Horse racing is a sport that can be very profitable and enjoyable, but many punters lose money at the race track because they are making too many horse racing betting mistakes. Horse racing is not simply luck. It is a skill. There are ways to increase your chance of winning, and there are ways to decrease your chances. Here are a few horse racing betting mistakes that punters need to avoid.
– If you have a favorite horse or pair of horses, get them every time. This will lead to over-spending on those horses, and you will have more money on the losing sides. This is usually called gambling on the race tracks. Just don’t do it.
– Never bet in the exact race you are betting on. Never use exacta bets. They are pointless. In fact, using exacta bets is illegal in most places, because they don’t follow the exact guidelines of the law. Always use handicapping points instead. These are based on statistics and common sense, and they will give you the odds of each horse in a race and help you decide what bet you should make.
– Read up on as much as you can on the horses. You can look online for articles and search the news for reports about specific horses. Join a forum on a betting website and talk to other bettors. Find out what they do to prepare for each race. If you know what they do, you will know what to do.
– When you place a bet, make sure you understand what it means. Don’t just accept the words the bet tells you and hope you make a profit. It isn’t worth it. Make sure you know what is going on before you place the bet. That is the best way to make a profit from betting.
– Keep track of every bet you make. Write down who you made a bet on, when it was placed, and the horse’s name. That information will be needed if you want to file a dispute should you feel that you were cheated. For most sports, this won’t really matter, but if betting on horse races is something you do frequently, then having this information at your fingertips is definitely a plus.
– Make sure you know where the race is being held. Many times people will choose a race by track, but if you are betting on multiple horses, you need to know where they are. Not only does it make it easier to place a bet, but it will also make things easier if you have trouble finding the race. Most bettors today want to find the best value at the best price.
– Follow the rules of racing betting. It doesn’t matter how silly or sophisticated you may think your system is, if you don’t follow the rules, it’s not going to work. For instance, in a sprint race, the leader can change anytime throughout the race. If you don’t know the lead pack odds, and you bet based on what the crowd thinks the favorite is, then you’re probably going to lose. Always use common sense with racing betting.
– Know the jockey. Most racing bettors don’t even realize that the jockey has an effect on the race results. It’s pretty simple. If the horse that you’re betting on isn’t fast, it will be more likely to break from the top early in the race. If the horse is fast, it’ll be able to build up a lead and hold it until the end.
– Beware of young horses. Most people don’t realize it, but young horses are capable of learning and growing. If you pick a horse that is young and unknown, you risk losing a lot of money. It’s very easy to develop bad habits and turn a profit with established horses. Your best bet is to stick with established horses until they develop into winners.
As you can see, there are some important tips that you should keep in mind. Hopefully, if you follow them, you’ll be able to make some good horse racing bets and maybe even pick a winner. Make sure that you don’t get carried away and start betting without doing your homework. This is what causes many people to lose money in horse racing.
