The process of trying to pick the winner of a horse race is called handicapping – the term can be confusing for anyone new into the horse racing events. Many betting enthusiasts who place their bets regularly say that horse racing handicapping is their favorite part and is often times described as a mental gymnastics!
However, starting out can be puzzling in the least – what are the most important things to keep in mind so you choose a winning horse? As to prevent yourself from losing valuable time and money, keep these several things in mind.
The first and most important thing for you to do is to develop a habit of tracking your bets – the more details you put into it, the better. There’s not much point in writing only the final result – you should keep a detailed report of why you made that particular bet, the odds you were willing to accept and the odds you actually put your bet on. Some prefer to have spreadsheets on which they keep their information for better clarity and often times include information about the horses as well. You can either make one for yourself where you pay attention to aspects important to you or use a template which has been proven useful for someone more experienced.
Moreover, it may be a good idea to pick a type of a race you’re best at betting and stick to it instead of placing your bets all around. For instance, you may be a fan of the maidens races but with the help of your spreadsheet, you’ll notice that claimers are bringing you more earnings – then, you’ll know better where to invest your money.
On top of that, it’s important to keep track even on the bets you didn’t do. For example, you had a favorite but decided to go for another horse on the day of the race. Write down which horse you were thinking on betting on before the race and write down what happened at the end – were you right or wrong to change your mind? After a while, you’ll be able to identify the reason why you’re picking certain horses and thus identify your mistakes.
To finish it off, even as your knowledge deepens, you should never stop improving your handicapping. Each betting enthusiast has its own approach which he found works best and with time, you are most likely to find yours.
