Short handicapping lesson

[miraja2]

Here is my pithy piece of advice: Bet the race, not the horse.
Here is what I mean:
Look at all the pp and try to visualize how the race is going to play out. Who is going to be on the lead? Will there be a battle on the front end? Who might get caught wide? New people sometimes make the mistake of always betting on the best horse in the race! Sounds stupid right? Well a lot of times the best horse in the race is not a smart play for any number of reasons such as:
1) The pace scenario won't fit the horse.
2) The horse is likely to get caught wide.
3) The race is not at the horse's best distance.
4) The horse should be a solid 2/1 favorite but is instead at 3/5.
etc.
Take your time with each race and try to figure it out.
Then, after you lose, , look at the race again. This is key. You will learn a lot by looking at the horses (that you tossed) that just won. Occasionally the horse will really just have come out of nowhere, but more often than not you will see that you overlooked something. This will help your handicapping immensely.