Horse Racing Handicapping - West Coast Speed and Handicapping

When handicapping horse races, a lot of credit is given to cheap speed when some people discuss West Coast racing, but is the "cheap" label deserved? In the past, before the introduction of all weather tracks, it was true that a lot of races were won at Hollywood and Santa Anita race tracks by horses running on the front end. But just because some California horses failed to win when shipped East, it doesn't mean that speed wasn't classy.

What really happens to horses shipping to the East Coast is that they need time to acclimate to the weather and track conditions as well as the running styles of the horses and jockeys who compete at the major venues in New York and New Jersey. When people fly 3,000 miles it takes them a while to acclimate to the difference in time and the same is true for animals.

Their internal clocks need to be reset and they also have to adjust to deeper tracks that require a different running style. Admittedly, some East Coast tracks do favor front runners at certain distances and on particular surfaces, but they are still running on deeper tracks.

Now that all weather poly tracks have been introduced the problem for horse racing handicappers is which running style will work best on the new man made surfaces. You can buy a list of sires that seem to pass on a gene that enables their progeny to run well on the synthetic surfaces and that will help you to pick some winners. You must also realize that shipping across the continent to compete against the best horses on the East Coast is a lot to ask of any athlete.

It is interesting to note that major league football teams that ship from the West to the East also experience problems. There is definitely a time component that works against them biologically. Football teams, because of their tight schedules, do not have the luxury of shipping in weeks earlier and gradually getting accustomed to the change in time zones.

Smart trainers, on the other hand, ship their horses East weeks ahead of a big race in order to work them over the track and to let them gradually get accustomed to the difference in time. Now obviously, horses can't tell time, but their bodily rhythms, like the rhythms of all living creatures, are determined by the sun and other natural forces. An abrupt change of venue means their internal clocks have to be reset and that takes time.

Therefore, when it comes to handicapping horse races with West Coast shippers, always check to see how long ago a horse shipped in. If you can't find out, be cautious when picking winners and err on the side of caution. You must get a good price on a West Coast horse in order to back it. It isn't because they are of inferior quality, but rather because they have had to deal with a big recent change that will affect most of them physically.

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.

View the original article here

Speed Rating Patterns in Horse Racing Handicapping

One of the most obvious indicators of a horse's true form is the speed rating it earns in a race, or so it seems at first glance. On closer examination, however, it becomes obvious that those figures must be taken in context and compared to other factors. The form cycle, though often overlooked, is still a good predictor of how a horse will run and when it will win. Modern training methods often overlook the natural physical cycles that horses undergo.

Some trainers try to win the first race a horse runs after an extended layoff. Their reasoning is that the animal is fresh and therefore will have more stamina than the other runners in the race who may be suffering from the stress of multiple efforts. This "win first race back," method works for some trainers, but perhaps in the long run, since the runner suffers so much stress without enough training for stamina and bottom, as it is called, has a bad effect in the long run and that is why so many thoroughbred horses have very short careers.

Years ago it was easier to chart a runner's form cycle by looking at three things. First of all, there was the speed rating itself. Secondly, you checked the pace of the race and how much effort the runner exerted. For instance, if a horse who wasn't known as a front runner was pushed to run on the front end in a race and wound up fading at the end and registering a poor speed figure, wise handicappers often knew that the trainer was building the horse up and would let it run its own style of race in one of its next two races. Finally, you checked the to see how soon it ran again.

The hard race on the front end would build a little tactical speed in and when allowed to run its own race next time out or second time out, the horse would score a much higher speed figure. Based on the pace of the and how quickly the conditioner brought his or her back, you'd have a good idea of whether he or she meant to win or to give the horse another race for conditioning.

One common patterns, that you will sometimes still find today, is for a horse to have a race or two to get back into shape, then a fast race where it is used hard for extra conditioning. The next race may be within ten days or so and will often just be a breezer to keep the horse sharp and stretch those muscles a bit more for tone. Finally, after that race, the horse will be sent for the win. In some cases you will even find the horse moved up in class for this race and a fine price can be had at the mutuel windows.

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.

