Trying to make a profit from the races? You’re not alone. Everyday, millions of people go to the horse races trying to win money. Almost all of them lose, and yet, day after day, and year after year, they keep coming back. The reason is that the financial gain isn’t the only lure of horse racing. It is also the thrill of winning which stimulates certain parts of the brain and actually releases certain neurotransmitters that make the winner feel pleasure.
Believe it or not, that is the biggest obstacle that most people have to making a profit at the races. How can that be? The reason is that the good feeling humans get when they win has nothing to do with making a profit. You may go to the races with $100, lose most of it, but win the last race you bet on and walk out with $50, but still feel elated somehow.
Let’s be clear on what being a winner means and what making a profit means. They are two different things. Winning is simply picking a winning bet and cashing a ticket. Making a profit means leaving with more money than you started with. Many people cash tickets in the course of the day, but leave with less money than they started with. Does this sound familiar?
Even if your rational self is saying, “This isn’t good, I just lost fifty bucks,” your irrational subconscious mind is also planning how it will get you back to the track to do it again if you felt that momentary, but powerful, thrill of winning. That is what you must overcome because it will lead you to take bets that are not profitable in the long run, but have a high expectancy in the short term.
An example is a horse at 2-5 odds. The horse will win enough times to give you many thrills, but rarely will they win enough to show a profit. Many bet on them, however, just for the thrill of winning. Perhaps, if you started calling these two acts by different names it would help.
From now on, think of cashing a winning ticket merely as cashing. Think of making a profit as winning or you could call it profiting. Once you learn to recognize both acts for what they are, you will have a chance to make a profit from your horse racing bets. Unless a bet has a higher rate of return than the risk involved in making the bet, it is a losing bet, even if you cash. Any bet that has a higher rate of return than the risk involved is a winning bet.
If you always ask yourself this simple question, you will be on the right road to success. You must ask yourself this, “If I made this same bet ten times or a hundred times, would I get more money back than I bet?” That is the true key to winning or profiting.
If you want to learn how a horse owner and insider handicaps just go to http://williewins.homestead.com/truecb.html and get the truth. Bill Peterson is a former horse race owner and professional handicapper. To see all Bill’s horse racing material go to Horse Racing Handicapping, Bill’s handicapping store.
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