Posts Tagged ‘melbourne cup’

Decoding the Racing Form

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Horse racing is a sport that has captivated spectators for centuries with its brief but intense displays of willpower, finesse, and brute strength. Months and months of preparation are made worthless or “worth it” within a couple quick minutes as horse. More than perhaps any other sport, horse racing has lent itself to the world of gambling. While plenty of part-time enthusiasts just show up and throw their money down on what feels good, there are many others who take betting on horses quite seriously and, rather than approaching it as a game of luck, see it as an opportunity to calculate risks and find value. For these discerning punters, the racing form is the holy grail and the key to it all.

The racing form itself is a puzzle to the novice. It’s seemingly random assortment of numbers and letters are overwhelming if you have not seen them before, but each and every number and letter has a purpose and a valuable meaning. For example, it details not only biographical information on the horse, but gives a running history of its performance in races, detail about why it may have performed poorly, and information as to its sire and dam, breeder, and jockey. If the horse took any significant time off between races, this will be indicated as well so that readers have a sense for how active the horse has been and whether or not it had any injuries. Knowing how to extract meaning from all those numbers and letters is the key, and is a skill that makes or breaks punters.

A racing form is only useful if you know what it says and what it means. To that end, here are some pointers to explain the contents of the form:

The form is essentially a race program and so much of the information on the racing form pertains to the races, such as start times, purses, tracks, etc. The juicy information-the stuff a well-informed punter will use to his advantage-is in the details listed for individual horses.

Aside from the horse’s name, you will find basic biographical information to identify the horse. The age of the horse will be indicated by a number, usually next to an abbreviation indicating the horse’s sex, whether it be a colt, a filly, a thoroughbred, or a gelding. The color will also be abbreviated-the most commonly indicated colors include brown, bay, buckskin, black, chestnut, dun, pinto, roan, and white.

Sire and Dam. Knowledge of the horse’s parents is commonly used by bettors looking to the horse’s lineage as an indicator of potential performance.

The name of the horse’s breeder is also found on the racing. A breeder’s reputation may be cause for lowering expectations of a horse whose form otherwise looks good, or raising expectations for a horse whose form looks less promising.

The true meat of the racing form, and the place where a discerning punter spends most of his time, is in the section that details performance in past races. Generally results and comments are listed by individual race and indicate the type of race, the conditions in the race, the odds for the horse, how it finished, and how far behind the winner it finished. General comments tend to follow the basic finishing information and indicated whether or not the horse had any specific problems in the race that may have impacted its performance.

The true meat of the racing form, and the place where a discerning punter spends most of his time, is in the section that details performance in past races. Generally results and comments are listed by individual race and indicate the type of race, the conditions in the race, the odds for the horse, how it finished, and how far behind the winner it finished. General comments tend to follow the basic finishing information and indicated whether or not the horse had any specific problems in the race that may have impacted its performance.

David Gately has earned a reputation for excellence in horse racing tips. This is due to his highly sought and reasonably priced weekly horse racing form, for the Australian horse races.. Check here for free reprint license: Decoding the Racing Form.

For the Most Excitement in Sport, Look to Horse Racing

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

A horse race is the pure embodiment of excitement and thrill–massive animals hurtling forth, chomping at the bit, deciding fates in the course of a couple short minutes. As long as horse racing has existed, betting on the horses has existed as well and today there is more opportunity than ever to get involved in this exciting sport, and to make a little money as well. Despite the opportunity, there is considerable risk and it is worth your while to do your research before laying down money. So many punters just bet on whims, but with the amount of information available to the public it makes more sense to use it to one’s advantage. Here are some pieces of advice to get you started.

The form should be your bible, learn to understand what it says and how to use it. Its many abbreviations can be confusing, but here is a brief explanation of the most common ones: “T” tells you that the horse won in the past at this track, but in a race of a different distance; “D” indicates that the horse, in the past, has won at this distance, but not on this track; “C” tells you that the horse won at the same distance on the same track as today’s; “B” is an indication for “beaten favorite;” “H” means “home track” for that horse; “W or M” tells you that this horse has won on wet tracks, rated either slow or heavy.

Begin your research by looking back at the horse’s last races. Look for a hot streak. Handicappers can’t agree on the most important factor, but lots of people will tell you to start your search by finding a horse that lead the pack in its last race. Take it from there.

Horse tables in the papers will show numbered ratings next to the horse’s names, with 100 being the highest chance of winning and all other horses in the race at numbers below 100. While these are a good guide for novices, do not be fooled into thinking that 100s are always winners. Again, look at these numbers for an idea, but do further research as well.

A favorite only wins 1 out of 3 times, keep that in mind.

Keep an eye out for comments referring to blinkers, lugging bits, or nose rolls. These are pieces of equipment that trainers use to correct problems the horse may be having and can have a significant impact on its performance from one race to another.

Horses that have dropped in class can be a great deal, if the situation is right. On the form, keep an eye out for an arrow going up or down (or a U or D), which will indicate if they have recently changed classes.

Environmental factors are also a crucial part of betting. Some horses do better in certain conditions, so keep an eye out for words like “fast”, “dead”, and “heavy”. Numbers from one to ten indicate the condition of the track from dry to wet.

Do not be fooled into thinking that firmers are necessarily good bets because the odds have improved, or that a blower will necessarily lose. As with other factors, the change in odds before the race is only one amongst many of which you should take note.

The term “firmer” refers to a horse with odds that have moved in its favor, while a blower is one who has seen his odds get worse. You of course shouldn’t think that all firmers are winners, or that blowers are proven losers. Make the call yourself.

The going rate of a horse is based on opinion, not fact. Keep an eye out for horses that seem to stand out to you, not others. That’s the mark of a true punter.

David Gately has built a reputation for excellence in horse racing tips. This is due to his highly respected and reasonably priced weekly horse racing form guide, for the Australian horse races.. This article, For the Most Excitement in Sport, Look to Horse Racing has free reprint rights.

Melbourne Cup Betting

Friday, October 31st, 2008

In the world of gambling people earn a lot of income by betting on horse racing. In Australia, people earn a considerable huge amount on Melbourne Cup Betting. It is very easy for the people to get the information about various racing events who live in Melbourne. But for the people who want to bet on racing who stays abroad or away from Melbourne it is very difficult to get information.

But with the help of racingreport.com.au people will get all the information about racing events such as Melbourne Cup Odds. With the help of this, people will come to know about all the latest and breaking news about Melbourne Cup Odds, such as latest year’s winner Efficient has been ruled out from this year’s Melbourne Cup Odds because of injury.

Now you can also Bet on Melbourne Cup with the Paypal. If you have account with PayPal you simply have to sign up with Sportingbet and follow some simple procedures. After completing all the procedures, you will have funds in your betting account to bet on upcoming tournaments. You will also get 100 dollars to bet on whatever you want. Here you will also find all the details of Market Cup Betting market which will give you some hints on who will be winning the cup this year. Therefore this site is the best place for all new as well as old racers to get complete information on the racing events which will help them in earning the money quite easily.

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