Money Management Tips for Horse Racing Betting

By Bill Peterson

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While the skill of being able to accurately evaluate each horse's chances of winning is essential to making money betting on horses, the best handicapping in the world is useless if you can't also manage your money well. I often say that good money management will get you through a tough run at the races better than good handicapping will. When you think of wagering on horses as an investment, it only makes sense that how you use your bankroll is crucial to success.

It's the same in any other form of investing, after all, that's all investing really is, moving money around and putting it where it is most likely to earn a favorable return. So here are a few thoughts on using your bankroll the very best you can. If you've been handicapping the horse races and still losing money, you might want to think about improving your money management rather than trying to learn that next horse racing angle.

First of all, the number one reason that most businesses, including horse racing ventures, fail is being under funded. If you are betting with the rent money or making two dollar bets and hoping to make a living, it just isn't going to work. You must be realistic and understand the kind of money the successful professional handicappers spend in order to eke out a living.

If 10% is a good return for a horse player, how much do you need to wager in the course of a year in order to make $100,000? The answer is $1,000,000. That's a staggering sum for most people, but it's true. Of course, if you only wish to make $10,000 then you need only wager $100,000. For most people that figure is out of reach.

Horse Racing Handicapping Angles for Each Race Track

By Bill Peterson

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Recently I was asked by a handicapper if I could give some good angles for a track that he planned to play this winter. No matter what season it is, the best method I've found for dealing with track specific horse racing angles is to research the track models and trainer standings for that track.

There is a lot of information online about each track and many of them post last years top trainers and jockeys at the beginning of a new meet. Of course, for the track publicity department it's a matter of trying to generate interest in the rivalries at the track and also a way to help handicappers to watch certain trainers who may be good at dealing with the peculiarities of that racing venue.

One of the best things that you can do, if you want to cash a lot of winners at the horse races, is to keep notes or save your old racing programs. As I write this there is a book shelf behind me that is crammed full of old racing programs. When a new meet starts I like to look back over last year's programs to see if I can get a handle on how the track played last year and of who the stars were. I also like to note those trainers and jockeys who disappointed.

They say that living by looking over your shoulder is a bad thing to do, but trust me, when it comes to handicapping learning by your past mistakes is crucial to making money betting on horses. On the other hand, be flexible enough to realize that things can change. If a new trend develops, don't miss it.

Using Horse Racing Trainer Moves the Truth and Fiction for Handicappers

By Bill Peterson

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There's a lot of talk these days about making money betting on horses by using trainer moves. The suppliers of past performances often list them right along with a horses running lines, along with the actual ROI (return on investment) for the specific move. An example would be, down 2 classes +3.10, meaning that when that trainer drops a horse two levels in they win enough to make a tidy profit.

The only problem with this is that like all past performance information, it is a look at the past, not a glimpse into the future. Though you may be using past performances, what you're actually trying to do is to forecast what will happen today. Call it prognostication or fortune telling, or whatever you like, what you're doing is predicting the future.

The reasoning by many is that by looking at what the trainer did in the past you will be able to tell what he or she is likely to do today and of course, the same is true of the horses. The problem with that line of thought is that you can't predict what the bettors will do and their reluctance to back the conditioners other horses in similar situations is the reason they showed a positive ROI.

Are you starting to see where this is going? If you're sitting there reading that this trainer move has a positive expectancy you can bet your sweet racing form that a thousand other would-be handicappers are doing the same thing and thinking that it's going to be as easy as finding money in the street. Wrong.