Some well meaning pundits have steered punters toward claiming races stating that they are the best because each horse is entered according to its fair value. In an allowance race for young horses you may see future stakes champions racing against horses that will soon be descending the claiming ladder. There may be a wider spread in the odds in an allowance race and standout horses rarely pay well.

On the other hand, maiden races, especially the high end maiden special weight events, may also have a wide range of ability dispersed among the runners. Once again, there may be a future triple crown champion racing against others that will never win a single race. While it may be easy to spot the stand outs in these events, it is very difficult to get good odds on them and therefore, hard to make a profit with them.

The one thing we haven’t discussed yet that probably is the most important factor in finding races that you can make money on is you. What is your strength and what is your weakness? Are you good at spotting trainer angles that pay? Do you have the ability to look at horses in the post parade and spot winners?

The perfect horse race for you to handicap and bet on is the one that you can figure out and find a good wager from. Think about each kind of race and then think about how you like to find good bets. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Use that information to find the right race. I always advise horse players to try all kinds of races and keep accurate records of all bets. After a month or so of wagering on paper or making small wagers, look at the horses you picked and the odds at post time.

When choosing the winner, it is important to consider its ratings in this particular race. Is it on top or has its ratings been deteriorating recently? Is the horse is familiar with the particular race distance? While some horses are good in long distances, others cannot stand them. Find out if the horse has been participating in such distances before and successfully so.

It is also important to consider how often this horse has been racing. This is an important factor as the horses which are consistent are more likely to win than those which race for particular seasons and rest before racing again. Look at the horse’s rivals. Are they as fast as the one you want to pick? Compare the speeding rates for the horse and those of its rivals. Still on this, it is important to consider the speeding rates of the race itself as this can help you gauge the chances of the horse winning or losing.

The other thing to consider is the track. Most people do not know that the condition of the track also affects the race and the horses in some way. Ensure you are betting on horses racing on a good track.

The jockey is also an important factor. Although he/she is not the one running, he/she is controlling the horse. It is important therefore to look at the history of the horse alongside that of the jockey.
A good horse betting system can help you pick the winning horse.

The other criterion to consider is the favourite horse factor. Most of the favourite horses are winners. If the favourite horse in the race has a consistent history, do not be tempted to look at another direction. You are more likely to pick the winner using these criteria.

Win Only- This is a straight forward bet on a selected horse to win the race.

Each Way – Sometimes called win and place. It is in fact two bets the first on the horse winning the race and the second on it achieving a place. The price that you get for a placed is a fraction of the odds that you would get for the horse winning. For instance if the horse was priced at 5/1 and you backed it each way for £10. That would be £10 to win and £10 a place. If it came second in an 8 runner race you would receive I/5th the odds i.e. 1/1 which would mean that the each way portion of the bet would pay you £10 + £10 = £20. However you would have lost the £10 you bet on it winning so on this bet you would just break even. In races with 5 runners or les you cannot have an each way bet, with 6 or 7 runners you can only back horses to finish 1st or 2nd and the each odds are ¼.In races of 8 runners or more you get 1/5th the odds for the first three. In 12 to 15 runner handicap races the first 3 are at ¼ odds and in 16 or more runners it is ¼ the first four horses home.

There are also other term used such as Double, Treble and Accumulator. A double is where you select two horses in different races and if they both win you receive the accumulative odds for both horses. If only one horse wins you get nothing. A treble is similar except there are 3 horses selected and again to collect all three horses have to win.

An accumulator bet is normally any number of selections between 4 and 6. If your first horse wins the money rolls on to the second horse and so on until either one of your horses lose or all the selections win. In the latter case you can win a great deal of money but it is rare for a 6 horse accumulator to win and when they do the bookies get a great deal of publicity from it. Doubles, trebles and accumulators can also be each way bets but this will cost you double the stake.