In horse racing, picking winners can be a difficult unless the punter has a handle on these basic concepts. This article covers some of the basics in winning at the races.
- Race Distance
There are two types of horses, short distance sprinters and long distance stayers. By knowing whether a horse is one or the other will help you determine if the current race conditions are favourable. You will pick more winners if you shortlist horses which have a proven history winning at the current race distance. - Track conditions
There are several track conditions such as Good, Heavy, Dead and each condition is assigned a numerical value between 1 and 10. Meetings are abandoned if the track is dangerously wet. There are horses that like the dry and other horses that perform well in the wet. Know whether current race conditions are favourable can help you pick more winners. - Race class and weight
When a horse changes up in class it is facing a much tougher field of competitors. A punter should be aware of whether there has been a change in class and whether conditions are more favourable than previous wins. Simiarly, when a horse changes up in weight this should be a factor considered to affect its winning chances. - Starting Barrier
When a horse jumps from the outside barrier this is considered to be a disadvantage. This is especially so in sprint races where every metre counts and jumping into a good position in the pack is crucial to give the horse the best winning chace. - Race Tracks
Knowing whether a track is a Metropolitan or Provincal will help the punter understand the level of competition a runner can expect to find. It's not always the case but it's generally true that Metropolitan tracks attract the best horses from many surrounding provincial areas.
