Harness Handicapping 101 (big m, woodbine, yonkers, the meadows)
warrant
Banned
when handicapping any track I like to look for horses on the improvement trail...that is, their overall times are being lowered, individual last quarter and last 1/2 mile splits are becoming faster.
These horses tend to be best prepared to do well. Also looking for classification of the races as to whether the field my pick is competiting against is stronger or weaker than the past few starts.
I dont pay to much attention to driver/trainer combos these days unless the stats are overwhelming because we all know with todays catch drivers there are many who can get the job done
one of the tracks i love to bet is the meadowlands, my dad has been betting the track for over 30 years now and ive learned from him.
it also helps that my family has been in the harness industry for the past 30 odd years, so being around horses all my life sure helps alot
ive follwed the meadowlands on my own for a while now so I have an idea of what happens with the winds in the winter, the humidity in the summer. Following tracks for a long period of time you see trends develop over time and quite often these trends remain successful for many years.
since its winter I look for a decent effort in races that went faster than the par times for the class. If a horse worked hard in a race and held well, I place him on a watch list and hope he fits the conditions the following week.
if you want to have your own horse watch list you can sign up for the trackmasters virtual stable free @ TrackMaster® Virtual Stable™
Woodbine another track that i really like to follow.....
I look for horses that appear to be overlooked in the betting. Heavy speed faves do well there, but I enjoy finding longshots that look fit and fit well in the class. and remember any horse that goes from hudon to one of the top WEG drivers will always do better lol
The best advice i can give someone before heading into battle at the track is to do your homework because it frees you up to pay attention to the horses on the track and the tote boards
2 other tracks i like are yonkers and the meadows.....
at yonkers early speed rules more so I use that factor more than closing speed. Class drops win more often at Yonkers than at the big tracks
the meadows is a very funny place, im sure people on this board know what im talking about
Most of the horsemen are related from the marriage route on the backside. Dave Palone is married to William Zendt's daughter so Brian Zendt is Dave Palone's brother in law. William Zendt is married to Walter Dunn's daughter. Leo Harvey married Bill Zendt' wife sister so he too is related. Rod Bolon married Norm Parker sister, Ray Paver married Tom Davis' daugher...etc etc etc
the list goes on and on for the meadows, now back on topic lol, You have to watch closely and look for horses that got bad trips the previous week. They usually come back strong. Going 1st over today and losing is good for next week...they too come back stronger
one of these days ill take the time to write up about flamboro and the other small b tracks here in ontario that i love to follow
These horses tend to be best prepared to do well. Also looking for classification of the races as to whether the field my pick is competiting against is stronger or weaker than the past few starts.
I dont pay to much attention to driver/trainer combos these days unless the stats are overwhelming because we all know with todays catch drivers there are many who can get the job done
one of the tracks i love to bet is the meadowlands, my dad has been betting the track for over 30 years now and ive learned from him.
it also helps that my family has been in the harness industry for the past 30 odd years, so being around horses all my life sure helps alot
ive follwed the meadowlands on my own for a while now so I have an idea of what happens with the winds in the winter, the humidity in the summer. Following tracks for a long period of time you see trends develop over time and quite often these trends remain successful for many years.
since its winter I look for a decent effort in races that went faster than the par times for the class. If a horse worked hard in a race and held well, I place him on a watch list and hope he fits the conditions the following week.
if you want to have your own horse watch list you can sign up for the trackmasters virtual stable free @ TrackMaster® Virtual Stable™
Woodbine another track that i really like to follow.....
I look for horses that appear to be overlooked in the betting. Heavy speed faves do well there, but I enjoy finding longshots that look fit and fit well in the class. and remember any horse that goes from hudon to one of the top WEG drivers will always do better lol
The best advice i can give someone before heading into battle at the track is to do your homework because it frees you up to pay attention to the horses on the track and the tote boards
2 other tracks i like are yonkers and the meadows.....
at yonkers early speed rules more so I use that factor more than closing speed. Class drops win more often at Yonkers than at the big tracks
the meadows is a very funny place, im sure people on this board know what im talking about
Most of the horsemen are related from the marriage route on the backside. Dave Palone is married to William Zendt's daughter so Brian Zendt is Dave Palone's brother in law. William Zendt is married to Walter Dunn's daughter. Leo Harvey married Bill Zendt' wife sister so he too is related. Rod Bolon married Norm Parker sister, Ray Paver married Tom Davis' daugher...etc etc etc
the list goes on and on for the meadows, now back on topic lol, You have to watch closely and look for horses that got bad trips the previous week. They usually come back strong. Going 1st over today and losing is good for next week...they too come back stronger
one of these days ill take the time to write up about flamboro and the other small b tracks here in ontario that i love to follow
Comments
joe 0'brien drive(the shoemaker of harness racing)...saw niatross come out west and
destory the west coast pacers. but i saw a race 1 night and..the williams bros were
racing, robert, ken, jack, and jack jr....they ran 1-2-3 no superfecta back then, and the
starter in the caddy was the dad.....dick williams.......starter calls for the pacer...here
they commmmme.