Fortunately for horse and race bettors there are a wide variety of betting strategies available.  Most of which rely on gathering information about the horses in hopes of knowing or considering something that the bookmaker (AKA. racebook or bookie) isn’t.  These types of strategies are commonly referred to as ‘handicapping’, and they take into consideration factors such as race statistics, current weather conditions, horse travel schedules, and various other factors with hopes of finding a flaw in the bookmakers predictions. 

Unfortunately for horse and race bettors reliable statistics need to be collected over a long period of time, and they don’t always reflect how a horse currently performing.  Just like people, horses have ups and downs, and can have a good or bad race depending on a lot of different conditions. Statistics do help, but relying solely on statistics and not considering other conditions is a mistake.

The other flaw in handicapping is that a lot of the conditional factors considered such as the weather, and travel schedules may just be a coincidence. For example, if the forecast calls for rain and a bettor is betting against horse A because horse A has lost the last six races under the same conditions, the bettor is taking a risk, it can never been known if rain was the only factor that contributed to the loses.

It is also important to consider that any horse that can make it to the ranks of professional racing has an incredible talent.  This equates to very competitive races where many horses have a chance, it is very uncommon in professional horse racing that one horse is sure bet.  These days the winner is often decided by which horse is best mentally prepared on race day.  These factors are greatly influenced by the things that happen before and during the race, which is an other reason why statistics are not always reliable.  For example, if horse A has been travelling for the 3 days prior to a race, this may affect the horses performance.

The only successful way to handicap horse racing is to emerge yourself into the sport and the horses, referring to the statistics and reading the sports page every Sunday is not enough.  The most successful handicappers are usually also horse lovers that have a long time passion and knowledge of racing. These types of bettors consider the statistics, but they also search for other types of information that could effect the race.  Knowledge is key, and the secret to winning money on horse betting is knowing more than the average fan.  It is not necessarily a difficult task but it does require time.

Horse Betting Arbitrage

An arbitrage opportunity exists when two bookmakers' odds differ just enough that bettors can back all outcomes and make a profit. A horse betting arbitrage is commonly referred to as an "arb".

In order to create an arbitrage opportunity the better must compare the odds at two or more different bookmakers, no one bookmaker would ever offer odds that allow bettors to cover all outcomes and make a profit.  Before the Internet it was not so easy to find arbitrage opportunities, but now with so many online bookmakers from all over the world arbitrage opportunities exist in great numbers.  Many people make their living with horse betting arbitrage, and with a relatively small investment horse betting investors can work part time and still make a six figure income.

Tips

Bet at a reputable Horsebook.  See our Horsebook Reviews

Know the betting rules before betting for real money.