“You can’t learn how to handicap from a book.”

I am not sure where I found that quote, but it certainly is true.

So many people, including me, learned most, if not all, of what they know about horse racing from handicapping books. That is unfortunate because so much of what has been written in the most popular handicapping books is worthless when it comes to making money at the racetrack.

The authors of most of the handicapping books written over the past three or four decades have, in their own ways, found ways to pick winners. Yet, no matter which author you relate to, his method of handicapping will often put you on the same over bet favorites that any modern computer handicapping program will find in less than 10 seconds.

I remember reading Andy Beyer’s Picking Winners in the 1970’s. He suggested that adjusted speed figures based on par times would lead you to winning horses. Well, they did. And, they still do. However, in the 1970’s they put you on the occasional long shot, which gave you an edge over your fellow bettors. Today, that rarely happens.

You might win several races each day, but so many people were influenced by Beyer’s book that Beyer Speed figures calculated by a computer eventually became a number included in the past performance records found in The Daily Racing Form. That means the information is available to everyone and you no longer have an edge playing Beyer numbers. They are over bet. If you play the horse with the highest Beyer number in every race, you will lose money long-term.

William Quirin was another popular author. I will not go into detail here, but the use of what he called Speed Points will lead you to horses that consistently demonstrate early speed. The higher the number, the more likely the horse is to take the lead in a race. They became so popular they are used in numerous handicapping systems and software programs. But, once again, so many people use them that the horses that have the highest Quirin Speed Points are often over bet.

I could continue listing the many books that influenced my early betting practices. There were many by such authors as Steve Davidowitz, Tom Ainslie, Charles Carroll, Dick Mitchell, Tom Brohamer. But listing them all would require writing a two or three part article and that would likely bore you to death. The point I want to make is this: It took me a number of years to unlearn what I learned from reading those handicapping books, but thankfully I did.

I finally learned that the reason I can make as much money as I do from betting on horse races is the fact that the betting public as a whole has no clue about what they are doing. They have been taught to look for “the winner” in every race when they should be looking for the best bet in every race. Believe me, the two are mutually exclusive.

Making money at the racetrack means you have to find winners the general public has ignored for the most part. That means you cannot bet the favorite or other heavily bet horses. They do not offer value for your money. You must find horses that have a chance to win at odds that are in your favor.

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Gerald W. Cohail started handicapping horse races as a young teenager in the early 1960s. After roughly 50 years, he has learned two certainties about making money from wagering on horse races. 1.) Never bet on a favorite no matter how good that favorite looks on paper. 2.) You cannot expect to make a profit from wagering on horse races if you bet on every race.

To sign up for Gerald’s Free horse racing handicapping course and claim your Free copy of the 1962 classic “Bet The Horses And Win” visit his blog at ProRacingPicks.com.

The thrill and fun of horse racing is often fully captured in horse racing memorabilia. Most of the time, spectators would always grab a memorable piece from a racing event that would remind them of the remarkable moments of the race. It is also known that memorabilia fetches a hefty sum depending on the age and quality of the item. Hence, any avid fan or collector of valuable items would always love to have a memorabilia that would remind him of a momentous horse racing event.

Every racing event is coupled with memorable moments. A horse that was falling behind in the beginning might have come out the winner. An injured jockey might lead his horse to triumph in spite of the unlikelihood of the situation. Perhaps, a particular racing event was the last race that a popular horse joined before finally retiring from such a tough sport. All these things are captured in the memorabilia being offered at the race.

Each racing memorabilia clearly defines a racing milestone in a unique way. One particular memorabilia that is still considered as very valuable are Derby glasses. Some pieces even reach thousands of dollars. Each Derby glass that has the picture of a famous jockey, a horse, or the track itself brings to mind an experience that one can only get by being a witness of every gallop that the horses make as they raced to the finish line.

Aside from Derby glasses, one thing that could have a spectator reminisce each part of a racing event are racing programs. These are also considered as valuable racing memorabilia and are naturally handled by fans with extreme care. In fact, a program could very well outline the sequence by which a racing event ensued and ended. It helps a spectator recall triumphant moments and relive the heart warming emotion as jockeys who lost lead their horses away from the track.

Nowadays, bobble head dolls have become a popular racing memorabilia. They clearly represent well-known jockeys, trainers and horses. Each doll surely brings to mind glorious horse racing events of which the character depicted had been a part of.

Horse racing memorabilia will continue to be reminders and treasures of fans and spectators of the sport that has delighted the royalty for centuries.

John Connors
Horse racing memorabilia collector

http://www.horseracingmemorabilia.net

Years ago when I started following the ponies, even before I could bet them, I heard a saying that has stuck with me all these years. An old horse player once told me, “There’s always fresh.” He said it as he walked out of the track with that dazed look of a man who’d just had a bad day and had left a piece of his bankroll behind.

Even in the depths of despair he was looking forward to the next day when he would start the horse racing handicapping process all over again and maybe have a winner or two. That is the kind of passion that it takes to beat this game. If you want some kindly advice about betting on horse races, here’s a tip.

