Horse Racing Bets That Win Often

There are a lot of ways to bet on horse races. The goal, of course, is to make more money than you spend. In spite of that, many people handicap horse races trying to figure out which horse is most likely to win and then bet the selection they arrive at. Just because one runner is more likely to win the race, however, it doesn't mean it is the best bet or the best way to make a profit wagering on horse races.

So before we begin talking about bets that do often come in, let's be sure that we understand that these are not necessarily profitable bets, but they do help you to cash often. The trick, if you want to use this information to improve your handicapping and profit, is to figure out when one of these horses is a good bet based on probability and payoff.

That is the whole question or equation in gambling or investing that determines whether an investment is a good one or a bad one. Is the probability that the horse will succeed greater than the odds against? If a horse has an even chance (50-50) of winning but will pay more than $4 for a $2 bet, then it has a positive expectation. It's the old risk versus reward thing.

The most obvious bet of all at the horse races is the favorite to win. Win, place, and show are called straight bets. On average the favorite wins about one third of the time. If you take the time to break it down by race type, the age of the runners, etc., then you'll find that some races at some race tracks have a much higher expectancy for the favorites to win.

I like to clarify this so that bettors get the best possible chance to cash a ticket. I've been asked, Bill, if you could recommend only one bet on one type of race and had to produce a winner, what would it be?"

My answer is that I would bet the horse with the highest average speed rating in a maiden claiming race with no first time starters and no horses dropping in from MSW races. Maidens? Yes, maidens and claimers to boot. If you don't believe it, start paying attention and only play races such as the ones I've described above. You'll find yourself backing a lot of low priced favorites, but you will have a lot of winners.

It's the beginning of a horse racing system. Your job as a handicapper is to add a few rules and filters to weed out the horses that have a reason to lose and offer the worse value.

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/true.html 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.