in the sales ring. Horse trading and horse buying has always been considered a risky business.

So those students of breeding who follow a horse and wager on it often also handicap the races that the promising youngster is entered into. They know that it's not enough to know the stride length and blood lines of a horse but also to be realistic and look at the competition in today's race.

On the other side of the coin are the number crunchers or spot play hunters. They evaluate the runners in a contest based on past performances, track models, and the percentages and strengths of the connections. Some trainers are known for winning with young horses or dominating on the turf. That is taken into account when trying to figure out how each runner will do in a race.

The best handicappers use pedigree and handicapping when they evaluate each runner's chances in order to establish a probability. They may lean more heavily on pedigree in the case of maidens or horses changing distance or surface for the first time, or they may really more on current form and racing record in the case of older horses.

The ability to decide which of these categories or factors is most important is what separates the pros from those handicappers who are still trying to show a profit from betting on horse races.

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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