Handicapping Question...

[FlBred]

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

[sdjcom]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

If you are fairly new,read Tom Ansilies(spell-check) book guide to throughbred racing then read others and start out with a simple angle and work your way up into trips speed figs and so-forth,if you try to do it all at one time with all the sheets offered then it can be confusing and cumbersome. start out simple angle such as speed figures and add as time goes on.

[3kings]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

Rich Eng's book Horse Racing for Dummies would be a good start. He goes over many basic angles and has good information and shows examples. Be careful with TVG, a couple of those guys picks will be the road to bankruptcy.

[FlBred]

Originally Posted by 3kings

Rich Eng's book Horse Racing for Dummies would be a good start. He goes over many basic angles and has good information and shows examples. Be careful with TVG, a couple of those guys picks will be the road to bankruptcy.

Haaa! Thanks and I have noticed the TVG picks are not the model for profit! Luckily I have not followed their picks I really just listen to the commentary throughout the day while working from home.....it tends to be better than Judge Judy!!

[Bobby Fischer]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

The best angle in this game is to know the fan favorites. Provided you have some skill in understanding the sport, knowing the fan-favorites is the one angle that works. Never bet on them, never bet against them unless you have a solid belief they will fail.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

One angle I like in turf sprints at the Midwest and Southern tracks is to find horses who showed speed with pace pressure and then faded in two-turn turf races. When they turnback in distance, they usually run in mid-back and show powerful closing moves. They generally offer good odds unless there is an obvious class drop because the public sees the speed and fade at longer distances and think the horse is a quitter.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

If there was a winning formula we'd all be rich. Ultimately you need to look for what sort of angles you are good at finding on the PPs and seeing how that works.

[FlBred]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

If there was a winning formula we'd all be rich. Ultimately you need to look for what sort of angles you are good at finding on the PPs and seeing how that works.

Agreed, but my question is more along the lines of with so many DIFFERENT angles which is probably the easiest for a beginner or casual player to look at and have SOME success?

[joeydb]

Ainslie's book is definitely a good overall resource. The guy was good, RIP. Some of the info in there will be overcome by events, now that many of the jockeys he refers to are retired, as are many of the sires and dams for breeding.

After reading a general book, like Ainslie's, you might want to pick one book from each of the major subdisciplines: speed handicapping, pace handicapping, breeding angles and possibly something on trip handicapping.

For speed handicapping, start with "Beyer on Speed", by Andy Beyer
for pace handicapping, read "Modern Pace Handicapping" by Tom Brohamer.

For breeding angles, read something by Lauren Stich.

Trip handicapping, since it is the most subjective, might lend itself to a video with examples. I think DRF or one of the other publications like American Turf Monthly have videos hat would help.

At some point after learning about the handicapping schools of thought, get something good on wagering. My favorite is Barry Meadow's "Money Secrets at the Racetrack."

You are delving into an immense, and rewarding, hobby. Take your time and enjoy the sport. It's worth the effort.

[FlBred]

Originally Posted by joeydb

Ainslie's book is definitely a good overall resource. The guy was good, RIP. Some of the info in there will be overcome by events, now that many of the jockeys he refers to are retired, as are many of the sires and dams for breeding.

After reading a general book, like Ainslie's, you might want to pick one book from each of the major subdisciplines: speed handicapping, pace handicapping, breeding angles and possibly something on trip handicapping.

For speed handicapping, start with "Beyer on Speed", by Andy Beyer
for pace handicapping, read "Modern Pace Handicapping" by Tom Brohamer.

For breeding angles, read something by Lauren Stich.

Trip handicapping, since it is the most subjective, might lend itself to a video with examples. I think DRF or one of the other publications like American Turf Monthly have videos hat would help.

At some point after learning about the handicapping schools of thought, get something good on wagering. My favorite is Barry Meadow's "Money Secrets at the Racetrack."

You are delving into an immense, and rewarding, hobby. Take your time and enjoy the sport. It's worth the effort.

Thx for the info Joey! I have been betting on horses for a few years but mainly just on big race days and then I tend to play trainers and jockeys. I also will be making my way to TOGA in August for the 3rd consecutive year. I have decided to to try and learn the handicapping aspect so that maybe I can atleast sound like I know what im talking about and maybe catch some winners....again thx for the insight

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by FlBred

Agreed, but my question is more along the lines of with so many DIFFERENT angles which is probably the easiest for a beginner or casual player to look at and have SOME success?

The simplest, earliest, most basic handicapping revolves around past performance comprehension of current form, condition and race shape.

Without worrying about a single "angle", getting a grasp on how each entrant 'fits' within the conditions of 'today's race' will generally allow you to seperate the field into contenders, non-contenders and longshots. From there, a pace scenario generation should further help you identify a wagering approach to the contenders based on price and and personal bankroll application approach.

Later on you can begin to finalize or enhance your selections based on some of the esoteric 'angles' you've come to notice, but you can be successful without any overly ornate set of angles.