If you aren’t willing to really work hard and suffer some big ups and downs and maybe a lot of disappointment along the way, then you’re probably not professional handicapper material. But don’t despair, because that doesn’t mean that you can’t play the horses for recreation. It just means the chances of you making a living betting on horse races is pretty slim.

The difference between a pro and a recreational player is that the pro is dead serious and wants to make a profit. A recreational player, on the other hand, just wants to have fun, cash some tickets, and maybe come out ahead once in a while. Either one of those two choices is fine, if you’re smart enough to figure out which category you fit into. Either one may use a system or about the same handicapping tools, too. The big difference is that the serious player will work harder and manage his or her money better. It is a business.

For the person just looking for some thrills, a diversion, and maybe an occasional score, there is less pressure to win, but he or she will also have to pay for the thrills and fun. The serious player pays for the satisfaction of winning as well as the monetary gain with his or her work, while the recreational player pays with money he or she earned from some other source.

As a serious player you will have to keep yourself motivated. That is where the wisdom of the old horse player comes into play. If you are serious about making money wagering on races, you better be ready to leave the track a loser once in a while, but you will have to be able to pull yourself together to go into battle the next day. That is when you will need to remember that there is always fresh and tomorrow and tomorrow’s races offer a new challenge and new possibilities.

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill’s handicapping store.

I’ve tried a lot of horse racing systems over the years. I do believe it is better to use some kind of system rather than just using the Gestalt method that some people prefer. Like they say, “Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.” I consider a system to pick winners a plan.

As horse racing systems go, there seem to be two basic types, those that factor in all the key elements of a race and then give each horse a score or some kind of number that shows the horse’s ability which the player then automatically bets, and those that rate a horse, but leave the final judgment up to the handicapper.

Now this is just my opinion, and I hope I don’t ruffle too many feathers, but it seems to me that the people who want an automatic system to pick the winner without any head scratching and thinking on their part, are being lazy and living in a dream world. As far as I know, there has never ever really been a horse racing system that automatically picks enough winners to make a profit. If anyone has one, my hats off to you, but so far, I haven’t seen it.

What I look for in any method of handicapping a race is something that will quantify the major factors so that I can then make an educated decision, or a system that points out information that the average person will never find. One of my methods is to follow workouts and then to bet a horse when I see the inside money is on the horse, and a certain trainer move. It isn’t an automatic bet, but it does pick winners at good prices because I see the inside money and that’s hard to spot.

In 50 years of watching races and many years of betting on them, I’ve never found any easy money by playing the ponies. Grinding out a profit as a horse player is not easy and you have to work for every nickel you get. On the other hand, the satisfaction of honing your ability and having a system that does help you to pick enough winners to make a profit, is a thrill that few others can beat.

If you are trying systems and looking for a way to make money betting on horses, be realistic and plan on having to work and develop the skill. In the long run, you will be glad you did, because once you become a good handicapper that skill is yours for a life time and you’ve earned it by paying your dues. It may never be easy, but it is satisfying and for those of us who love it, it gets us out of bed in the morning.

If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill’s handicapping store.

In every sport that elicits spectators to bet on winners, handicapping is a must. The same goes in horse racing, it is very important for those who would be betting on a specific horse, to know some basics in horse race handicapping. Without any idea on how to handicap a horse would mean that bets would be made out of gut feel or hunches, without using any proven method.

Horse race handicapping is considered as an art by most enthusiasts of the sport. It involves several ways on how to predict which horse would come out as the winner. At times, horse race handicapping yields positive results, but there are certain times when the predicted horse does not come out as the winner. The result of any type of gambling is certainly uncertain, but when one knows how to handicap, the possibility of betting on a winning horse is fairly increased.

When one tries to handicap a horse racing event, one usually follows certain steps. Unless that you are an old timer or an expert on handicapping, you must go through the needed steps in order to have a higher percentage of picking out the right horse and to be a master of handicapping in the future.

Horse racing spectators would normally study the Daily Racing Form. This is a publication that presents statistical data of a horse that was entered in a race. The data includes information on a horse’s past performance, entire records since it started racing, the money earned by the horse, and other information which could help one gauge the ability of the horse.

Aside from the records, a horse must also be closely observed. Its body language and behavior must be taken into consideration. The ears of the horse must work together and the tail must not be swishing all the time. When the tail constantly swishes, it is a clear indication that the horse is not relaxed and that something is bothering it.

When one is already watching the race, the tote board is a good clue as to which horse the public is eyeing. One can also observe a horse closely by using binoculars and taking note of the way the horse runs.

Horse race handicapping indeed increases your chances of betting on the right horse. And if you want to be really good at it, keep on practicing. You’ll definitely reap the rewards in the end.

Find out more at http://www.horseracingmemorabilia.net

John Connors
Horse Racing Handicapper
http://www.horseracingmemorabilia.net