There is no getting around the fact that betting on horse racing can be a challenging endeavor. For new fans of the sport, there are myriad terms to learn and the past performances can look like Egyptian hieroglyphics. Even for experienced horse players, there are so many factors to consider from the track condition and track bias to the jockey and trainer, and that’s just the start of it. But before you even start handicapping, it’s important to check out a site for bookmaker reviews to get the inside scoop on the best place to lay down your bets. Once you have that done, then it’s time to figure out the most profitable types of wagers.
Even casual fans know about the basic win, place and show wagers, and sometimes it easy to dismiss those bets because they don’t offer the astronomical payouts of some of the exotic bets. But it’s a mistake to just dismiss these simple wagers out of hand. On one hand, it’s true that you are not going to see a huge return on an individual WPS bet, but you have to remember that you will cash much more often on these bets. Think of it this way, if you make 100 different win bets you might be able to hit a winner 30 times. But if you are betting on superfectas or another more complicated bets, you could easily go 100 bets without a single winner. One way to figure out which type of bet makes more sense is to keep track of how you do with each particular wager type and try to concentrate on that bet.
Here’s another easy tip for betting on the races – don’t listen to what everyone else has to say. If you are brand new to racing, then sure, it’s a good idea to see what some of the talking heads on TV or some of the online handicappers like, but if they were really that good at picking winners do you think they would share that information with the world? You have to remember that horse racing is based on the pari-mutuel system which is different than what you will experience at a traditional casino.
When you are at a casino, it’s pretty simple – you are betting against the house and the odds can be stacked against you. But in horse racing, you are betting against other people and the house simply takes a percentage to pay for purses and other expenses. So if you are smarter than most, you can actually win money betting on horse racing in the long run. What that means is that if you are simply wagering on whatever the public handicappers say, then you are not likely to come out ahead because that’s what many others are doing too. So you need to dig deeper, especially when it comes to finding a vulnerable betting favorite. When you see a horse coming back from a long layoff or if you see a change in distance that might be challenging, that might be a race to go against the favorite and try to make some money.
Certainly it’s not easy to make money betting on horse racing, but it’s actually possible and there are thousands of players who prove that every year. It’s going to take some work and a bit of luck, but the reality is that playing the ponies is one of the best values out there in gambling, not to mention of the most entertaining.