[the_fat_man]

I see quite a few of these posts on the numerous forums I frequent. This is a tough situation to be in: a newbie in a very difficult game overall without a clear path as to how to get started, let alone get better. The problem, as I see it, is that most of the suggestions are coming from the same direction. Reading all the staple authors, IMO, is NOT the way to go. What you get from them is how to handicap ABSTRACTIONS. So you have speed figures and speed points and pace figures and high percentage trainers and 1st time this and third time that, and energy this and velocity that and super duper software this and magic software that etc.

This is ALL BS.

Put all of these MOFO's in a room and I guarantee you that IF you were to seriously apply yourself and just watch races and keep copious notes for 3 months, you'd probably know more about the game itself than they do. The key to getting a clue in the game is understanding races; understanding setups. The game is about the race, after all, not about someone else's interpretation of the race, which is an abstraction.

So, watch races and get your angles from the races. These angles work.
I guarantee you that after a year of doing this you will be laughing at some of the **** the 'experts' are spewing.

Of course, the problem is that this path requires quite a bit of time and effort. So, the other way is probably more appealing to most. ALL IN!!

[gales0678]

Originally Posted by the_fat_man

I see quite a few of these posts on the numerous forums I frequent. This is a tough situation to be in: a newbie in a very difficult game overall without a clear path as to how to get started, let alone get better. The problem, as I see it, is that most of the suggestions are coming from the same direction. Reading all the staple authors, IMO, is NOT the way to go. What you get from them is how to handicap ABSTRACTIONS. So you have speed figures and speed points and pace figures and high percentage trainers and 1st time this and third time that, and energy this and velocity that and super duper software this and magic software that etc.

This is ALL BS.

Put all of these MOFO's in a room and I guarantee you that IF you were to seriously apply yourself and just watch races and keep copious notes for 3 months, you'd probably know more about the game itself than they do. The key to getting a clue in the game is understanding races; understanding setups. The game is about the race, after all, not about someone else's interpretation of the race, which is an abstraction.

So, watch races and get your angles from the races. These angles work.
I guarantee you that after a year of doing this you will be laughing at some of the **** the 'experts' are spewing.

Of course, the problem is that this path requires quite a bit of time and effort. So, the other way is probably more appealing to most. ALL IN!!

fat a newbie s/b fair warned also that people at the track have to eat to and sometimes what looks good on form , numbers , etc , etc , doesn't necessarily transalte to what happens when the gates open

[chucklestheclown]

This might be too basic but it is the starting point.
http://drf.com/flash/drf_pp_tutorial.html

[gales0678]

all beginners should watch what happened today in the 7th at Belmont to clearly understand what you are getting involved with

the gate crew can have a big effect on things, 1 horse gets left at the gate , and a horse that has no business getting a loose lead ends up getting a loose lead and winning - just another way to lose

[tanner12oz]

Originally Posted by FlBred

With so many handicapping angles to consider which is the most logical and least confusing for the casual horse player such as myself. I play the ponies a couple of times a week, not for alot of money and I dont spend a whole bunch of time reading the PPs or DRF. But listening to TVG on the tube while working from home and reading things on DT there are clearly many things to take into consideration when handicapping a race.

Any insight would be helpful regarding angles and recognizing the basic angles.

i would at least attempt to handicap races in some style you can call your own...it may be a losing battle for a bit buts its the only way youll begin to learn how things work. simply tailing someone is akin to giving the people fish instead of teaching them how to fish. i also think that the tv/track handicappers tell you to bet a certain horse so they can get better odds on the horse they are betting themselves.

some simple things i look at....consistency of form, jockey/trainers stats, situational layoff stats, up in class/down in class......i also try to keep an eye on distorted tote numbers....if something is off or funny i will look further

[Stickhorse]

THE MOST BASIC OF ANGLES: get your hands dirty and wade into the PPs.

You can usually find the time to handicap one race a day.

I'd suggest going to one of the free PP sites and printing up the PPs for a race that you will have a chance to watch.

As you probably know DRF has their one free Formulator race of the day. This link below will get you a free PDF for the a free Racing Form handout, which is probably available at your local ITW called "Winning Techniques."

http://www.suffolkotb.com/pdfs/drf/W...niques2004.pdf

IMO this is the best readily available primer for reading the DRF PPs.

You can access other free PPs at :

http://horseracingfans.net/handicapp...formances.html

These are usually BRIS Ultimate PPs which are very good. There are explanations for there PPs at:

http://www.brisnet.com/cgi-bin/static.cgi?page=library

The real message is start getting a little practice BUT after the race spend some time doing your post mortem. Look at the PPs of the winning horse and you'll start to notice YOUR OWN ANGLES!

Actually there are few new angles out there; there are just old angles that have been circulating since the cavemen first started betting on those little prehistoric horses back in the day.

One big thing you already have going for you is that you know of Steve Byk.

Listen to him. He is THE RACING GURU!

Steverino, nice work on the Steven Foster on Saturday!