Deciding which horse to bet on in a race is not easy. Many factors influence the outcome of horse races. These include things like the jockey, the weight carried, the condition of the ground and the distance of the race. This makes betting on horse racing both interesting and challenging. A gambler needs to use his skill to assess the likely winner and or placed horses from a field of between two and up to 40 runners.
Even after taking into account all the different factors some aspects of horse racing are unpredictable. No matter how carefully you have assessed a horse’s chances of winning, something can go wrong that will affect the outcome of a race. In national hunt races, horses can be brought down by others. Horses may slip on wet ground. The weights carried by the horse may be lost in the course of the race, causing the horse to be disqualified. Even the jockey’s actions may result in a horse being disqualified. Races are run at a fast pace with the jockey making split-second decisions. His actions can result in other horses being impeded, which may lead to disqualification. In his eagerness to make a horse win, he may use his whip more frequently than is allowed under the rules.
A great deal of the information that you need to consider when assessing a horse’s chance of winning is given by the race cards printed in newspapers and programmes. The format varies depending on the publication. To save space a lot of abbreviations are used. Take time to familiarize yourself with what all the abbreviations mean.
The analysis of all this information is very time consuming. In recent years computer programs have been developed to process this information. Using a computer can cut down on the work. There are many different programs on the market, all offering different features, so it is worth shopping around for the best deal.
There is now a wealth of information available on the internet. The amount of information is almost overwhelming. Lots of online racing magazines, horse racing websites and tipsters services now exist. Many provide up-to-date analysis of all the statistics like the performance of favourites, the influence of the draw, the top trainers, the top jockeys and pedigree information.