View the original article here

Horse Racing Handicapping and Fear and Loathing, Going Gonzo for Speed

When he wrote his 1970 article, "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved," Hunter S. Thompson was writing about the lewd, drunken, drug laced parties in the infield and the culture that seemed to surround horse racing. He spent his time with the partiers in the infield and those who partied for several days before the big event and finally he and Ralph Steadman, who provided sketches for the piece, realized that, we have enemy and it is us. In other words, partying and drinking and using drugs suited the famous writer and originator of Gonzo journalism right down to the soles of his feet.

That may have skewed his vision of horse racing a little because horse racing fans are a mixed bag ranging from the two dollar bettor who is a tee totaler all the way up to the swells in the clubhouse and covering all layers of the social strata. You can't characterize horse players or race goers as drinkers or non drinkers and you can't put a label on them other than to say if you looked through the entire race going, horse betting public, you could probably find just about any kind of person you could imagine and probably a few species that haven't been classified yet.

Unfortunately, as time goes by, we are finding more and more that drugs are playing a bigger and more significant role in the training and conditioning of horses. If Mr. Thompson was following and writing about horse racing today, I'm certain he'd have plenty to say about the drugs being used to enhance the horse's performance and to cheat bettors. That's what it is, by the way. When you do something against the rules or the law in horse racing it is a crime and should be treated as such. Real money is involved and also the public's trust.

It all stems from the Gonzo quest for speed. Like pages numbered and pulled from a notebook, trainers, snatch at this and that trying desperately to win. The idea that horses just need good food, water, exercise and some good handling to become successful race horses has gone the way of the ten cent cigar. It is all based on financial survival and that is because things are skewed, the playing field is not level.

How can good honest horse conditioners compete against the crooks with their juiced up runners? Some trainers confess that they loathe the idea of using performance enhancing drugs, but they fear financial ruin if they don't win. The honest trainers can't fix it. The horse players can't fix it, they can only drop out and go and try to find another game. The only ones who can do anything about this are the authorities and they have to come down hard and fast and that means that when the cheaters are caught they have to be dealt with severely.

Here's an idea, how about treating fraud and theft like the crimes that they are? Instead of a slap on the wrist a lifetime ban and then a trip to criminal court to face charges? It will hurt horse racing at first but when the game is cleaned up we'll stop the hemorrhaging and stop losing horse players. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity and that may be true. Maybe a nationwide campaign to clean up horse racing and lots of headlines about how the industry it getting its act together is just what we need.

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.

View the original article here

Horse Racing Handicapping Class and Speed System

Trying to figure out the class of a horse when handicapping a race isn't always easy. Some providers of horse racing past performances do a pretty good job of rating races and also of determining a horse's quality or class based on who it ran against, the time of the race and the pace, adjusted for variants.

While these figures are very useful, there are some people who prefer to evaluate the runners and come up with their own figures. One way to do this is to take the horses last three races over a fast track and add the speed figures. Then, add the purses in those races.

Finally, to determine the horse's true class based on speed and quality of the competition, divide the speed total into the purse total. Let's look at a hypothetical example.

Speedy, the horse, has posted the following speed figures in his last three races over a fast track...

78

82

80

240

Therefore, Speedy's total speed for three races is 240.

The purse in those races was..

$6,500

$5,800

$6,200

$18,500

So the total purse value of those races was $18,500. Next we divide the $18,500 by 240 and the answer is 65.2.

Treating each of the runners in the race in the same way will give you an idea of class based on ability that is demonstrated at a certain level. However, there are a few caveats that we should think about.

First of all, what was the distance of each race? Secondly, what was the pace scenario and how did it affect the final time, speed figure of the horse in question? Third of course, is in what kind of condition and how far into its running season was the horse? If the horse was returning from a layoff, the first two or three races may have only been for conditioning and may not reflect the true form of the runner.

As you can see, whether you use the commercial figures supplied by the form writers or your own figures, class will always be a bit of an enigma. The fact that it is so difficult may account for that fact that some pundits have argued that there really is no such thing as class in horse racing. That being said, the best way to determine class, whether using speed or some other indicator, is by experience and trial and error. The more races you handicap, the better you will become at determining that illusive quality known as class.

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.

View the original article here