New to the game - help appreciated
giss32
Junior Member
I would like to start off small and just try a few show bets and maybe a few place and wins. I really just want to get the feel for it before I try the other types of bets. What I really don't understand though is if I were to bet $1 on a horse to show and I win, and the payout on the board says $2.10, do I get $2.10 or do I get $1.05? If anyone can help me, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
Thanks
Comments
First off, to answer your question about payoff, the $2.10 show price is based on a $2.00 bet. So yes, a $1.00 bet would return $1.05. Which means you would have to win 20 out of 21 times just to BREAK EVEN, but i digress...
Some pretty sharp cookies around here; hopefully they can decrease your learning curve :yes:
For the past six or seven months I've also been entering weekly handicapping contests on equibase.com. The contest is free and there will be 2500-3100 entrants, but I've found it's a good way to work on my skills. My best result so far was 67th out of about 2500. I've finished near the bottom quite a few times, too, though.
Good luck. Hope you enjoy this sport as much as I do. I find myself watching old race videos on YouTube all the time. Still love to watch old videos of Secreteriat.
Solid advice here.
And I also strongly agree with what DC said. The best way to start that I recommend is to find one circuit to play that works well with your schedule. When I started playing I chose the California circuit for the later post times here in the Midwest. Watch full cards, including races you have not bet on. You can buy programs for as little as $1. By playing one track, you can learn the jockeys, trainers, biases, etc that occur on one circuit. Only play your best bets in any given program. There is no reason to play a full card as you will never have strong opinions in each race. The only time I play every race on a card is when I am there live, and many bets are smaller than others.
Start a virtual stable over at equibase and use that to follow horses that will be good bets next time out. For example, if you are watching a maiden race and a horse misses some of the break, rushes up to front, and holds well to finish in a reasonable position to the leader. It is important to learn how to handicap class (what drops will increase a horses chance and to what degree, what trainers do well dropping horses in class, etc) as well as learning how to handicap pace in a race (based on the amount of early speed in a race, what positioned horses have the best chance to outrun their odds).
And as always, start with a basic thoroughbred handicapping book to give you a general overview of what is going on.
I wish you the best of luck in your introduction to the horse racing game, and understand that especially in the beginning, it will not be easy. Losing streaks are inevitable.