Sloppy Betting on Fast Tracks Leads to Horse Racing Profits

Last week I was very busy and had to rush to the track in order to make post time for the first race.  As I dashed in I saw that the 6 in the first race was at 7-1 and since it was one one of the top three horses in my list of contenders, I raced up to the window and just managed to get a win and place bet down along with an exacta key, top and bottom,  with my other two horses.

When I finally sat down and looked at my past performances, I groaned.  I looked at the 6 again and noticed for the first time that the jockey’s win average was only 4%.  I don’t like to bet on low percentage jockeys.  The starting gate opened before I could cancel my ticket.  I watched as the 6 broke to the lead and led almost to the wire, but was finally beaten by one of the other key horses.  I had a decent exacta and also a nice place payoff.

If I’d had the chance to get to the seller’s window and cancel the ticket, I would have done just that and missed a nice payoff and start to the day.  I had been rushed and sloppy in my preparation and wagering, but it worked out in my favor. Some would argue that it was just my lucky day, but I think there was a lesson to be learned from all this.

In my quest to cover all the bases I had become obsessive about too many things.  In order to get good payoffs on your bets you’re going to have to let your hair down and take a flyer on a horse that is less than perfect.  Sometimes there may be a flaw in the horses stats, connections, running style, but the odds are what really determine whether a runner is worth a bet. 

Every single entrant in a race has a chance to win. If you don’t believe that, get a month’s worth of results and look them over.  You will find that some races are won by the horse with the longest odds and other races are won by longshots that pay big.  Before the race was run, those horses appeared to have no chance.  Only the “Longshot Louies and Louisas,” backed them. 

Obviously, just playing any horse because the odds are long isn’t a good plan, but in the case of my bet, I did have reasons to back the 6.  It didn’t win but I still made a profit on it because of how I played it and because it managed to get into the exacta.  I’m not advising you to throw caution to the wind and to get too wild in your betting, but if the odds are right, you have to make compromises with your rules and guidelines for handicapping horse races and yes, sometimes you have to even get a little sloppy.