handicapping thoughts?!!!

[DV8gambler]

I agree with patternseeker that there is a lack of knowledge sharing in here, which the main reason I started posting here was to get other ideas to enhance my already hard earned handicapping abilities. Inside information like Jrdhorse and others have provided is always useful and greatly beneficial, but it doesn;t come along everyday, and I do this daily trying to make the $$. So I'll start this thread for sharing handicapping stategies, angles, signals, just anything one likes that seems to produce results.

This is what I call "hidden competion capping", strictly comes from my experience and have never seen this in a book or heard from any other so called experts.

This is a bit tough to describe so I'll give an example first: Sunday I played a horse named "Worland", in the 11th race at Oaklawn, while doing normal handicapping for a sprint at Oak. you already know speed or early pressers fare better here. "Worland" had been off for 3 1/2 months, showed a super 6f work 1:14.3 on sloppy track, that was first signal he was live, now for the "hidden competion" - Worland's 2nd start was mdn 30k clm at CD, duels up front before losing by 3 lengths to "Indian Territory". "Indian Territory" was barely beaten in his debut after leading vs. the winner TOUCH TONE, G1 winner! Yes he lost from a victim of tough trip by two necks, but that showed huge potential vs. unbeleivably better.

Hidden competion will not be found in your pp's, it comes from good memory and back research. I use handicappers daily and it's very quick to pull up a race from the past to compare who the competion has been. Now I am a computer dummy and I'm sure somebody has some way of making a computer run a program for back competion comparision easier.

hope this helps, WGH

 

[Dogfish]

good angle wgh,i like to note key maidien races mostly m.s.w. and watch the rest of field come in one after another in future races.

another good one got out of some book ,was early in a meet to chart jocks and trainers its amazing how many trainers use two or three jocks but only win with one.after three or four weeks the public will pick up on this thats to tip sheets,touts . but if you get it early there can be some nice profit.

caught this noname trainer once bringing all these first time starters. theyhad no great works.no breeding,not a reason to bet.his apprentance jock was l. quinoiz who ran up the track.any time one came

out with his vetern jock ed cervantes would come in like clockwork at 10/1-20/1.sure was nice while it lasted!

please excuse the typing and spelling,new to this comp age myself.last comp. ihad was a commador 64 in 80 something,bought that one so icould so icould do beyers s.r. faster than by hand.those were the days before the form put in all this info!

 

[Jrdhorse]

My Thoughts

My Thoughts

It seems to me that every horse handicapper has his way of selecting horses. And the list is to long to get into that. But to me the best bet in horse racing is the Pick 4 not all tracks have it but there is alot that do. I think it is the biggest bang for the buck in my opinion. So every day you go to the tracks that have the Pick 4. Open your form and start studying those races. Nothing is more thrilling to have the first 3 legs with some nice longshots and then waiting for the last leg to go off. The payouts can be enormous at times. Just go to some results site and check out the pay outs on the pick 4 . If you can beat a favorite in a leg it can pay nicely. I think this is truly the best bet in racing today. Just my opinion

 

[DV8gambler]

Thanks dogfish, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for, that's an angle I have never used consiciously, I know there are certain combos that I prefer but have never put much weight in it. I will look more closely now as it can only improve my skills. With Keenland and Churchill close to opening, we're sure to get some good returns. Inform us if you come across any we should pay attention to, I will also.

Jrdhorse, agree with your pick 4 value, my impatience keeps me from playing very often though, may reconsider. Throw us one of your strategies for your selections.

6 furlong works: This is a great signal of readiness in a horse, mainly for sprints for East Coast racing, don't follow West much but seems it's used often. I put more weight in it for the mdn. sprints. Ideal spots are off rest, showed gd. potential in previous start(s), worked any time around 1:15 B and below, even better if out of gate and one or two avg. works following.

 

[Valuist]

Dogfish is 100% correct about using key races for Mdn fields. I've also used several angles for Mdn and Mdn Clmng races that have worked well.

In spring, new 3 YO Mdns coming off layoffs often are great bets. They should have showed at least some form when they were racing, but the summer 2 YO Mdn fields that they faced were probably much stronger than the field they'll face now. Again, it helps if you have key races. If they finished 6th back in August but you go back to the charts and see 6 horses out of that race have eventually broken their Mdn, you have a great play.

In Mdn Clmrs, definitely take the drop-downs, preferably from Mdn Sp Wt, even if their form is just so-so. It helps if they have shown at least some speed, and 1st Lasix/class drop is always good. The horses that are always overbet are the horses that have been close at the same Mdn Clmng level but have failed numerous times.