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.
The racing form will list each horse's name and an array of biographical information. Such information includes the horse's age, its sex (filly, colt, thoroughbred, gelding), and its color-commonly listed colors are black, brown, bay, buckskin, chestnut, dun, pinto, roan, and white. The sex and color will commonly be abbreviated.
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.
As the horse's lineage is important, so is the reputation of its breeder. Some breeder's may have legendary reputations while others may have produced more lackluster results. Amongst the many factors influencing a punter's racing best, the breeder's name is one more valuable piece of information.
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.
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.
The racing form will list each horse's name and an array of biographical information. Such information includes the horse's age, its sex (filly, colt, thoroughbred, gelding), and its color-commonly listed colors are black, brown, bay, buckskin, chestnut, dun, pinto, roan, and white. The sex and color will commonly be abbreviated.
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.
As the horse's lineage is important, so is the reputation of its breeder. Some breeder's may have legendary reputations while others may have produced more lackluster results. Amongst the many factors influencing a punter's racing best, the breeder's name is one more valuable piece of information.
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.
About the Author:
David Gately has built a reputation for excellence in horse racing tips. This has come from his highly sought and reasonably priced weekly horse racing form, for the Australian horse races.
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