Fans of thoroughbred horse racing are often committed, passionate … and extremely knowledgeable. The typical fan, in fact, has followed the sport for most of his or her adult life and knows a lot about handicapping races.
The ability to handicap a race successfully is important, of course, because thoroughbred horse racing’s popularity has a lot to do with the fact that wagering is allowed – and encouraged – on each race. While betting takes place in other sports, as well, most notably football and baseball, it is the single most important component to the overall popularity of “the Sport of Kings.”
It’s certainly true that the individual races are often very exciting, but they become even more thrilling when a fan of the sport has “money on the line” … a wager. Add to that the fact that, when spending a day at the track, the average fan can wager as often as ten or twelve times, sometimes even more … because there are that many races on the card.

It’s easy to understand why fans of thoroughbred horse racing are among the very best sports fans anywhere. But, there is a potential downside to being a fan of thoroughbred horse racing. It is this …
The most knowledgeable handicappers of horse races often have losing days … times when they can’t seem to cash a single ticket or winning wager. Such days are discouraging, especially when you consider that an experienced handicapper probably believes he or she knows everything necessary to pick a winner.

That fan, however, should also know that racing luck may sometimes work against him. And when that happens, it’s difficult to win a wager.
There is a way to deal with this problem. It requires careful and thoughtful reflection at the end of a day at the track. If you’ve lost, it’s important to sit back and consider the races that went against you. Was it because you made handicapping mistakes … or was it just bad luck?

Reflect honestly and you will come up with valid answers that can help you the next time you visit your favorite thoroughbred race track. If bad luck caused you to lose, it’s reasonable to expect that luck to change. If you made handicapping errors, correct them.
Either way, your reflection and your efforts are likely to be rewarded with successful wagers the next time you handicap a card and bet on it.