Horse Racing Tips: Sound Predictions, Or No More Than Guesswork?
- Filed under: Horse Racing Results, Horse Racing Tips
- Date: Jun 11,2008
Punters can either be into horse racing to make money, or to have a bit of fun in their lives – or both. I, for one, find both as my motivation to keep betting on the races. After all, there’s nothing like having fun and making money while you’re at it. That’s double the incentive right there!
Of course, to make the most out of both, horse racing tips would need to be considered. Okay, ‘consider’ is an understatement. The elements of a horse racing tip – the odds, history, and trainer and jockey – should be examined with a fine-toothed comb if you want to get your money’s worth of fun and profits.
First thing’s first – the odds. Suffice to say, this is the horse’s probability of winning. Better payout can be had by betting on horse’s with greater odds – that is, if the horse wins. Short odds, on the other hand, shows that a lot of money has gone into the horse, making him or her a favorite. Though short odds win more often than not, once in a blue moon a horse with greater odds come out the victor. A good example was Saturday’s Belmont Stakes where 38-1 favorite Da’ Tara finished first. You can be sure that those who bet on her are laughing all the way to the bank – if they haven’t gone there already.
Next is history. This is basically the horse’s past performances in the last three races, or in races with similar conditions to the current one. If a horse is going against a horse or two that it has defeated in the past, chances are he or she will emerge the victor again. Of course, this isn’t exactly a rock-solid factor to base wagers on. Take a look at Big Brown and the countless other Triple Crown hopefuls that failed to win the Belmont after excellent runs at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Relying on this alone is a recipe for disaster like no other.
Lastly, take a closer look at the horse’s trainer. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for any changes or decisions that the trainer makes at least a couple of weeks prior to the race, and make it a point to find out how that could potentially affect the horse’s performance. Also, take a look at the jockey. A jockey and a horse who have run together in the past and who have essentially built a relationship are more than likely to perform excellently. Indeed, a jockey and a horse should have chemistry, and this can be observed during practice runs and past races. Again, another race that seems to defy this tip was Big Brown’s Belmont debacle. After some rather sound decisions from trainer Rick Dutrow, Jr. and a somewhat long-term relationship with jockey Kent Desormeaux, Big Brown still finished last – a mystery that may never be solved.
Indeed, once in a while, a race would come where all these horse racing tips might not count for anything. But then, they’re really no more than just flukes. This leads me to the best horse racing tip of all: bet with prudence because you’ll never really know until the race is run.
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