There are many ways to choose a horse to bet on. Some ways to make your selection are purely intuitive, whilst others are more scientific. Even when you have all the information to help you decide, betting on a horse is unpredictable. Even the best of horses can have bad days.
Learning how to choose a winning horse is a skill many bettors hone over a lifetime. There are pros and cons when it comes to all the different ways to choose the best horse. You need to blend strategy with research and a dash of luck, as anything can happen in a race.
The odds
The odds are the likelihood of a particular outcome for a race and indicate how much you could win on a successful bet. Lower odds show a higher chance of winning but a smaller payout. Higher odds show a lower chance of winning but a larger payout. The odds fluctuate according to how much money the market bets on them. You need to look at the odds when the market opens and when the race gets closer.
If you see a big drop in the odds, it can be a good sign that you should bet on that specific horse. When the odds go up, especially for favorites, you may need to take other factors into account. In Pennsylvania sports betting is very popular, and the Pennsylvania Derby and Cotillion Stakes are held at Parx Casino and Racing in the third week of September. There are various options to bet on horse racing, and betting for a win or a place is the most common option.
Weight
Each horse in a race carries a specific weight, and a merit rating determines this. Performances after three races determine the horse’s initial merit rating. After this, it changes with each performance. This ensures that one horse doesn’t have an unfair advantage over another.
Handicap races mean that the horses in the field are handicapped by different weights. The best horse in a previous performance may be carrying a heavier weight than the worst horse. But handicapping horses isn’t an exact science. It may pay to select a runner who has to carry less weight around, especially over long distances.
Past performance
If a horse has done well in the past few races, it is likely to continue to do so in the next few. You can check how previous contenders have performed against each other. It can be good to keep in mind that a horse that comes third behind a superstar has put in a good performance. Races may feature horses of different ages, and sometimes, certain high-profile races have age trends.
Form
Watching the horses in the Parade Ring can help you make your pick. A horse with a proud stance that looks as though it has a love for adventures could be ready to take on all comers.
A horse that’s looking sweaty or edgy before a race could be expending too much energy and may not perform as well in a race. A horse with a shiny coat and bright eyes is likely to be in good race-ready form. Check out the muscles to see if they’re well-toned and if the rump and hind legs are well-developed.
Experience and age
Experience and age are both important factors when picking a horse. A younger horse may still be on an upward trajectory, while an older one may be on the way down.
The course and the distance
Just as there are many types of horses, there are also various courses and races of different status and distances. It’s a good sign if a horse has previously won on the same course and over the same distance. There can be many differences between courses, with some more undulating than others.
When looking at the form of a horse, it is important to look at the type of race it is running in. Grade 1, 2, and 3 races are at the top of the sport. When a horse races in a Grade 1 race, it is rather like playing in a World Cup event.