SAHorseracing.com
SAHorseracing.com
What should you think about before betting on a horse?

 

Placing a bet on a horse can be both profitable and frustrating and there is help at hand to try and make your experience the former.

While selecting a horse to back is by no means an exact science, with even the shortest price favourites not always winning, it is prudent to do some research before parting with any hard-earned cash to improve your chances of having the odd winner or two.

There are plenty of tips available from many sources and you will not go far wrong by checking out the horse racing tips at betandskill.com.

The racing press, both written and online, is a useful source of material and will have all the day’s race cards in full and it is there that you should begin to narrow down your selections.

Make yourself aware of how the horse has been performing in its last few outings and compare the going on each occasion to ensure that conditions are similar in the race you are betting on.

Some horses prefer fast ground and will stand little chance if the ground is soft while those who ‘like to get their toes in’ should not be backed if there has been little rain around for a while.

Track conditions will be readily available prior to any meeting and make sure these are always checked out, especially in winter jumps racing when conditions can be harsh.

Another important variable is a horse’s draw as there ae track biases at some venues.

This is obviously only for Flat racing and of greater importance in the five-furlong cavalry charges, but it can also have an influence on the middle-distance Flat races as well.

Connections might have talked up their superstar sprinter prior to a race and it may well be that it is odds-on but, in a poor stall, it is as likely to be beaten as anything else.
It can also pay to check out how a horse ran even if it has finished down the field as it could have a bearing on how it performs next time out.

There is sometimes little distance separating first from fifth and the horse placed fifth might have been the strongest finisher of the lot and do the business next time out in a lesser field.

Trainers tend to stick largely to the same few tracks and so it is important to keep a keen eye on any handler who takes just one horse to the other end of the country for a specific race.

They would not make the trip unless they thought their charge had a decent chance of claiming the spoils and it is no surprise in those situations to see plenty of punters getting involved.

For those new to betting on horses it is wise to steer clear of maiden races as the horses have never won before and so it is even tougher to try and select a winner.
The once-a-year punters on the Durban July will usually stick a pin in the race card to choose their horse but, while thst will sometimes bear fruit, using the above information is a much more reliable way of trying to make a profit.  

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